To best serve infants, young children, and families, we must support all professionals who work with them to incorporate core principles of social and emotional health and well-being into their practice.

To address this need, the Rhode Island Association for Infant Mental Health (RIAIMH) promotes a nationally established set of Competency Guidelines and Endorsement for Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Practice Promoting Infant Mental Health® (IECMH-Endorsement®) for the diverse array of RI providers in the infant and family workforces.

The Competency Guidelines continue to identify knowledge, skills, and reflective practice approaches that support the development of competency in infant and early childhood mental health across disciplines and in multiple service settings. Competency Guidelines information is being revised and moving to the EASy website. Please stay tuned for more information.

Together with RIAIMH’s IECMH-Endorsement® process, the Competency Guidelines can help fuel high-quality, systematic workforce development opportunities across Rhode Island’s early childhood system and lead to a more engaged, competent, and committed infant/early childhood-family workforce. 

The Competency Guidelines form the basis for IECMH-Endorsement® through RIAIMH. In order to become Infant or Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsed®, applicants must demonstrate that they have achieved competence in specific areas of expertise through education, work, specialized training, and reflective supervision experiences. Some categories do not require an education degree or reflective supervision.

Review the Competency Guidelines sections of your category. The Competencies Guideline Booklet is in process to include information regarding category Family Reflective Supervisor. While the revision is still in production, please see descriptions for Family Reflective Supervisor category on the following pages: Family Specialist section (pg. 23-31), Mentor Leadership section (pg. 51), Mentor Reflection section (pg. 53)

Please note: The materials supporting RI-IMH-Endorsement® Competency Guidelines® are copyrighted by the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health (MI-AIMH). RIAIMH is able to make these materials available to our membership and collaborators through a licensing agreement with the MI-AIMH.

The Competencies are organized into the following general domains of expertise. Click on each domain to bring you to additional information. This information is based on the Infant Family Associate category. If you wish to read more or about a different category, please see full document.

• Theoretical Foundations
• Law, Regulation, and Agency Policy
• Systems Expertise
• Direct Service Skills
• Working with Others
• Communicating
• Thinking
• Reflection  (Here is a link to our page regarding Reflective Supervision)

Some IECMH-Endorsement categories have additional IMH-Competency Domains and Areas of expertise, see full document for category requirements. You are welcome to download a PDF copy if you wish.