(Graettinger)– Upper Des Moines Opportunity has been awarded two Iowa 1st Five Healthy Mental Development Initiative Grants. Jessie Hansen, 1st Five Project Director and Kids Director at UDMO tells KUOO news the mental health initiative is intended for kids in their first five years of life…
“1st Five essentially promotes the developmental tools being utilized on a universal scale with primary care practices. So we’re screening kids for not only development, but also social, emotional development and family risk factors, and then those providers then are ableto identify any children that are at risk that left untreated would play out later on in life.”
She says the experts then make referrals…
“Through this partnership with primary care practices and our community partners, the hope is then through this grant, we are able to increase primary care practices screenings and then referring families for services. In our northern area especially, we have a number of providers that are seeing kids and maybe have concerns but maybe don’t know where to refer those kiddos, so we’re really working hard with practices especially on the northern area, to really implement those screening practices so that we can get kiddos and families connected to services sooner.”
She adds it’s important the needs be identified at a young age for one reason especially…
“The foundations for mental health are set in the first five years of life and so we really want to make sure that kids are getting the services and support that they need because that does affect their school readiness skills and we have great community partnerships that we are able to connect families with for services.”
Hansen says the Iowa First Five Healthy Mental Development Initiative is available in all 13 counties Upper Des Moines Opportunity serves.
