Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families through Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Services
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Highlights
Immigrant and refugee children face major barriers to mental health services, with screening gaps, insurance disparities, and a shortage of culturally responsive care.
- One-quarter of U.S. children under age 5 live in immigrant families, yet no federally required mental health screenings exist for young refugee children, and the only refugee mental health tool is not validated for those under age 14.
- Immigrant families face compounding barriers to infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) services, including lower insurance rates (18 percent uninsured in 2022 vs. 7 percent for the U.S. born), fear of enforcement, and limited culturally appropriate tools.
- Most evidence-based IECMH interventions were developed for middle-class White Americans, leaving significant gaps in culturally specific treatments for diverse immigrant and refugee populations.
- Recommendations include joint CDC/Office of Refugee Resettlement screening guidance for children under age 5, expanded IECMH consultation to family-based care, workforce diversification, and home visiting models such as Baby TALK.
Infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) services can play an important part in supporting young children’s well-being and development. For young children in immigrant and refugee families, who make up about one-fourth of all U.S. children ages 0–5, IECMH support can be particularly impactful. These services can, for example, help mitigate the effects of trauma and stressors related to migration and acculturation experiences.
Yet while there is a clear need for policies, strategies, and program approaches that recognize and respond effectively to the diverse needs of immigrant and refugee families with young children, these families too often do not benefit from IECMH support.
This issue brief highlights the importance of IECMH services for immigrant and refugee families as well as gaps in IECMH promotion, prevention, screening, and treatment that affect these families. The brief also identifies opportunities for policymakers and practitioners to improve access to IECMH services for this population.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 The Importance of IECMH
3 IECMH Needs among Immigrant and Refugee Families
4 Gaps in Mainstream Benefits’ and ORR Services’ Support for Immigrant Children
5 Gaps across the IECMH Spectrum of Support
A. Promotion
B. Prevention
C. Screening
D. Treatment
6 Policy Recommendations
7 Conclusion
About the National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy
The Center is a national hub connecting policymakers, educators, community leaders, and service providers with evidence-informed policy research, technical assistance, and data to advance effective immigrant integration at U.S., state, and local levels.
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