What We Do
Our team of dyadic and infant/early childhood development and mental health specialists and reflective supervisors, pediatric providers, public health administrators, and health care workers possess a range of expertise to meet your organization’s workforce development and capacity-building needs. We facilitate learning collaboratives, individual and group-based reflective consultation, group-based training, and dyadic clinical care observation experiences to support workforce development in dyadic, early childhood health promotion and prevention. Recognizing the wealth of expertise in infant/early childhood mental health and development, dyadic care, healthcare administration, reflective practice, trauma-informed care consultation, and Medicaid finance that exist within California and beyond, we can also help to connect you with partner organizations with specific expertise to meet your workforce development and capacity building needs.
Why We Do It
Successful implementation of dyadic approaches to early childhood pediatric health care requires capacity building across the pediatric primary care medical team, including a focus on primary medical providers, nursing and clerical staff, and behavioral and social support staff. Hiring new or training existing peer specialists, social workers, or behavioral health staff to provide specialized dyadic interventions for families is one key component that needs to be included in a workforce development strategy. In addition, the other members of the care team should be trained to understand the importance of family-centered, prevention and health promotion in early childhood and how to apply this in their routine practice.
Key content areas for workforce development and capacity building are exemplified as part of the HealthySteps Specialist Competencies and include prioritization of a lens toward diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, child development and wellbeing, the caregiving relationship, caregiver and family wellbeing, healthcare systems, community and early childhood systems of care, and relevant professional networks. Plans to develop systems that promote trauma-informed care, reflective practice, and center patient/community voice are encouraged to ensure that practice transformation occurs in a way that is experienced as supportive and sustainable for your current workforce and organization.
