All health is tied to emotional and behavioral health. To improve population health, we need innovative approaches to healthcare that target emotional and behavioral health. The Vermont Family Based Approach (VFBA) is a healthcare paradigm that aims to improve population health by improving emotional and behavioral health. Because the family is a powerful health-promoting social institution, the VFBA also aims to shift the delivery of healthcare to the family level. This article introduces the VFBA, and presents the main empirical findings that informed the approach in the context of the early childhood period.