@chdi.org
Building a bridge to better behavioral health & well-being for children and families by advancing system, practice, and policy solutions - in Connecticut and beyond. Learn more about our work: chdi.org #YouthMentalHealth #ImpSci #EvidenceBasedPractice
The CT School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI) works with schools to reduce exclusionary discipline and increase access to care for students with behavioral health needs. Learn more: https://loom.ly/UpQ3ezk
#SchoolMentalHealth #RestorativePractices #CTSchools
Graphic welcoming Kasia Baca, PhD, MPH, MA, Senior Associate, featuring her professional headshot.
Graphic welcoming Mariah Brennan, MPA, Senior Data Analyst, featuring her professional headshot.
👋 We’re excited to introduce the newest members of our team: Dr. Kasia Baca and Mariah Brennan!
Both Kasia and Mariah are contributing to our co-occurring disorder initiatives, primarily Project CHAMPION.
#ChildrensMentalHealth #MeetTheTeam
Free, self-paced online course, "Overview of Developmental Disabilities," featuring two young girls with Down syndrome sitting together at school.
Learn to support children with developmental disabilities with confidence through ready-to-use tools and interventions. Plus, earn 2 free CECs!
Register here: https://loom.ly/1TY2ci8
#TrainingTuesday
School support staff and administrators are invited to join an info session for CONNECTing Schools to Care IV Students Initiative. School support staff session: March 5, 9:30-10:00 AM. Administrator session: March 12, 9:30-10:00 AM.
Find out how CONNECT can support your school through financial incentives, connection to community behavioral health supports, and more, and hear the perspectives of some of the 60 Connecticut schools already benefiting!
Join the Zoom for either session: https://loom.ly/W_myJ0c
#SchoolMentalHealth
Check your inbox for our February newsletter!
Haven't subscribed yet? Read it here: https://loom.ly/1D0wlzY
Sign up for future editions: https://loom.ly/ghj4kiY
#ChildrensMentalHealth #YouthMentalHealth #QualityImprovement #SchoolBasedDiversionInitiative
The MATCH treatment model offers flexible, evidence-based modules to meet each child’s unique needs.
New research from Jason Lang (CHDI) and Phyllis Lee examines how module selection and sequencing relate to outcomes. Read more: https://loom.ly/LN9b1os
#ResearchSky
This week's #TrainingTuesday course explores how race and cultural context influence access to behavioral health treatment. 🎓 Up to 6 free NASW CT-approved CECs available upon completing Parts 1 & 2.
Register here: https://loom.ly/i7fFuKc
#BehavioralHealth #HealthEquity #CECs
Title slide for carousel, 3 Black Trailblazers in Child & Family Mental Health
Photo of Hariette Pipes McAdoo, PhD, one of the first researchers to study Black middle-class families through a strength-based lens.
Photo of Inez Beverly Prosser, PhD, one of the first Black women to earn a PhD in psychology, whose dissertation examined the impact of segregation and racism on academic performance.
Photo of Robert Williams, PhD, who founded the Department of Black Studies at Washington University and was a founding member of the Association of Black Psychologists. He developed alternative IQ tests to demonstrate racial bias in standardized testing.
The work of Black scholars, clinicians, and thought leaders has shaped and strengthened behavioral health for generations of children and families. For #BHM100 this week, we're honoring three early changemakers who were among the first to confront racial bias in the field:
Screenshot of Jeana Bracey's testimony on 2/17 from CT-N alongside her quote "SBDI was developed to address exclusionary discipline in Connecticut, and it has delivered. We are keeping kids in classrooms and improving staff's capacity to support student well-being by improving practice and policy."
This week, CHDI's Jeana Bracey urged CT legislators to restore full funding for the CT School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI), which works with schools statewide to reduce student arrests, suspensions, and expulsions. Watch here: https://loom.ly/Yb1KtDU
#CTPolicy #CTSchools #SchoolMentalHealth
Title page for carousel "Black History Month Books for Kids". CHDI's logo is in the bottom left corner, graphic uses colors from the Pan-African flag.
