The Early Intervention Program, in accordance with Instituto Familiar de la Raza’s philosophy and vision, delivers mental health consultation services that respond to the unique realities of the Chicano/Latino communities. The Early Intervention team emphasizes promotion, early intervention and building of community resiliency by providing mental health consultation services that are developmentally and culturally informed to care providers of children 0-14. In this effort, we strive to ensure the well-being of children, families, and teachers by enhancing supportive relationships and fostering positive learning environments.
As part of San Francisco’s Early Childhood Mental Health Initiative (ECMHI), the Early Intervention Program partners with early childhood programs, family resource centers, and family childcare providers to deliver the following services:
- Mental Health Consultation to teachers and care providers where intervention and strategies are explored to best support the needs of the classroom and child
- Consultation to administrators and teachers regarding program needs
- Observations of children who have been identified as having social-emotional and/or behavioral difficulties
- Consultation to parents who have concerns regarding their child
- Case management services to families identified as having need
- Direct Services which include individual, family and group therapy
We are currently providing mental health consultation preschool services to all ten of the Mission Neighborhood Center Head Start Programs, Theresa Mahler Child Development Center (EEC), Bryant EEC, Cesar Chavez PreK, Sanchez EEC, Paul Revere PreK, Mission YMCA, and Holy Family Day Home.
For more information regarding these services please contact the program manager, Cassandra Coe, LCSW at (415) 229-0500 ext. 207. Services are also provided to a number of Latina Family Child Care Providers. For information regarding these services, please ask your provider if they partner with IFR.
IFR’s Family Resource Program and The Excelsior Family Resource Center receive consultation services as well. All programs are funded by the Early Childhood Mental Health Initiative which is a collaborative effort between various community based organizations and the Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) and First Five.
The Early Intervention Program provides school-based mental health consultation services at both Elementary and Middle Schools in the Mission and Outer Mission District. Services focus on reducing barriers to learning by enhancing the capacity of teachers, administrators, and parents to respond to the social-emotional and behavioral needs of the child and her family. The range of services to achieve these goals include:
- Mental Health Consultation to teachers, staff and administrators where intervention and strategies are explored to best support the needs of the classroom and child
- Participation and support to CARE/SAP Team meetings
- Observations of children who have been identified as having social-emotional and/or behavioral difficulties
- Consultation to parents who have concerns regarding their child
- Case management services to families identified as having need
- Direct Services which include individual, family and group therapy
For the Academic Year of 2011-2012, services are provided at the following SFUSD school sites: Cesar Chavez Elementary, Bryant Elementary, Hillcrest Elementary School, Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8, Everett Middle School and James Lick Middle School. For information regarding these partnerships, please contact Cassandra Coe at (415) 229-0500 ext. 207.
The Early Intervention team in collaboration with the SFUSD and CBHS is providing consultation and clinical services to special education students at Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 School. The goals of this program are to address the social and emotional needs of special education students by providing on-site therapeutic support to the student and family as well as consultation to the classroom teacher. For information regarding the SED-Partnership, please contact Ingrid Zimmermann at (415) 229-0500 ext. 310.
For more information, contact earlyint@ifrsf.org.
