Created in 2007 by the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), The Pennsylvania Key implements the work and supports the policies developed and managed by OCDEL. Learn More. >
Created in 2007 by the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), The Pennsylvania Key implements the work and supports the policies developed and managed by OCDEL. Learn More. >For the past 20 years, since the office’s formation, OCDEL has been innovatively investing in cross-system professionals who serve infants, young children, their families, and the workforce that cares for them in a variety of ways. Most notably, OCDEL has supported the statewide Infant/early childhood mental health consultation program and has funded over 700 early childhood professionals through a Foundations of Infant Mental Health professional development course.
With support from the Preschool Development Grant, OCDEL is supporting a training initiative to help people better understand and use the DC:0-5™ diagnostic tool, which assesses and supports infants and toddlers (birth to age 5). This funding supports training from ZERO TO THREE for:
Overall, the goal is to build a cross-disciplinary workforce across Pennsylvania that understands very young children’s mental health and development and can provide better, more informed support to families and caregivers.
Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood
Pennsylvania is home to over half a million children ages 0 – 5[1]. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers can have mental health and developmental disorders that affect their social-emotional well-being, relationships, learning, and even physical health. Many children in Washington experience stressors such as poverty, racism, maltreatment, trauma, and toxic stress, which can increase their risk that IECMH problems may emerge.
When babies, toddlers, or preschoolers are experiencing emotional, relational, or behavioral issues, it’s important to identify these challenges with a developmentally appropriate lens and to connect families with high quality services. The DC:0-5™ is an important tool for this process, and ensuring that providers have knowledge and skills in the DC:0-5™ is a key step to supporting the social-emotional health of young children in our state.
Preschool Development Grant funding will support DC:0-5™ Training efforts across the Commonwealth during 2026, including:
Grant Disclosure: This project is supported by the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five Initiative (PDGB5), Grant # 90TP0096-01-00, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.
[1] Statistics on children, youth and families in Pennsylvania from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children Population
Very young children have limited ways to express when something is wrong, and they need adults in their lives who can recognize when they may need additional supports that are appropriate for them. The DC:0-5™ is an internationally accepted diagnostic system that identifies early challenges while considering how relationships, cultural, and environmental factors contribute to a child’s social and emotional well-being and developmental progress. This multiaxial structure emphasizes gathering comprehensive information that supports a fuller understanding of the child and their family within their unique context. Learning about this approach benefits providers by:
When a mental health assessment is developmentally informed, relationship-based, and contextually and culturally grounded, families can be connected with timely and appropriate services that can improve outcomes for their young children.
A strong Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) system that best supports young children and families requires collaboration between highly trained infant and early childhood professionals in a variety of roles and systems of care.
Whether you provide mental health assessments and diagnoses for young children or support their social-emotional health in other ways, DC:0-5™ training can benefit you! Training in the DC:0-5™ across disciplines and roles helps promote a shared language for IECMH that everyone can use.
DC: 0-5™ Clinical Training Benefits
DC:0-5™ Clinical Training is a 12-hour training for individuals whose scope of practice includes mental health assessment and diagnosis. This training can help you by:
DC:0-5™ Overview for Allied Professionals Training Benefits
Overview training is a shorter training that covers the background and the basics of the DC:0-5™. If you support the social-emotional well-being of young children and their families, this training can help you by:
How employers and organizations benefit from training providers in DC:0-5™
OCDEL would like to see Pennsylvania join a national movement to ensure that a strong network of IECMH services is available to young children and their families across the promotion, prevention, and intervention continuum. To achieve that, we need to build workforce knowledge, skills, and capacity to provide developmentally appropriate, relationship-based, and culturally responsive infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) services and supports across transdisciplinary fields.
Adopting DC:0-5™ as a standard of practice in your organization can be an effective strategy for improving:
Many states are pursuing this approach. In 2026, OCDEL is supporting allied and clinical professionals serving children from birth through age five with a limited number of free training opportunities on this important topic, with more to come in 2027. Make your organization more knowledgeable in IECMH by supporting your staff in applying to participate.
Why your staff should take DC:0-5™ Training
The Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC:0–5™) is a diagnostic tool for children from birth through age five that uses a developmentally informed, relationship-based, and contextually and culturally grounded approach.
