Early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC) is an evidence-based strategy that aims to increase the quality of early care and education environments by supporting child mental health and social-emotional development. Since 2016, Colorado has invested in ECMHC as a quality-improvement strategy.

In addition to ECMH consultants, Colorado’s early childhood system has a range of other consultative-role professionals (CRPs) who support staff in early childhood settings to improve care quality. This brief explores the perspectives of CRPs who have interacted and collaborated with ECMH consultants to offer new evidence on the ways consultants support quality and to characterize how CRPs and consultants work together to achieve their shared goals.

Why This Matters

Over the last decade, evidence supporting the impact of ECMHC on the quality of child care environments and on teacher-child relationships has accumulated. However, little is known about how consultants collaborate with other quality-focused professionals to attain strong outcomes for programs. Moreover, CRPs who have collaborated with consultants may hold unique insights into ECMHC.

What We Found

• CRPs view ECMH consultants as supporting quality in child care programs. They described seeing observable differences in quality at both the classroom and program levels, especially when directors and teachers bought into the work.
• CRPs and ECMHC consultants have a shared focus in their relationship-based work, but they also support care quality in different ways. While they all focus on supporting child well-being, responsive adult-child interactions, and supportive care environments, there are a number of key differences across their scopes of work and areas of emphasis.
• Among CRPs who have collaborated with ECMH consultants, most described their working relationships as collaborative or complementary, with some describing the work as happening in parallel.
• A number of factors are seen as important for ECMHC success, especially an adequate supply of consultants and sustained funding for the work. CRPs also pointed out how relationships are key, as well as the importance of collaboration, coordination, and communication between consultants and other professionals.

How We Did It

Between March and June 2025, the research team conducted virtual interviews with 14 CRPs and other aligned professionals in Colorado who had experience collaborating with ECMH consultants. Data were collected as part of a larger child care research policy partnership with the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC). To identify eligible participants and advertise the data collection, the team worked with CDEC, current ECMH consultants, recommended intermediaries, and CRPs.