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Connected Beginnings Scholars

The Infant-Parent Training Institute

The Infant-Parent Training Institute (IPTI) is a post-graduate certificate program in Infant Mental Health. It is designed for experienced professionals who wish to broaden their knowledge and develop skills specific to clinical work with infants and families. The IPTI offers an integration of neuro-developmental and psychodynamic approaches to parent-infant psychotherapy.

IPTI Connected Beginnings Scholars meet regularly with a Connected Beginnings consultant to integrate their training experience into their practice. Each scholar provides pro-bono consultation in the field, applying the content of the supported training to a non-profit child and family-serving organization, within one year of receipt of the scholarship. Past Connected Beginnings Scholars are already working to make a difference the field.

Scholarship Requirements

Each Connected Beginning Scholar must meet the following requirements:

  1. Provide proof of acceptance in the Infant-Parent Training Institute of Jewish Family and Children’s Services.
  2. Be employed 20 hours per week or more in an agency or consultation/therapy practice serving infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers. This may include Early Head Start, Head Start, a child care center, family child care setting, Early Intervention or home visiting program, or mental health setting including group or private practice. The applicant must also submit a letter, signed by the applicant’s program director that includes organizational name, address, and phone number, endorsing participation in the training and indicating an understanding and acceptance of the requirements of the training. Applicants in a group or individual mental health practice must provide a description of the practice and letter from a supervisor or colleague.
  3. Submit a completed application and agreement by August 15th for programs beginning in September or 30 days prior to the beginning of trainings taking place from September - June. Applications will be reviewed and applicants notified of scholarship awards on a "rolling" basis. Applicants must demonstrate an interest in continuing a career in or related to early childhood mental health and must indicate how the supported training is expected to impact their professional development as a service provider, supervisor or consultant. Signed Application Agreement must be attached to the application form.

The Scholarship Awards

Scholarship awards for Connected Beginnings Scholars are paid directly to the agency/institution providing the training. The total amount of this scholarship may vary depending on availability of funds and agreements with the sponsoring institution.

Scholars are mentored by Connected Beginnings’ professional staff members and have the opportunity to meet with other Scholars to support integration of training experiences into professional practice. Each Connected Beginnings Scholar is required to develop a project culminating in a pro-bono training and/or consultation. Projects must apply the content of the supported training with a non-profit child and family serving community organization. This pro-bono training/consultation must occur within a year of receipt of the scholarship. Scholarship recipients are expected to provide at least 10 hours of training/consultation for each year of supported training. Scholars are also asked to write a brief biography and a summary of their pro-bono project which will be posted on the Connected Beginnings Website.

Current Scholars

Please note that the biographies of scholars listed below were current at the time of their Connected Beginnings Scholarship.

  • Beth Harrison, MA, LICSW, a social worker and team leader at Thom Mystic Valley Early Intervention Program, invisions incorporating what she learns in the IPTi Fellowship program to enhance her work both in clinical practice and supervison, as she deepens her own knowledge and practice.

  • Karen Seniuk, MSW, LICSW, CEIS, a social worker and team leader at Thom Mystic Valley Early Intervention Program, plans on incorporating what she learns in the IPTI Fellowship program in her EI home visiting work. She hopes to become more sensitive to the ways in which mental health needs impact child development and the experiences of the entire family. Karen is also an IN-TIME trainer with CBTI.

Past Scholars

September 2009 to June 2011

  • Barbara Fearing, MSW, LCSW, had worked in early childhood education, parent coaching and child/family mental health for 27 years when she became an IPTI Fellow and CBTI Scholar. Barbara’s main area of interest focused on interest supporting the relationships between young children and their families.
  • Karen Garber, a native of Venezuela and a bilingual clinician, worked on improving access to infant mental health services for families in recovery.
  • Michelle Homer, RN, M.S., CEIS, a nurse at Thom Charles River Early Intervention Program, focused on her interest in infant mental health and working with families experiencing homelessness, during her IPTI Fellowship years.

September 2007 to June 2009

  • Loraine Araujo, a native of Brazil, worked as a trilingual clinician at the Parents Program at Newton Community Service Center (NCSC). serving primarily immigrant families from Latin America who have experienced trauma.
  • April Haefner Maloney, MS, CEIS, Assistant Director of Thom Mystic Valley Early Intervention Program, oversaw services for infants, toddlers and families and supervises Early Intervention staff and clinical teams. Before entering the Early Intervention field, April worked with infants and toddlers in child welfare and child care.
  • Shelah R.E. Corey, MS, MSW, LCSW, a social worker with Thom Springfield Infant Toddler Services, worked with her agency's Early Intervention Partnership Program, serving women experiencing high-risk pregnancies.

September 2006 to June 2007

  • Mary E. (Meme) English, Ed.D. was the behavioral health manager for a clinical practice within Commonwealth Care Alliance, Inc, a community health center in Springfield, MA. She was the lead clinician in a project to implement depression screening of mothers in “well-baby” visits.
  • Annastatia (Stacey) K. Keane, M.S. worked as Coordinator of the Thom Boston Regional Consultation Program in Boston, MA, providing consultation and training to families and providers in the Boston Metro area.