Celebrating the Legacy of Promising Minds: 2019–2024

From 2019 to 2024, the Promising Minds initiative played a transformative role in advancing early childhood behavioral health across the state. Dedicated to improving the well-being of children under age six, particularly those at risk of trauma, abuse, or neglect, Promising Minds addressed urgent challenges facing Hawaiʻi’s youngest keiki and their families. This progress was made possible through the steadfast dedication, commitment, and collaboration of its partners, whose support was instrumental in creating meaningful impact.

Over the course of six years, Promising Minds fostered systemic change, integrated trauma-informed care into early childhood systems, and built a dedicated network of skilled professionals in infant and early childhood mental health. By prioritizing workforce development, policy innovation, and community collaboration, Promising Minds created a ripple effect that will continue shaping Hawaiʻi’s early childhood behavioral health landscape for years to come.

What was the purpose of Promising Minds?

Research indicates that the first few years of a child’s life are critical to healthy brain development and emotional connection. Infants and young children can be adversely affected when significant stressors threaten their family and caregiving environments. In Hawaiʻi, early care providers have found that too many children do not get the screenings, support, or treatment needed to help protect them against challenges down the road. The Promising Minds initiative sought to address these gaps in Hawaiʻi’s systems of care.

Why does early childhood behavioral health matter?

Adverse prenatal and early childhood experiences can cause lasting disruptions in brain development, impacting learning, behavior, and long-term health. With nearly half of Hawaiʻi’s children experiencing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)—and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander children disproportionately affected—Promising Minds focused on mitigating these risks through prevention, early intervention, and systemic change.

The Promising Minds Approach

Promising Minds employed a three-pronged strategy to achieve its goals:

1. Overhaul Systems that Support our Children: By championing policy advancements and systems integration, Promising Minds laid the groundwork for a coordinated network of trauma-informed behavioral health services. This included the development of the Integrated Infant and Early Childhood Behavioral Health Plan and collaboration with state agencies and community partners.
2. Support a Professional Network of Early Childhood Providers to Strengthen Trauma-Informed Practices: Recognizing the need for trained professionals in infant and early childhood mental health, Promising Minds invested in workforce development, equipping early childhood providers, educators, and healthcare workers with the tools to deliver trauma-informed care.
3. Increase the Number of Mental Health Providers in Hawaiʻi: Addressing Hawaiʻi’s shortage of mental health providers, the initiative created training programs like the Promising Minds Fellows Program, improved the expertise of mental health providers to work with the 0-5 population, increased mental health screenings with better referrals to resources, and promoted culturally responsive care.

Lasting Achievements

Over its six years, Promising Minds made significant strides. Key highlights include:

• Workforce Development: Trained more than 100 professionals, including social workers, behavioral health case managers, and therapists, in trauma-informed care through the Promising Minds Fellows Program led by the Association for Infant Mental Health in Hawaiʻi.
• Knowledge Sharing: Convened hundreds of early childhood providers at multiple Kahewai Summits, fostering collaboration and professional growth.
• Policy Progress: Championed key legislative efforts, such as the state Office of Wellness and Resilience and the Integrated Infant and Early Childhood Behavioral Health Plan and the creation of a trauma-informed care task force to embed mental health into statewide systems.
• Innovative Tools: Piloted the Resilient Early Childhood Systems Self-Assessment tool to strengthen trauma-informed policies and practices within organizations (web-based toolkit coming soon).
• System Enhancements: Expanded access to mental health screenings and services in early care settings, improved coordination between pediatricians and mental health specialists, and supported culturally responsive programs addressing the needs of Native Hawaiian families.

Through these efforts, Promising Minds not only addressed immediate needs, but also built a foundation for a sustainable, interconnected system that will continue supporting Hawaiʻi’s keiki and families for generations to come.

How will the work carry forward?

This milestone marks not an end to this vital work, but rather a transition. The systems, partnerships, and practices established through Promising Minds will continue to evolve, ensuring that the momentum built over the last six years will carry forward to continue improving Hawaiʻi’s early childhood and health systems for generations to come.

Efforts include strengthening systems and workforce development to expand access to early childhood behavioral health services, integrating behavioral health tools into care settings, and enhancing pediatric behavioral health through provider training and consultation. Collaborative projects also focus on building equitable, family-centered systems of care and fostering cross-sector partnerships to ensure sustainable support for early development. These initiatives, many of which are federally funded, reflect a lasting commitment to the values and goals established by Promising Minds, ensuring its impact continues to grow and shape Hawaiʻi’s future. Together, we have catalyzed a movement that will extend far beyond the six-year journey of Promising Minds.

Learn more about some of the initiatives sustaining this work:

• Project Launch: Strengthening the skills of caregivers and providers to support young children.
• Integrated Infant and early Childhood Behavioral Health Plan: Expanding access to early childhood behavioral health services.
• Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program: Integrating behavioral health into pediatric primary care.
• Hawaiʻi Island Behavioral Health Integration: Embedding mental health tools and practices in community health centers.

By collaborating with state agencies, community organizations, and dedicated professionals, Promising Minds not only enhanced care for Hawaiʻi’s youngest keiki, but also strengthened the systems that support them.

Generous Funding Partners

The Promising Minds initiative was made possible through generous support from the:

• Abraham & Annie Lau Children’s Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
• Baciu Cultural Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
• Ellen R. Ashton Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
• Friends of Hawai‘i Charities Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
• Gwenfread Elaine Allen Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
• Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation
• Hawai‘i Resilience Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
• Jerry James Bigansky Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
• Kōaniani Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
• Kubota Foundation Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
• Leslie S. King Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
• Oak Foundation
• Omidyar ʻOhana Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
• Primerica Foundation
• Rev. Takie Okumura Family Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
• Robert Emens Black Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• State of Hawaiʻi Department of Health
• Stupski Foundation
• Victoria S. & Bradley L. Geist Foundation
• Youth Matters Endowment Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation

 

Want to learn more? Contact Justina Acevedo-Cross, Senior Director of Community Strategy, Community Grants and Initiatives at jacevedo-cross@hcf-hawaii.org.