State Launches New Mental-health Resources for Early Education and Childcare

BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll administration announced a new partnership between the Department of Early Education and Care and the Office of the Child Advocate that aims to strengthen early-childhood educators’ skills in social-emotional learning as an essential part of a child’s development.

The partnership’s initiative, Strategies for Trauma Responsive Early Educator Training (STREET), provides new virtual and in-person trainings intentionally designed for the early-education and childcare workforce in Massachusetts.

“We have a youth mental-health crisis that was only made worse by the pandemic. That’s why we’ve prioritized developing an education mental-health framework and expanding mental- and behavioral-health supports for students,” Gov. Maura Healey said. “We’re proud to roll out these new trainings that provide early-education and care programs with the tools and resources needed to help educators identify kids struggling, support them, and create safe and positive learning environments.”

The STREET Initiative is comprised of several trainings educators, program directors, and other early-education and childcare leaders throughout Massachusetts can take, including “Trauma and Resilience for Early Childhood Educators,” “Core Champions Train-the-trainer Program: Deeper Dives in Trauma and Resilience,” and “Deeper Dives in Trauma and Resilience Early Childhood Educator Training.”

“We continue to hear from programs and caregivers of the social-emotional needs of young children and the impact this is having on staff,” Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler said. “This new initiative is an example of state government at its best — bringing together the expertise of both agencies to support students, educators, and communities. These trainings will help educators become more trauma-informed and responsive, enabling them to better support the healthy development of all children.”