KidSquad - Region 6


NE-Munroe-Meyer Institute of Genetics & Rehabilitation, UCEDD/LEND
Program Type LEND,UCEDD Fiscal Year 2016
Contact Barbara Jackson, Ph.D.
Email [email protected]    
Phone 402-559-5765    
Project Description
KidSquad is a program based on the Teaching Pyramid, an evidence-based mental health early childhood consultation model designed to support the social and emotional development of young children. KidSquad mental health and early childhood education specialists partner with child care program staff to provide strategies to promote social-emotional competence in children and to address specific mental health and behavioral concerns. KidSquad is a single point of contact for parents, child care providers, and other early childhood professionals who are seeking help with the social, emotional, and behavioral issues of early childhood. A priority of KidSquad is to support child care centers that serve children in poverty. In 2014, KidSquad provided consultation to 136 classrooms in 75 centers. Over 1,800 children were enrolled in these classrooms.

KidSquad has seven partnering organizations: Center for Holistic Development, Child Saving Institute, Early Childhood Training Center/Early Childhood Consortium of the Omaha Area, Heartland Family Service, Lutheran Family Services, Region 6 Behavioral Healthcare, and the Munroe-Meyer Institute. This project was jointly funded by Building Healthy Futures, Buffet Early Childhood Fund, Early Childhood Services, Region 6, and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.