|
Where mission
and heart meet behavioral health, from the very start. |
|
Can’t access the links? Add “lnks.gd” to the allowlist of your content blocking software. |
|
Welcome to the September 2025 issue of Prenatal - 5: Grow & Thrive - HCA’s monthly newsletter about our behavioral health work in the early years of life. We hope that this newsletter helps build shared awareness of HCA’s efforts in this area and provides a centralized place to stay up to date on what’s new and happening. |
|
|
The DC:0-5 is the best-practice diagnostic manual for infants and young children, and it’s required for Apple Health mental health providers. The Apple Health DC:0-5 Crosswalk is a reference tool that helps Apple Health providers ‘crosswalk’ DC:0-5 diagnoses to associated ICD-10 diagnostic codes.
HCA updates the Crosswalk every year, and we solicit community feedback as part of this process. This year, HCA has published a list of proposed updates to the Crosswalk, and you can share your feedback until November 1.
|
|
|
Do you provide (or want to provide) mental health assessments and diagnoses for young children? The Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (or DC:0-5) is the developmentally appropriate diagnostic manual for kids under age six, and it’s required for Apple Health mental health professionals.
October 14-16, 2025 | 1 to 5 p.m. each day | virtual | The DC:0-5 Clinical training is a 12-hour training to support you in utilizing the DC:0-5 in your work assessing and diagnosing children birth through age five. Continuing education credits and manuals are provided at no-cost.
October 15, 2025 | 9 to 10 a.m. | virtual | In 2022, Apple Health policies changed to support developmentally appropriate mental health assessments for young children (MHAYC). But did these policy changes impact practice? Join HCA and the Department of Social & Human Service’s Research and Data Analysis (DSHS RDA) to hear about the results of an evaluation study to answer this question. This webinar will be recorded.
Note: While registration for the webinar is now open, the report is not yet published. We anticipate the report will be published in October 2025.
October 24, 2025 | 11 a.m. to noon | virtual | HCA is hosting a series of Provider Spotlights, focused on mental health assessments for young children (MHAYC). During the Spotlights, providers will share about the steps they took to put infant-early childhood mental health (IECMH) services into practice.
In October, providers from different regions and settings will share about the importance of mental health assessments for young children, as well as their process to tailor standard intake forms to align with IECMH best practices.
|
|
An individual with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) is someone whose primary language is not English, and who has limited ability to speak, read, understand, or write English. All health care providers, including Apple Health providers, must ensure that LEP Individuals are provided with meaningful access to health care services.
Meaningful access means providing linguistically and culturally appropriate language access services to ensure that individuals and their caregivers can fully understand and participate in their health care. Equitable communication is essential to high-quality care.
In Washington state, about 81,000 or 15% of young children live in households where at least one parent speaks English less than “very well” (Migration Policy Institute, 2022) Mental health providers who work with young children and families have elevated the importance of serving these families well, including by hiring providers who speak the same languages as families and utilizing interpreter services when needed (HCA, 2024).
HCA has recently published a fact sheet for Apple Health providers about Language Access. The fact sheet outlines regulatory requirements, provider responsibilities, frequently asked questions, and information about HCA’s Interpreter Services Program. This fact sheet can serve as a helpful resource for providers who want to provide equitable care to all.
|
|
|
You can find earlier editions of this newsletter on our IECMH webpage, under IECMH updates.
Prenatal – 5: Grow & Thrive is also a spin-off newsletter of HCA’s Prenatal – 25: Thrive newsletter, which focuses on behavioral health for the entire age span of pregnancy to early adulthood. If you missed it, check out the most recent edition of the
|
|
Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe to get the Prenatal – 5: Grow and Thrive e-newsletter each month.
If you have any questions about this newsletter, please email us.
|
|
|
|
