Steps to Apply for Virginia’s
Infant Mental Health Endorsement®

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Now Accepting Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement® Applications

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Applications for the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement® may be submitted at any time.

 

• I/ECMH Application Deadline: November 15

• Acceptance Notification Date: November 30

• Begin Reflective Supervision (pending grant funding): January

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Pending grant funding, scholarship support may be available to support group Reflective Supervision and Consultation (RSC) the following January. 

 

For a step-by-step outline of the EASy Application, please click here or see the PDF below.

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1) Review the IECMH Endorsement® Requirements Overview for an outline of requirements for each of the 5 levels of IECMH Endorsement in order to determine which category most closely aligns with your scope of practice.

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2) Review the Endorsement for Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Practice Promoting Infant Mental Health Competency Guidelines® for a detailed outline of requirements for your possible category of Endorsement.

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3) Review costs associated with VAIMH's Initial Endorsement and Annual Endorsement Renewal. https://www.vaimh.org/endorsement-fees  

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4) Obtain your supervisor's approval to pursue your IECMH Endorsement. Discuss whether your organization has funding to help support financial requirements related to obtaining Endorsement, particularly Reflective Supervision, if applicable.

 

*5) Join the Virginia Association for Infant Mental Health (VAIMH). Pursuing and/or maintaining Endorsement requires that you are a member of your state's Association for Infant Mental Health. To join VAIMH, please click here. (The membership year runs January 1 - December 31.)

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                                                VAIMH Membership Fee: $60.00 (annually)

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*6) Submit your application in the online Endorsement Application System (EASy) no later than November 15: https://vaimh.myeasy.org.

 

                                                    Endorsement Registration Fee: $50.00 

 

​Once submitted, your application will undergo an Application Review. During this time, you will not be able to access your application to make changes.

 

Applicants will be notified of an acceptance decision by November 30th. (See Application Status Flowchart.)

 

Upon achieving Endorsement, you will receive an official Endorsement® certificate and can indicate your Endorsement using the IMH-E® mark to let employers, parents, health and legal practitioners, and insurance providers know that you have expertise related to the social and emotional development of infants and young children and their families. Your name and credential will then be added to the Virginia Infant Mental Health Endorsement Registry housed on the VAIMH website.