Oral

This session consists of papers that present exciting new approaches for protecting and promoting the health and well-being of infants and young children. Innovative intervention models targeting vulnerable child populations are presented, as are applications of cutting-edge techniques including Geographic Information Systems to enhance service provision. Outcomes focused on include early childhood mental health and developmental functioning, parental health literacy, and the promotion of safe, stable and nurturing parent/child relationships.

Session Objectives: At the conclusion of this session participants will be able to: 1) Describe how community organizations can use GIS to identify areas with disparities in infant health and facilitate program planning 2) Identify socio-demographic and other risk factors affecting mental and developmental health in early childhood and describe an integrated ecological evaluation approach for service delivery 3) Identify components of a family-empowering, culturally sensitive train-the-trainers curriculum for improving Head Start families’ health care literacy skills 4) Describe an innovative judiciary-led model for early intervention with young maltreated children to address their unmet mental health needs and prevent maltreatment recurrence, and discuss barriers and solutions to adoption of the model in diverse communities

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)