Canvas Health’s Early Childhood Behavior Assistance (ECBA) has recently aided both Stillwater Area Public Schools and South Washington County Schools with trainings on early childhood development.
Early Childhood Behavior Assistance Program
Canvas Health’s ECBA program is an early childhood mental health unit that provides consultation, education, training and support caregivers in the home, daycare, and other settings to help decrease behavior problems while promoting healthy child and family development.
Community education and consultation like this is an important service for a community mental health centers like Canvas Health.
Collaborating with Local Schools
The Stillwater Area Public Schools effort was a series of trainings about trauma with school stakeholders, including early childhood education staff, special education staff, and parent educators. The trainings taught school stakeholders about what trauma looks like in kids, how that trauma affects caregivers, and how caregivers can support kids with trauma.
The South Washington County Schools training was a collaboration funded by a Wellspring grant to support parent education in the schools. Canvas Health led three of a five part series. For the trainings, the supervisor of ECBA, Katie Zacharias, focused on anxiety, what can parents can do to recognize symptoms and to support children, and last, what parents can do to recognize their own needs and care for themselves.
Children’s Mental Health Services
Canvas Health’s ECBA program focuses on the caregiver-child relationship. Though there are many components to a child’s wellbeing—whether it’s trauma, stress, or parenting practices—caregivers can learn to be an organizing partner for children. Their co-regulating relationship can help children practice working through big emotions and big behaviors to until they can do this on their own.
Learn more about ECBA and their Early Childhood Consultation services here.
