DuPage Leaders Uniting to Prioritize Early Childhood Mental Health

September 4, 2025

Original coverage in NCTV17 by Marie Wilson.

When educators, clinicians, and policy makers gathered this week in Lisle to launch a new focus on improving infant and early childhood mental health in DuPage County, their first task was to define — what exactly does mental health mean for babies and the youngest children? 

The group of roughly 130 professionals — convened by Birth to Five Illinois, the DuPage County Health Department, and the Naperville nonprofit KidsMatter — came together to strategize ways to improve the earliest experiences that shape mental well-being in children up to 5 years old.

Early childhood mental health ‘rooted in social-emotional development’

The definition experts shared of what mental health looks like for these youngest community members is not therapy for toddlers, and it’s not an effort to diagnose young children with serious mental illness. 

“It’s really rooted in the social-emotional development of children,” said Valerie Varju, Birth to Five Illinois’ regional council manager for DuPage County. “Can they regulate their emotions? Can they adapt to the ever-changing social environments around them?”

Essentially, mental health for infants to kindergartners is defined as the ability to develop emotional regulation skills and healthy relationships, which allow young children to bond with — and learn from — those around them, said Sarah Martinez, Senior Instructor at Erikson Institute, a Chicago graduate school focused on early childhood education.

How early childhood mental health helps manage emotions

Martinez directs the institute’s Early Childhood Mental Health certification program and said the deepest roots of mental health begin prenatally for babies as they grow. She said the earliest interactions between parents and babies either help little ones develop a sense of safety, security, and the ability to find a state of calm — or a sense of mistrust, fear, and anxiety.

“Regulation (of emotions) is one of our earliest social and emotional capacities, and it develops in the context of relationship between a loving caregiver and a baby,” Martinez said. “It leads to being able to express emotions, moderating emotions in a socially acceptable way.”

Parental mental health brings positive effects for infants, toddlers

Since infant and early childhood mental health is best supported through a child’s earliest relationships, it’s often the mental stability of the parents and caregivers that becomes the focus of those working in the field. 

“When we’re supporting relationships between parents and children, we’re promoting infant mental health,” Martinez said. “When we go in and provide supports for the parents of very young children, it can really change the trajectory of that relationship.”

Beginning to grow mental supports for youngest children

Birth to Five Illinois is launching discussion of early childhood mental health in DuPage County after conducting an early childhood regional needs assessment last year. Varju said her organization discovered a need, both in DuPage and across the state, for more mental and behavioral supports aimed at children from birth to age 5. 

She said the study found there is an environment of fear and mistrust about seeking mental supports to benefit babies and young children, plus a lack of understanding about what positive mental health for the youngest among us truly means. 

Additionally, the report found limited access to mental health services to assist young children. For one example, out of 150 mental health providers serving the general population in DuPage, Varju said only 20 offer care to children — and many of those don’t begin services until at least age 6. The report also identified a need to support childcare providers, including parents and those who work at day care centers and preschools.

“If we don’t have positive mental health, we can’t be expected to provide that for the kids in our care,” Varju said. 

Early childhood mental health creates ‘roots of resilience’

Leaders of Wednesday’s Early Childhood Mental Health Symposium said the gathering at the Morton Arboretum was not just to talk, but to “really take action … locally to really help children and families,” Varju said. 

Attendees broke into small groups to brainstorm what types of supports and resources are most needed to strengthen the early childhood mental health system in DuPage County and develop steps the community can take to turn those ideas into reality. 

A sampling of ideas from participants includes educating about early childhood mental health during prenatal visits for pregnant women, offering more mental health training for early childhood educators and better coordinating between existing supports. 

Elected officials and nonprofit leaders in attendance said the growing focus on providing a strong mental start for DuPage’s youngest residents will have ripple effects strengthening the community as a whole. 

“By supporting early childhood mental health, we are all investing in the very roots of resilience,” said Nina Menis, CEO and executive director of KidsMatter. “Children are much like nature and the world around us — they grow best when their roots are strong and their environment is nurturing.”