Program: Mental Health Micro-Credential Info Session

Description: Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) is widely regarded as the foundation of healthy development for all young children. This is why The Academy at NHSA created the Mental Health Micro-Credential, to help adults who work with young children understand how they can support and promote children’s mental health through safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and interactions.

Join us for this 30-minute info session, hosted by experts from Georgetown University who created the course.

Objectives: Attendees will learn

• All about the course requirements and timeline
• Valuable strategies for supporting young children
• Who from your program should register for the course (hint: it’s more than one person!)

Mental Health Micro-Credential Presenters:

Dr. Deborah Bergeron served as director of the Office of Head Start from 2018-21. From 2019-21 she broadened her leadership as director of the Office of Early Childhood Development in the Administration for Children and Families. Known as “Dr. B” to former students and teachers, she spent three decades in pre-K–12 public education as a classroom teacher and school administrator and currently serves as deputy director for Community Engagement and Innovation at NHSA.

Jennifer Drake-Croft, MSSW, IECMH-E®, is the Deputy Project Director of the Infant and Early Childhood (IECMH) Technical Assistance Center at Georgetown University and a Faculty Director for the Georgetown Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Certificate Program. Her expertise includes Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, child trauma, child abuse prevention, and child-centered systems and policy. Jennifer’s personal and professional passion is to partner with communities and systems in advancing policies and practices that support all children to thrive.