Early childhood mental health initiatives exist throughout the literature. As highlighted in the previous section of this article, early interventions have the capacity to achieve better mental health outcomes for young children in foster care, particularly those under the age of six. According to Bass et al. (2004), early childhood development programs, such as in a Chicago preschool, have lower rates of maltreatment for at-risk children. As previously stated, maltreatment and mental health are linked, so their program has the capacity to prevent mental health problems in young children as well as decrease the exacerbation of mental health problems in those placed in foster care. welcome. These initiatives primarily target the interpersonal level of the ecological model. A common program found in the literature was the use of home visits in young children. The basis of these programs includes the promotion of “…the safe growth and development of infants and children from at-risk families (Heaman, Chalmers, Woodgate, & Brown, 2006, p. 291). Home visiting programs, such as the Canadian Baby First program (Heaman et al., 2006), have the dual benefit of contributing to positive health outcomes for parents and young children. According to the 2004 Ontario Healthy Babies, Healthy Children (HBHC) program evaluation, children visited scored higher on many measures of infant development and parents had increased confidence in their own skills as well as a stronger connection with the community services available to them. The emphasis on strength and positive aspects within these at-risk families is notable for the mental health well-being of parents and young children, hence the possibility of avoiding family placement of welcome. Although the evidence is available in the middle of the document...... (as discussed previously), being attentive to the need for such intervention is a step in the right direction. Additionally, Wotherspoon, Laberge and Pirie (2008) indicate that “…the rapid increase in the number of consultation requests from our child protection partners…” (p. 391) demonstrates the positive benefits of their CMHC program. This program established a relationship with child protection and provided these workers with the opportunity to improve their knowledge (Wotherspoon, Laberge, & Pirie, 2008) about child development, mental health, and the implications of trauma. As pointed out by Bass's et al. (2004), the policies and practices of child welfare agencies vary from state to state. Therefore, their contribution to alleviating and preventing mental health problems among young children in foster care is unbalanced and difficult to measure in terms of success..