The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has granted more than $400,000 to the U.S. Virgin Islands for three years of funding to develop a comprehensive system to address the impact of trauma on young children and families.
The grant was announced Monday in a news release from Government House.
According to Government House, the territory applied for an Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems grant, after having missed out on joining 47 states and all the other territories which had applied for it in its first round in 2003.
“The Health Resources and Services Administration approved an award of $139,876 a year for each of the next three years for the development of a comprehensive, trauma-informed child and family service system that supports families in their roles as nurturers of their infants and young children and increases access to effective services and interventions,” Gov. John deJongh Jr. said.
In a tough economy, this is a prime opportunity to promote positive development from the beginning when we support healthy parent-child relationships, the governor said.
“This grant, totalling $419,628 over three years, will facilitate our efforts to create a workforce knowledgeable about improving the wellbeing of parents and their young children,” de Jongh said.
The Virgin Islands Comprehensive Systems grant is designed to respond to policy recommendations regarding infant and early childhood mental health outlined by Zero to Three, the National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families:
• Integrate comprehensive infant and early childhood mental health support into an array of settings and programs that serve infants, toddlers, and families.
• Improve access to parental mental health services that treat maternal depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and family violence.
• Strengthen the capacity of mental health providers to diagnose and treat infants and toddlers.
• Ensure that infants and toddlers with substantiated cases of abuse and neglect receive screening for eligibility for services under Part C of IDEA.
• Provide educational resources for parents and early childhood professionals on early social and emotional development, in order to advance evidenced-based practices in infant and early childhood mental health.
