Opportunities for the Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program to Promote the Mental Health and Well-being of Children, Families, and the Tribal MIECHV Workforce

TO: Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program grant recipients

SUBJECT: Opportunities for the Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program to Promote the Mental Health and Well-being of Children, Families, and the Tribal MIECHV Workforce

REFERENCES: The Tribal MIECHV program, funded by a six percent legislative set-aside to the overall MIECHV appropriation authorized by Section 511 of Title V of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 711(h)(2)), provides grants to Tribal entities to develop, implement, and evaluate home visiting programs for pregnant women and families with children from birth to kindergarten entry in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.

Purpose: The purpose of this Information Memorandum (IM) is to provide recommendations to Tribal MIECHV grant recipients about key strategies for promoting the mental health and well-being of children, families, and the Tribal MIECHV workforce. The Tribal MIECHV Notices of Funding Opportunity indicate that grant recipients must support the mental health of children and families, including through the provision of infant and early childhood mental health consultation.i This IM identifies specific and actionable activities that recipients can undertake to support mental health and clarifies allowable uses of grant funds for these purposes.