§ 1304.24 - Child mental health.

(a) Mental health services. (1) Grantee and delegate agencies must work collaboratively with parents (see 45 CFR 1304.40(f) for issues related to parent education) by:

(i) Soliciting parental information, observations, and concerns about their child's mental health;

(ii) Sharing staff observations of their child and discussing and anticipating with parents their child's behavior and development, including separation and attachment issues;

(iii) Discussing and identifying with parents appropriate responses to their child's behaviors;

(iv) Discussing how to strengthen nurturing, supportive environments and relationships in the home and at the program;

(v) Helping parents to better understand mental health issues; and

(vi) Supporting parents' participation in any needed mental health interventions.

(2) Grantee and delegate agencies must secure the services of mental health professionals on a schedule of sufficient frequency to enable the timely and effective identification of and intervention in family and staff concerns about a child's mental health; and

(3) Mental health program services must include a regular schedule of on-site mental health consultation involving the mental health professional, program staff, and parents on how to:

(i) Design and implement program practices responsive to the identified behavioral and mental health concerns of an individual child or group of children;

(ii) Promote children's mental wellness by providing group and individual staff and parent education on mental health issues;

(iii) Assist in providing special help for children with atypical behavior or development; and

(iv) Utilize other community mental health resources, as needed.