The New York City Perinatal + Early Childhood Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC)

Enriching and Advancing the Practice of Perinatal, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health

Who We Are

The Perinatal and Early Childhood Training and Technical Assistance Center, also known as TTAC, provides specialized training and technical assistance for the many types of professionals who work with young children and their families/caretakers, expanding New York’s capacity to promote positive mental health during the perinatal period and early years of life.

A robust body of interdisciplinary research converges to show that healthy social emotional development in the first five years is a key foundation for children’s later success in childhood and throughout life, and that when problems emerge, it is easier, and far more effective, to address them when children are young. Research has also shown that parenting begins before birth as parents' experiences and mental health affect fetal brain development and behavior. To address the mental health needs of infants and young children we need to promote the health and mental health of the caregivers, beginning in pregnancy, and support the unfolding parent-child relationship. Healthy social emotional development for infants and toddlers is dependent on the quality and consistency of their relationships with parents and caregivers.

TTAC combines the expertise of the New York Center for Child Development and the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University.

New York Center for Child Development (NYCCD) is a leading provider of early childhood mental health services in New York. NYCCD builds on decades of direct practice experience, professional development programs and research initiatives to create high-impact trainings, advocate for better policies, and shape best practices in the field of perinatal and early childhood mental health.

NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research supports behavioral healthcare providers to transform systems, enhance business processes, and improve clinical care.

TTAC strives to equip licensed mental health clinics, early care and education settings, and practitioners in all child/family-serving systems with the knowledge and tools they need to support the healthy social emotional development of New York’s youngest children. TTAC provides strong and individualized support to five community-based clinics across all five boroughs of New York City ensuring that families can access early childhood mental health services when needed. In related training initiatives, we equip practitioners in licensed mental health clinics, early care and education settings, and other child/family-serving systems with the latest research and best practices in infant and early childhood mental health to expand knowledge across a range of skill levels and to advance practice.

The Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC) is funded by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

What We Offer

TTAC offers in-person and web-based trainings, posts archived webinars, and curates a range of resource materials for professionals who work with children age birth through five and families in the perinatal period. We focus on topics covering:

Foundational Capacities to Advanced Competencies.

TTAC offers a range of trainings designed to meet the needs of entry level professionals to advanced practitioners. All trainings share a common aim to expand knowledge, advance competencies and deepen practice skills needed to promote optimal infant and early childhood development and mental health beginning in the perinatal period. TTAC is also able to customize trainings to specific organizational needs.

Evidence-based practices.

TTAC has a commitment to train practitioners in methodologies backed by scientific research and evidence demonstrating that they are effective. TTAC offers training and supports learning collaboratives for the five licensed mental health clinics in our network in evidence-based practices, such as Child-Parent Psychotherapy, Perinatal Child-Parent Psychotherapy, Circle of Security, and Interpersonal Psychotherapy.

Trauma-informed practice.

Serious adversity can affect children’s social-emotional health. Traumatic experiences – such as witnessing violence or experiencing grief from the loss of a loved one – can impact the brain, changing behavior and altering emotions. It’s important for professionals who work with children to understand how serious adversity may affect a child’s learning and behavior, so they can identify concerns early and respond to them in a sensitive, supportive and therapeutic way.

Mental Health Consultation Services.

The settings in which children spend time, and the relationships they have with their caregiving adults, can promote their healthy social-emotional development as well as learning. Caregiving adults are also powerful agents for repair, remediation and growth when children have adjustment or behavior problems. Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation brings support, guidance, and collaboration to preschool programs, teachers, childcare staff and parents so that children’s group settings, and their important adults, become sources of positive change. TTAC also provides consultation in perinatal settings to support the providers working with families and offers resources for families. TTAC provides training and learning collaboratives in Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation for clinicians and consultants in the Perinatal and Early Childhood Mental Health Network.

How You Can Become Involved

Explore our online library to find the training that’s right for you: Find a Training

Register for an upcoming training: Register now

Let us know about additional training topics you’d like to see: Contact Us

Our Team

TTAC is overseen by the New York Center for Child Development (NYCCD) in collaboration with NYU’s McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research. NYCCD has been a major provider of early childhood mental health services with expertise in informing policy and supporting the field of early childhood mental health through training and direct practice. McSilver provides clinical, business and system transformation support to all New York State behavioral health providers. Together, we form a strong partnership in supporting the field of perinatal and early childhood mental health combining strong clinical expertise and solid business acumen to build the capacities and competencies of those working with young children and supporting the programs who serve them.