Age-appropriate assessment and diagnosis are key to providing effective mental health supports for children from birth through age five. The DC:0-5™ is internationally accepted and recommended by both CMS and SAMHSA. It is also globally crosswalked with the ICD and the DSM-5.
Learning about this can benefit providers and programs by…
Very young children and their families interact with many different professionals in early learning, healthcare, mental health, and other systems of care. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers can have mental health and developmental disorders that affect their social-emotional well-being, relationships, learning, and even physical health. Many children in Pennsylvania experience stressors such as poverty, racism, maltreatment, trauma, and toxic stress, which can increase their risk that IECMH problems may emerge. If young children are experiencing emotional, relational, or behavioral issues, they can be treated if properly identified using criteria relevant to infant and early childhood development.
The overview of DC:0-5™ Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood is designed for Policy Leaders, Advocacy Groups, and Human Services Administrators promoting developmentally appropriate screening and assessment for infants and young children. The 90-minute training provides an overview of the background, approach, and content areas of DC:0-5™. It is particularly geared to support professionals in understanding the importance of developmentally informed, relationship-based, and contextually and culturally competent diagnostic practices.
Virtual through ZERO TO THREE’s learning platform. Limited to 100 seats.
REGISTER: elearn.zerotothree.org/p/dcover-berks-feb26
Participants will need to create a free eLearn account with ZERO TO THREE if they do not already have one to complete their registration.
If you cannot attend this session, there will be additional opportunities in 2027, as this initiative also includes a Training of Trainers strategy.
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The overview of DC:0-5™ Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood is designed for allied professionals who work with infants and young children. The training provides an overview of the background, approach, and content areas of DC:0-5™. It is particularly geared to support allied professionals in understanding the importance of developmentally informed, relationship-based, and contextually and culturally competent diagnostic practices. This 4-hour Overview Training does not prepare participants to assess or diagnose using the DC:0-5™ but rather facilitates an understanding of the elements of a diagnosis and the process undertaken to identify it.
Upon completing this training, participants will be able to:
Ideal for Early Intervention professionals (especially evaluators), Home Visitors, and MH Consultants.
Virtual through ZERO TO THREE’s learning platform. Limited to 60 seats per cohort.
CEU: Infant Toddler Training Hours, PQAS, and Act 48 hours will be provided by the Pennsylvania Key and/or Early Intervention Technical Assistance.
Apply by 3/2/26 by 11:59PM to be considered: forms.office.com/r/r0Rxr85ct1
If you are not chosen to attend one of these sessions, there will be additional opportunities in 2027, as this initiative also includes a Training of Trainers strategy.
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Clinical DC:0–5™ training is designed to support mental health professionals in developing in-depth knowledge of the DC:0-5™ and adopting developmentally informed, relationship-based, and contextually and culturally grounded approaches to diagnosis and assessment. Participants will learn about the multi-axial approach to diagnosis for children from birth through age five and understand the contents of each axis, including Axis I clinical disorders. Activities and case-based learning will support participants in utilizing the various tools included in DC:0-5™. Upon completing this clinically focused training, participants will be able to begin applying this nosology in their practice, subject to their license/role.
Upon completing this training, IECMH clinicians and advanced practitioners will be able to:
Ideal for Licensed clinicians who are responsible for diagnosing and treating infants and young children from birth to five and their families.
Virtual through ZERO TO THREE’s learning platform. Limited to 50 seats per cohort.
Each participant will be mailed a copy of the DC 0-5™ Manual, the DC 0-5™
Casebook, and the Linking Sensory Integration and Mental Health book.
Provided by ZERO TO THREE:
Apply by 2/27/26 by 11:59PM to be considered: forms.office.com/r/z6cwBbceAC
**Clinical training applicants can indicate their interest in being considered for the Fall 2026 Training of Trainers on the DC:0-5 to support sustainable training on this content across the Commonwealth. Trainers will be able to deliver both the overviews and the clinical training.
If you are not chosen to attend one of these sessions, there will be additional opportunities in 2027, as this initiative also includes a Training of Trainers strategy.
Brandy Fox
Director of Cross Systems IECMH Initiatives
brafox@pakeys.org