Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt. Learn More

State Policies to Promote Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health

PRINT

Did you know state policies play an important role in promoting infant and early childhood mental health? 

Infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) describes the capacity of a child leading to healthy social and emotional development, including the ability to form secure connections with adults and other children, manage a broad range of emotions, and learn from exploration of the child’s environment.

Although all the Roadmap policies impact the IECMH system in a broad context, four of these evidence-based policies—paid family and medical leave, higher state minimum wages, Early Head Start, and Early Intervention services—specifically promote positive outcomes for infants’ and toddlers’ mental health.

Learn more in this summary of the evidence. 

Explore how policies and programs can better support children's mental health.

Related

State Policy Progress on Paid Family and Medical Leave in 2025

Paid family and medical leave (PFML) is one of several evidence-based policies in our 2025 Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap, which details states’ progress toward adopting and implementing policies that effectively improve child and family wellbeing.

2025 National Prenatal-to-3 Research to Policy Summit

Did you miss the Summit? Click here to access the full recording.
Did you miss the Summit? Click here to access the full recording.

New Report Finds Wide Disparities in Investments in Children’s Earliest Years Across States

POLICIES ADOPTED BY STATES DRIVE MAJOR DIFFERENCES IN THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO FAMILIES  Press Contact: Sydne Lewis, 615-343-9946, sydne.lewis@vanderbilt.edu The first three years of life are critical for healthy development, yet families in some states