CHDI NEWSLETTER
May 2025
In this month's issue:
- CHDI launches new behavioral health workforce training portal
- Update on our pilot of a new Student Peer Support model
- Recap of the 17th Annual Evidence-Based Practice Conference
-
School Mental Health Resources
- Findings from peer-reviewed study of new school-based model to help students transitioning to middle school
- CHDI at the 2025 Training Institutes
-
Featured course: School Refusal
Enjoy the weekend!
| | News + Initiative Updates | | Kids Mental Health Training Courses Now Available | | |
We're excited to announce a new online education portal that provides convenient, trustworthy, evidence-based training on a variety of children’s behavioral health topics. Nine courses are currently available at no cost to clinicians, educators, pediatric providers, and other youth-serving professionals.
Developed by CHDI in partnership with the State of Connecticut, the Kids’ Mental Health Training Portal will strengthen and grow the children's behavioral health workforce in Connecticut and beyond.
Current course offerings include:
| All courses are fully online, self-paced, and taught by leading experts in the field. Most courses offer continuing education units/credits (CEUs) upon completion. We will continue to add new course offerings throughout the upcoming year. | | Starting with this month's newsletter, we'll be highlighting a different Kids Mental Health Training course each month in a new "Featured Training" section. Scroll down to learn more about this month's featured course: School Refusal. | | Students Piloting CHDI Peer Support Model Show Their Work | | | | Clockwise from top: The Bristol Eastern High School peer support team; a poster created by the student team at Lebanon Middle School; a postcard designed by students at Highville Charter School | | |
When we involve youth in developing mental health programming, it's a game-changer. That's one of the key takeaways from CHDI's first year piloting a new school-based peer support model with four Connecticut middle and high schools.
After completing training, student-led teams in Bristol, New Haven, and Lebanon were busy this spring creating a variety of resources and activities to educate their fellow students about mental health, fight stigma, and let peers know where to find support.
“My advice to other schools who plan to do this would be to give the students space. They need to be the driving force.”
- Davina Burke, Behavior Specialist, Highville Charter School (New Haven)
Hear more takeaways from the pilot schools and see photos of student-led activities:
| | 17th Annual Evidence-Based Practice Conference Draws Nearly 500 Attendees | | |
On May 20th, CHDI hosted the 17th Annual Evidence-Based Practice Conference, bringing together 450+ behavioral health providers, school professionals, state agency staff, and others working with CHDI and the State of Connecticut to strengthen EBPs in children's behavioral health care.
Following an inspiring keynote from Keith Cruise, PhD on the impact of complex trauma on youth behavior, attendees chose from 33 breakout sessions to enhance their EBP practice.
| | | |
We also recognized organizations and clinicians demonstrating outstanding performance in implementing an EBP model over the past year, including:
- BHCare
- Bridges Healthcare
- Charlotte Hungerford Hospital
- Child & Family Agency of Southeastern CT
- Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut
- Clifford Beers Community Care Center
- Community Child Guidance Clinic
- Community Health Resources (CHR)
- Community Mental Health Affiliates (CMHA)
- Newtown Public Schools
- Southwest Community Health Center
- United Community & Family Services
The EBP Conference is made possible with funding from the Connecticut Department of Children and Families and Connecticut Judicial Branch Court Support Services Division.
Watch this short video to see a few highlights from the day, or visit our website for a full recap + photos:
| | Sharing Opportunities for Connecticut Schools to Strengthen Student Mental Health Programming | | CHDI's Sarah White and Rebekah Behan presenting a "Behavioral Health Bootcamp" at CT School Counselor Association Conference, May 22 | | Sarah White sharing CONNECT IV information at State Education Resource Center (SERC) Conference, May 9 | | |
Even as Connecticut schools are busy planning end-of-the-year celebrations, they're already preparing for the 2025-26 school year. That's why our school mental health team has been traveling around Connecticut to spread the word about the no-cost training, technical assistance, and resources available to schools through the Connecting Schools to Care IV Students (CONNECT IV) initiative.
Get support to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate your school mental health programming. Funding incentives are available based on each school or district’s level of participation. Reach out to learn how CONNECT IV can support your school mental health goals in the 2025-26 school year!
| | CHDI serves as the statewide Coordinating Center for CONNECT IV, a four-year grant awarded to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) from the U.S. Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Grant-funded partners include DCF, CHDI, Carelon Behavioral Health, FAVOR, Inc., and The Consultation Center at Yale. | | CHDI to Sponsor 2025 Training Institutes | | |
Look for CHDI at this year's Training Institutes: Building a World Where Young People Thrive! CHDI is a proud sponsor, exhibitor, and presenter of the conference, which is set for July 8-10 in National Harbor, MD.
The Training Institutes - hosted by our friends at the Innovations Institute at UConn School of Social Work - brings together experts and leaders from across the country who are working to transform public systems, programs, and services for children, youth, young adults, and their families.
| | | |
“We are excited to join thousands of others at the 2025 Training Institutes who are working towards the same goal of building a brighter future for youth and families.” - Jeff Vanderploeg, CHDI President & CEO
Our staff and partners are planning a series of engaging presentations and workshops focused on strengthening systems of care, advancing comprehensive school mental health, disseminating evidence-based practices, and applying quality improvement processes to ensure optimal outcomes. Stay tuned for additional details on where you can find CHDI at the conference - and register to join us!
| | Peer-Reviewed Publication: A New Intervention to Support Students Transitioning to Middle School | | |
The transition to middle school can be difficult, yet few evidence-based interventions exist to support students with impairing anxiety during this transition.
CHDI's Jamie LoCurto, PhD recently co-authored a study with UConn's Golda Ginsburg, Kevin Rodriguez, Adam Panek, and Grace Chan assessing a novel Tier 2 school-based intervention (TEAMSS) for incoming middle school students with anxiety.
Read about their findings in the May 2025 issue of School Mental Health:
| | | New Online Course: Addressing School Refusal (2 CEUs) | | |
School refusal is an extreme pattern of avoiding school that can cause problems for a child. This free online course introduces the four functional profiles of school refusal and strategies to address common obstacles to school attendance.
This self-paced, on-demand course is taught by Dr. Scott Hannan, clinical psychologist at the Anxiety Disorders Center at the Institute of Living / Hartford Hospital. It is appropriate for anyone working with children, including behavioral health clinicians, school staff, pediatric primary care providers, caseworkers, and others.
| | | | |
