Early childhood mental health initiatives exist throughout the literature. As highlighted in the previous section of this paper, early interventions have the capacity to establish better mental health outcomes for foster children, particularly under the age of six. According to Bass et al. (2004), early childhood development programs, such as those implemented in a Chicago preschool, have shown a lower rate of maltreatment for at-risk children. As previously discussed, maltreatment and mental health are linked, so their program has the ability to prevent mental health problems for younger children and decrease the exacerbation of mental health problems among those in foster care. These initiatives primarily target the interpersonal level of the ecological model. A common program found in the literature was the use of early childhood home visits. The basis of such programs includes promoting the “…safe growth and development of infants and children in 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 helping achieve positive health outcomes for parents and young children. According to the 2004 Ontario Healthy Children (HBHC) Program Assessment of Healthy Children, children seen scored higher on many measures of child development, and parents had greater confidence in their abilities and a stronger bond with the community services available to them. The focus on the strengths and positives within these at-risk families is noteworthy for the mental health well-being of both parent and child, hence the possibility of preventing foster care. Although the evidence is halfway through the paper (as discussed above), paying attention to the need for such an intervention is a step in the right direction. Furthermore, Wotherspoon, Laberge, and Pirie (2008) indicate that “…the rapid increase in the number of consultation requests from our child welfare partners…” (p. 391) demonstrates the positive benefits of their CMHC program. This program built a relationship with Child Welfare and included opportunities for practitioners to improve their knowledge (Wotherspoon, Laberge, & Pirie, 2008) about child development, mental health, and the implications of trauma. As highlighted in Bass et al. (2004), policies and practices for child welfare agencies vary among different states, so their contribution to alleviating and preventing mental health problems in foster children is unbalanced and difficult to measure in terms of success..