Our Collaborations

CHEO’s Early Connections program was launched in 2020 as a pilot program for an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Service. In 2021, Happy Roots and CHEO partnered to expand the pilot program to a staffed team providing clinical care, community training and research, serving over 200 families to date. 

Happy Roots and CHEO will continue to work together over the next five years on a big vision of establishing a permanent clinical-academic Early Connections service at CHEO. The fully staffed Early Connections team includes psychiatry, psychology, social work, occupational therapy and pediatrician services, providing clinical mental health care to infants and young children alongside their parents. The team also leads knowledge mobilization through training in the community, and has established a research unit to advance the science of this population. 

The Parent Coaching Program offers individually tailored support to parents with children 0-6 years of age. Parents are able to self-refer to the program, and receive up to six sessions that are offered in person, virtually and/or by phone. The program offers a low-barrier opportunity to intervene gently, with targeted professional support. It has both immediate outcomes and potential for a longer trajectory of positive impact given what we know about positive and adverse childhood experiences and the significance of prevention and early intervention. Common themes that emerge from parent coaching sessions include co-parenting, child development, parenting skills, parenting after intimate partner violence, and perinatal mental health. Last year, FSO’s Parent Coaches supported 120 unique families with children under 6 years old, more than doubling its target reach.

Rooted Birthwork Collective, led by doula and perinatal mental health advocate Jessica Johnson, is a collective of Black birthworkers who share, recognize and honor the diverse experiences, traditions, and values within Black communities. 

Rooted Birthwork Collective provides doula support services to birthing individuals, tailored to the unique needs of Black and racialized communities, addressing both emotional and physical aspects of the birthing process. The doula services encompass prenatal visits to establish trust and create birth plans that align with the family’s values, continuous labor support to provide comfort and guidance during childbirth, and postpartum care to support the transition to parenthood, including breastfeeding assistance, mental health support, and referrals to additional community resources as needed. By centering culturally relevant practices and advocating for the client’s needs in healthcare settings, these services aim to improve perinatal health outcomes, reduce disparities in maternal and infant health, and empower families to feel confident and informed in their reproductive choices.

Playful Mindset is a newly registered charity in Ottawa, led by Marlene Power, and supported by HRF with early stage funding. The organization seeks to disrupt the effects of targeted adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that have far-reaching and negative impacts, through a trauma informed approach to supporting children, caregivers and early childhood educators. 

In 2023, Playful Mindset piloted an Outdoor Play Grief Group at the Forest School site in Kanata, helping over 20 children and 10 caregivers. Over the next three years, Playful Mindset intends to pilot Outdoor Play Support groups targeting additional ACEs: Postpartum support; Violence against women & children; and abuse & neglect through engagement with child protection services.

The HEADS-ED Under 6 is a screening tool, developed to help guide the mental health and development screening of children under 6 years old. This project involves training primary care providers at one primary care site in Ottawa and a second site in Windsor, Ontario, on how to screen young children for mental health concerns using the HEADS-ED Under 6 screening tool in their clinics. This work will allow for further validation of the HEADS-ED under 6 tool in order to match needs to appropriate services.

This 2-year study includes hiring a research coordinator, site support (Ottawa and Windsor locations), primary care provider training sessions, implementation of the tool over 9 months, and key informant interviews with providers to learn more about their experiences with the tool. Key products from this project include conference presentations and manuscripts for primary care providers.