Family Leadership Certificate Program

Investing in Parents as Community Mental Health Providers

“When families are well, babies are well. When families feel secure and safe, babies feel secure and safe.”

These are the words of Dr. Dominique Charlot-Swilley, Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Online Certificate in Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Family Leadership Program at Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies. The Family Leadership Certificate Program, which launched in 2020, trains participants as Community Mental Health Workers, a new job classification that is expanding the IECMH workforce. Graduates of the program work in a wide variety of settings, from early learning to pediatric healthcare, and directly support the mental health of families with young children.

Everyone who enrolls in the Family Leadership Certificate Program has first-hand experience caring for young children, and most have experience navigating family mental health supports. Their personal experience is an integral part of their expertise, helping to build trust and understanding with the families they support.

Community mental health work and peer support are emerging areas of practice within the IECMH field, and they have the potential to transform the impact and scalability of mental health services. Families often have to wait months to see a specialist, while their mental health continues to suffer. The specialists they do have access to typically don’t reflect their culture or speak their language.

“Our goal is to diversify mental health and public health spaces and to make them more equitable,” says Arrealia Gavins, Faculty Lecturer with the Family Leadership Certificate Program. “We are trying to create more equitable workforce pathways for those with lived experience or other professionals already working in the field who may not have deep experience in [academic] mental health.

“Students receive professional coaching and academic support, mental health coaching, and they also receive practicum resources and funding, so while they’re learning these competencies, they’re applying them in the workforce.”

“We don’t want the workforce to be burned out and traumatized and experiencing secondary trauma. We want them to recognize they need to be well, as they are helping other people to be well.”

— Dr. Dominique Charlot-Swilley, Associate Professor and Co-Director, Family Leadership Certificate Program

Charlot-Swilley adds that one unique aspect of the program is that it does not focus solely on competencies, but also on the students’ own mental health and self care. “We don’t want the workforce to be burned out and traumatized and experiencing secondary trauma. We want them to recognize they need to be well as they are helping other people to be well.’”

More than 60 participants have graduated from the program since it launched. Sixty percent of students join without a formal job or are underemployed, but with a wealth of lived experience as parents and community members. Forty percent are professionals who may already be working in the field, but are not equipped to specifically focus on infant, early childhood, and family mental health. Most enter the program with a GED or high school diploma. 

“Students will receive a certificate upon completion that will say Georgetown University, and we know the power of that for so many, especially for those who don’t have degrees and have already been doing the work,” says Gavins.

“Students will receive a certificate upon completion that will say Georgetown University, and we know the power of that for so many, especially for those who don’t have degrees and have already been doing the work.”

— Arrealia Gavins, Faculty Lecturer, Family Leadership Certificate Program

Program graduate Toneysha Isaacs, a Family Service Associate with Children’s National Hospital, says that participating in the program and becoming a Community Mental Health Worker has helped her professionally. “I understand that everybody contributes and everybody is worthy and valuable to serve. I’m changing my mindset professionally [to ask] how can we help, how can we contribute, how can we be the architects of the solutions? They don’t always have to come from [external sources].”

In addition to the Family Leadership Certificate Program, Georgetown offers two related certificate programs: Certificate in Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health for mental health clinicians and Certificate in Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation. Perigee Fund supported the initial planning and design of all three certificate programs.

“The Family Leadership Certificate Program at Georgetown equips caregivers with trauma-informed skills that help them effectively support the mental health of other families, while getting paid as the professionals they are,” says Kim Gilsdorf, program officer with Perigee Fund. “Recognizing that parents are both experts and an essential part of the workforce leads to positive outcomes for children and families.”

THE FAMILY LEADERSHIP CERTIFICATE PROGRAM SCALES NATIONALLY
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Dr. Dominique Charlot-Swilley and Arrealia Gavins are currently working to register the Family Leadership Certificate Program as a Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship Program, which provides paid on-the-job training and classroom instruction to prepare workers for highly-skilled careers as Community Mental Health Workers. The certificate program is available nationwide. Georgetown University Early Childhood Innovation Network (ECIN) currently has community partnerships to build a community mental health workforce in Maryland, District of Columbia, Colorado, California, and Missouri.

The team is also working with the Early Childhood Workforce Connector (ECWC), a U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL)-funded Early Childhood Education RA Industry Intermediary to create a job code and register as a national apprenticeship program. ECIN has a long-term partnership with Medstar Health to sponsor employers and help reduce the potential barrier for students to participate in hands-on practicum and apprenticeship opportunities.