Introduction

Abstract

The field of integrated early childhood behavioral health in primary care has been slowly moving forward for the last 20 years or so, and now feels poised to truly expand to scale. The vast scientific breakthroughs of the last decades, along with a new understanding of the importance of integrated health care, the need for prevention of toxic stress, and the power of trauma informed care, have paved the way for an exciting and well-deserved expansion of the movement. As a society, if we seek a better set of outcomes related to education, prosperity, and health and wellness, we must focus our attention on the uniquely transformative platform of early childhood integrated behavioral health within primary care. Primary care is the one system we have that provides an opportunity to gauge the progress of all our young children and families. With integrated early childhood behavioral health providers alongside primary care practitioners, focused on the young child and his or her caregivers together in a two-generation model, we have the opportunity to practice true, population based prevention and help ensure the next generation has the strongest start yet.