List of books recommended for grades Pre-K to 4, including "Change Sings", "Many Shapes of Clay", "The ABCs of Black History", "Big", "All Because You Matter", and "Mindful Moves".
List of books recommended for grades 5-8, including "The Stars Beneath Our Feet", "Genesis Begins Again", "Ghost", "New Kid", "Swim Team", and "Brown Girl Dreaming".
List of books recommended for teens and young adults, including "Who Put This Song On?, "The Beautiful Struggle", "Me: Moth", "King of the Neuro Verse", "Monday's Not Coming", and "Black Birds in the Sky".
📚 Check out our Black History Month reads for kids - children’s books by Black authors that touch on mental health, resilience, history, and big feelings ⬇️
#BHM100 #BlackAuthors #ChildrensMentalHealth
Graphic promoting the Kids Mental Health Training, Gizmo's Pawesome Guide to Mental Health, developed by CHDI.
He may be small (and adorable), but Gizmo is doing big things for youth mental health!
🔗 Register for the training: https://loom.ly/509l5qY
🐾 Gizmo 4 Mental Health initiative: https://loom.ly/iaAqhxQ
#TrainingTuesday #YouthMentalHealth
Photos of CHDI's table and interactive activities at the Join Rise Be Summit, featuring a posterboard asking "What are your life goals?" filled with young adults' responses on sticky notes, and a table of prizes.
📸 From the Join Rise Be Young Adult Leadership Summit!
Meghan Flynn, PhD, and Ashley Nelson connected with young adults, hearing their goals and experiences with the DMHAS Young Adult Services (YAS) program—insights that fuel our Quality Improvement work!
#QualityImprovement #YoungAdultServices
Restorative practices can improve student behavior and performance, but putting them into practice isn’t always easy. Our issue brief breaks down what they are, why they work, and how schools can use them effectively.
#RestorativeJustice #SchoolDiscipline #TraumaInformedSchools
Graphic announcing the release of a new peer-reviewed publication, Young Children's Posttraumatic Stress (PTS) Symptom Improvement During ARC Treatment: Caregiver Functioning & Conjoint Sessions as Moderators, which was published in December 2025 in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Co-authored by CHDI's Jason Lang, PhD, and Kellie Randall, PhD.
New research co-authored by CHDI staff explores how caregiver PTS symptoms and shared ARC sessions affect trauma symptoms in young children.
📖 Read it here: https://loom.ly/qRVNekE
💡 Learn more about ARC: https://loom.ly/ewbCcSo
#ChildMentalHealthResearch #EvidenceBasedPractice #ResearchSky
Happy Black History Month!
Stay tuned as we recognize 100 years of Black leaders, initiatives, and work that have shaped children’s mental health and well-being.
#BHM #BHM2026
Our team had a blast creating beautiful heart-shaped charcuterie boards on Wednesday 💕🧀
Thank you to Michelle from Chell's Charcuterie for sharing your expertise, and shoutout to the CHDI Sunshine Committee for hosting this class!
#OfficeFun #WorkplaceWellbeing
Welcome graphic for Chad Williams, LCSW, Director of the FFT-FC Performance Improvement Center, featuring his headshot. The Hartford Business Journal Best Places to Work in Connecticut 2026 logo is in the bottom-left corner, and the CHDI logo is in the bottom-right corner.
Welcome graphic for Kalagena Sullivan, LMSW, Project Coordinator on SBIRT, Youth SUD FOCUS, CT-TREE, and Project CHAMPION, featuring her headshot. The Hartford Business Journal Best Places to Work in Connecticut 2026 logo is in the bottom-left corner, and the CHDI logo is in the bottom-right corner.
Welcome graphic for Angelica Sargent, Administrative Assistant, featuring her headshot. The Hartford Business Journal Best Places to Work in Connecticut 2026 logo is in the bottom-left corner, and the CHDI logo is in the bottom-right corner.
