The Strategy: How to Change
Washington’s infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) system didn’t start with laws or rules. It began in homes, longhouses, and community centers where family members and neighbors took care of young children. The People Powered Workforce Initiative honors and builds on that tradition.
Guiding Principles
The experiences of the workforce lies at the intersection of three major themes - relational workforce wellbeing, worldview and perspectives, and equitable systems and organizational culture. To change the experience of the workforce, we must focus actions on these three areas. How we take actions is just as important as what action we take. The following principles can be used as a guide.
Put Relationships First
We believe strong relationships are more important than rules. Behind every number or report is a real person and story. In real life, this means holding meetings where leaders, parents, and care providers sit together and share power. It also means paying people for their time and using plain language so everyone understands and feels respected.
Think Emergently
To usher in change, we need to work in ways that help people feel heard, safe, and free to share their ideas—especially those who haven’t been listened to in the past. For this project, we used something called “Liberatory Design” but there are other frameworks you could choose. The key is to follow a process of:
Listen ➜ Co‑Create ➜ Pilot ➜ Reflect ➜ Adapt—powered by rapid feedback loops.
Follow the Six “Re-imagining” Moves
Sometimes we can generate ideas and move too quickly to action. Focusing on these six steps can help ensure we move slowly and with care - only as fast as people feel safe and ready.
Repair harm from the past
Re-root in community wisdom
Re-balance power so it’s shared
Re-design funding so it’s fair
Re-shield the workforce so people feel safe
Re-story the field by changing how we talk about the work
Focusing on these guiding principles, can transform the field of IECMH into something that has a lasting impact for generations to come.