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Steps to Earn Your Endorsement

*NEW – 2022* How to Register on EASy
(Password: babies123)

Let INfancy Onward guide you through the process.
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A member of our staff will contact you and guide you on the next steps.

  • Complete a Preliminary Application on EASy, the Endorsement Application System – https://easy.mi-aimh.org/infancy-onward.
  • Join INfancy Onward as a Professional Member – this is completed during the Preliminary Application process on EASy.
  • Pay the professional membership fee ($50) as well as the application fee that coincides with the Category for which you are applying.
    **please be certain you are applying for the appropriate Category as INfancy Onward cannot issue a refund for application fees. If you are unsure which Category is best for you, please contact the Endorsement Coordinator via email: Endorsement@infancyonward.org.
  • INfancy Onward will review your preliminary application and will verify you have paid both the application and membership fees.
  • You will receive a username and password to EASy. You will also receive an electronic copy of the Competency Guidelines as well as other documents that will guide you as you work to complete your full application.
  • Complete the full online portfolio on EASy. Everything is completed electronically.
  • When everything is complete, submit your application for review. Submission deadlines are posted on the login page of EASy.
  • Pay the processing fee that coincides with the Category for which you are applying.
  • If approved, you are finished with the process and have officially earned Endorsement®, with the exception of I/ECMHS and I/ECMHM who will move on to take the written exam.

Endorsement Exam

The Endorsement examination is generally offered two times each year, once in March and once in September. The exam will be proctored in one primary location.  Permission can be sought to have the exam proctored in an additional location.  Requests to determine an alternate exam site need to be made at least 10-weeks prior to the exam date.  Requests are submitted in writing to the Endorsement Coordinator.  INfancy Onward will offer the exam at the primary location and at no more than two alternate locations at any given exam administration.  Exams administered at an alternate location must occur on the same date as the primary exam administration.  $50 shipping and handling fee be added for each applicant whose request to take the exam in any location other than the primary site has been approved.

Applicants must receive passing scores on both Part One and Part Two of the exam to earn Infant or Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement. A passing score on Part One (the multiple-choice section) of the exam is 80%.  In order to carefully protect the exam materials, applicants will not receive specific feedback related to the questions missed on Part One.  Applicants who do not receive a passing score on Part Two of the exam (response to vignettes/scenarios) will be provided with feedback based on the exam reviewers’ remarks.

Regardless of outcome, all who take the exam will be provided with feedback based on the exam reviewers’ remarks.  The feedback is offered in the spirit of promoting professional development and can help guide selection of specialized in-service training opportunities and continuing reflective supervision or consultation experiences.

Resources:

Annual Renewal

In order to keep your place on the Active Endorsement Registry and maintain use of the IMH-E® or ECMH-E® credential, INfancy Onward requires: Renewal of both the Endorsement and membership are due on December 1st of each year*. Providers can renew both by logging into their EASy account. 

  • Ongoing membership in INfancy Onward
  • Participation in 15 clock hours of annual training experiences that promote infant and early childhood mental health
  • 12 clock hours annually of RSC, if required.

*New providers are not required to renew until the following year after earning their credential. For example, if you earn your Endorsement® at any time during the year 2020, you are not required to renew until December 1, 2021. 

If for some reason, a provider is unable to meet the training requirement, the provider may apply for Inactive Status. This simply states the provider was unable to earn the required amount of training but would still like to keep their credential. The provider is still required to renew and maintain membership in INfancy Onward in order to be granted Inactive Status. Please inquire with INfancy Onward for more details. 

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Inactive Endorsement Status

Inactive Status: Endorsed professional continues with on-going requirements for membership and 5 hours of specialized in-service training annually but is unable to fulfill the full training requirement of 15 hours and/or is unable to receive 12 hours of RSC.  All categories of Endorsement are eligible for Inactive Status. 

Endorsed professionals who move to Inactive Status will be removed from the Endorsement Registry and are no longer able to use the IMH-E® or ECMH-E® credential after their name or promote themselves as actively endorsed or as a provider of reflective supervision/consultation.  A Reactivation Application, along with a $25 reactivation fee, can be submitted at any time to return to the Endorsement Registry.  For those who have been sanctioned by a licensing board, the Reactivation Application can be submitted only after sanctions have been lifted along with documentation of such from the licensing board.

Reinstatement of Endorsement Lapses

If a practitioner fails to update membership in the INfancy Onward and/or annual Endorsement renewal hours by January 31st of any year, they will be removed from the Endorsement Registry.

If removed from the Endorsement Registry, a professional must:

  • Register on EASy
  • Add education, work, in-service training, and RSC experiences that have been accrued since removal from the registry
  • Get three updated reference ratings (via EASy)
  • Pay Endorsement Processing Fee

Reinstatement also requires a current membership with INfancy Onward (or another IMH association).