Welcome graphic for Alana Valdez, MA, Senior Communications Coordinator, featuring her headshot. The Hartford Business Journal Best Places to Work in Connecticut 2026 logo is in the bottom-left corner, and the CHDI logo is in the bottom-right corner.
CHDI excitedly welcomed four new team members in January: Chad, Kalagena, Angelica, and Alana. Together, they bring a broad range of experience and perspectives that will strengthen our work!
#ChildrensMentalHealth #BestPlacestoWorkCT #MeetTheTeam
Graphic for the free, self-paced online Trauma ScreenTIME Pediatric Primary Care Course. Subtitle: "Learn to identify and support patients who have experienced trauma." Link to kidsmentalhealthtraining.org at bottom.
Many #pediatric primary care providers see the value of trauma screening, but aren’t sure how to put it into practice.
This course helps make screening part of everyday care.
Register here: https://loom.ly/GWUlGoM
#TrainingTuesday
Graphic announcing the release of the January 2026 newsletter and highlighting what's inside the issue including ensuring children benefit from quality improvement initiatives, the latest evidence-based treatment research from the CHDI team, new staff and board members, and the featured training, System of Care.
Fresh off the press: our January 2026 newsletter is here!
➡️ Read it now: https://loom.ly/Khf0Avo
✉️ Sign up for future editions: https://loom.ly/y5OPB-s
#ChildrensMentalHealth #YouthMentalHealth #QualityImprovement #EvidenceBasedPractice #SystemOfCare
Welcome graphic for new board members Ruby and Beth, featuring headshots of both women and CHDI's logo in the bottom right corner.
🎉 CHDI recently welcomed two new board members, Ruby Goyal-Carkeek, MPH, and Beth Heinz, MHA, MSW!
💻 Learn more about Beth, Ruby, and the rest of our board on our website: https://loom.ly/UT4-kg8
#ChildrensMentalHealth #NonprofitBoard #MeetTheTeam
Free online course: Building a System of Care for Children, Youth, and Families from Kids Mental Health Training by CHDI
#TrainingTuesday is back! In this week's featured FREE course, explore principles behind building a coordinated #SystemofCare for children, youth, and families with behavioral health needs.
➡️ Register: https://loom.ly/K3o6vog
#CareCoordination #ChildrensMentalHealth
Access Health CT said it will launch an enrollment period Feb. 1 for eligible customers to enroll in coverage with the new state subsidy.
CHDI was proud to sponsor last week's Moving Beyond Implications: Research Into Policy Conference, hosted by @ctscholarsnetwork.bsky.social! We presented on the need to change #CT #Medicaid policy to allow reimbursement for family + youth #PeerSupport services. Learn more: https://loom.ly/hOTJ-0s
Honor the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at one of many community events being held across Connecticut today: https://loom.ly/kFwKf3g
Sweeping cuts to mental health and addiction programs worth more than $2 billion are being reversed. After a political backlash from Republicans and Democrats, the grant money will be restored. n.pr/3YFoZww
🙏We need your help!🙏
Mass grant terminations are back, this time at SAMHSA. We're tracking terminations to support advocacy and possible litigation.
Please report info on specific SAMHSA grant terminations here:
grant-witness.us/submit-samhs...
We'll have a tracker online ASAP. Spread the word!
NEW: The Trump admin unexpectedly canceled almost $2 billion in funding for substance use and mental health. Organizations today are forced to lay off staff and scale back lifesaving services, like opioid reversal medications for first responders. My latest:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
#Breaking: SAMHSA canceled up to $1.9 billion in grants without staff consultation, accelerating the mental health agency's deterioration under President Trump. www.statnews.com/2026/01/14/s...
Today's the last day to register to join us this Thursday!
RSVP here: chip.uconn.edu/moving-beyon...
#ResearchtoPolicy
Yes! Thanks for tagging the CT peeps!!
