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Walker presents early childhood mental health consultation work to EEC board in Needham
Summary
Walker Therapeutic and its Metro Boston Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation program described training and services to Early Education and Care board members, citing increased referrals and educator burnout and reporting early program metrics from a 2023 start date.
Walker Therapeutic representatives described their Metro Boston Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC) work to the Board of Early Education and Care during the board’s meeting at Walker’s Needham campus.
Jake Murray, chief external affairs officer at Walker, and Amber Kuehl, senior director of early childhood mental health services, told the board that Walker joined the statewide ECMHC network in October 2023 and has trained and served educators and programs across Metro Boston.
Murray said Walker "supports children, youth, young adults, families, and communities facing mental health, emotional, developmental, and learning challenges" and that the organization partners with the Department of Early Education and Care to license residential treatment and to assess needs for therapeutic preschool services. Amber Kuehl summarized the case for consultation work: "One in four young children now show signs of social emotional delays...Referrals for early childhood mental health support have increased by 35 percent since 2020, and over half of early educators are reporting burnout," she said.
Kuehl told the board the Walker ECMHC grant has allowed the organization to train more than 500 participants on trauma, grief, regulation and the Pyramid Model; to deliver 800 individual services from 125 referrals; and to support 53 programs, 41 classrooms and 68 children. She said providers report feeling "more confident, more prepared, more connected to the children in their care."
Board and agency leaders thanked Walker for hosting the meeting and noted the partnership’s role in exploring therapeutic preschool models and in statewide efforts to expand early childhood social-emotional supports. Commissioner Kershaw and other board members emphasized that the ECMHC work complements EEC’s broader priorities on workforce and program quality.
The presentation included a tour of Walker’s facilities and an acknowledgement from Walker’s leadership of partnerships with DESE, community-based organizations and child care centers. Board members said they will carry the site visit experience into later regulatory discussions about residential care and therapeutic services.
The board did not take formal action on Walker’s presentation; the session was informational and intended to ground subsequent regulatory and program work.
