Building a Workforce Competent
for Early Childhood Mental Health
in New Mexico

Las Cumbres Community Services' Early Childhood Mental Health Training Institute is now recruiting multidisciplinary providers of early childhood services across the state for a new class of post-graduate Trainees.

Established by Las Cumbres in 2006, the Institute is one of only a handful of its kind in the nation. It focuses on creating a standard of care for providers of early childhood mental health, and building a competent statewide workforce to address the many risk factors threatening the wellbeing of children in New Mexico. The curriculum emphasizes practices that are relationship-based, culturally sensitive, and accessible in rural, isolated areas, and is based on a range of competencies identified by the New Mexico Association of Infant Mental Health to achieve endorsement at Levels 3 and 4 (Masters and Mentor).

The two-year course of study includes monthly seminars, reading assignments, parent-child observations, and periodic community-wide workshops. Faculty is comprised of both local and nationally known experts in the field of infant and early childhood mental health. Trainees also receive ongoing one-on-one mentorship and reflective supervision from an experienced, professional early childhood provider. Most seminars and workshops are held at the Institute's headquarters in Santa Fe, while some mentoring is provided at the trainees' own workplace.

Trainees are selected from a pool of highly motivated professionals across New Mexico, including mental health professionals who seek to expand their skills for working with young children, and other professionals who want to use early childhood mental health principles in their work with families.

Institute applications must be postmarked by May 30, 2008. Following is a list of complete application materials:

Program Overview

Program Description

Application Guidelines (important)

Trainee Application (required)

Agency Application (required)

Institute Calendar

Other links:

The Training Institute is designed to help achieve the Strategic Plan for Infant Mental Health in New Mexico (2003).