Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Dr. Kristie Skoglund, the Florida Center for Early Childhood’s chief executive officer, has been appointed to the board of directors for the Florida Association for Infant Mental Health, or FAIMH.
FAIMH’s purpose is to expand the infant and early childhood mental health field into the Florida workforce through an endorsement available to professionals that work with young children. FAIMH accomplishes this though local chapters.
In the mental health world, infant and early childhood mental health professionals work with the child in the context of their relationships. Most of the time, the relationships include a parent or caregiver. The therapeutic framework helps the entire family heal from trauma while promoting healthy social and emotional development of the child.
As the one-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic approaches, the adaptive nature of humans is becoming more clear. But while social distancing and face masks have become a societal norm, the effects of covered faces, especially from a young child’s perspective, must be considered.
With that in mind, the Early Learning Coalition of Marion County (ELCMC) on Thursday accepted 2,592 ClearMasks at coalition headquarters in Ocala. The ClearMasks allow children to see the faces of their caregivers, providing visual communication and cues that experts say are necessary for early brain development and language/social skills.
The masks will be distributed to approximately 160 local early learning centers. The $7,500 investment to purchase the masks is a collaboration of Faces Are Essential/FAIMH (an initiative of the Florida Association for Infant Mental Health) in conjunction with the Florida District of Kiwanis, the Kiwanis Club of Ocala and the ELCMC.