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In this month's issue:
- Empowering young adult entrepreneurs at YASBIZ Mini Marketplace event
- Register for our 2026-27 Behavioral Health Policy speaker series
- Partner spotlight: how CT-AIMH is working to strengthen early childhood behavioral health care
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Featured Kids Mental Health Training: Trauma ScreenTIME Early Childhood
- Reminder: watch your inbox for the 2026 CT licensed behavioral health workforce survey
...and more. Plus, we're hiring!
| | News and Initiative Updates | | Connecticut Licensed Behavioral Health Workforce Survey: View 2025 Results and Look Out for the 2026 Survey | |
Our annual survey of the licensed behavioral health workforce in Connecticut works to narrow the state's knowledge gap regarding who is providing behavioral health services, in what settings, and the strengths and challenges they are experiencing.
The data is used to promote support for workforce recruitment, retention, diversity, and competencies. It supports the work of the Children's Behavioral Health Workforce Center for Connecticut as well as the System Dashboard.
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Attention licensed providers: 2026 marks the third year we're conducting this survey, and it's currently underway! We encourage all licensed providers in the state to check their email for a survey link from survey@chdi.org. Each week the survey is open, five respondents will be randomly selected for a $25 gift card.
Please reach out to akelly@chdi.org if you have not yet received the survey or have any questions.
| Empowering and Uplifting Young Adult Entrepreneurs Through Creativity and Connection | | |
The October 28th event drew over $1,800 in sales for 14 young adult entrepreneurs and brought together over 95 attendees, including young adults, CHDI staff, case managers, and state and community partners. Participating entrepreneurs represented 10 YAS provider sites across the state.
Special thanks to our YAS Quality Improvement Project team—Ashley Nelson, Katie Newkirk, PhD, Kellie Randall, PhD, and Meghan Flynn, PhD—along with the CHDI Sunshine Committee for organizing this special and unique event.
| | How Your School Can Strengthen Student Mental Health: Join Us for CONNECT IV Virtual Office Hours | | |
Join us for an upcoming 30-minute virtual session to learn about CONNECTing Schools to Care IV Students (CONNECT IV), a federally funded initiative designed to help schools strengthen their behavioral health supports for students at no cost.
Your school can gain financial incentives for completing grant activities, expert support to enhance internal behavioral health systems, and stronger connections to community behavioral health providers and family supports. There are flexible participation options based on your current needs, goals, and capacity.
Bring your questions, bring your team, and see what CONNECT IV has to offer!
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Upcoming Dates (all sessions from 9:00 - 9:30 AM):
| | Learn How to Impact Children's Behavioral Health Policy in our New Monthly Speaker Series | | |
Want to learn more about how to use your expertise to inform public policy at the state level? Join CHDI and our partners at Yale and UConn Health for a free virtual speaker series aimed at building understanding of the children's behavioral health policymaking process in Connecticut.
Now through summer 2027, these monthly didactic-style sessions will feature expert guest speakers - researchers, advocates, clinicians, policy leaders, and other distinguished guests - presenting on a topic related to children's behavioral health, with plenty of time for discussion and Q&A.
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November 24th Session: Understanding the Connecticut Legislative Process
Melissa Biggs, Esq., is a partner with Connecticut government relations and lobbying firm DePino, Nũnez, and Biggs, LLC.
She will discuss the upcoming state legislative session, including key dates, procedures, and committees, tips for engaging legislators, the role of a lobbyist, and 2027 legislative priorities in youth behavioral health.
| | The October speaker was CHDI President & CEO Jeff Vanderploeg, PhD, who was a lead author of Connecticut’s Behavioral Health Plan for Children. He discussed the System of Care framework, Connecticut’s policy landscape for children's behavioral health, approaching policy through an equity lens, and how to get started in children’s behavioral health policy work. | | |
All sessions will take place via Zoom on the fourth Tuesday of each month from 12-1 (unless otherwise noted). Join us for one session or the entire series!
Visit our website to see the full 2026-27 schedule, view recordings of past sessions, and register:
| | Publications and Resources | | Quick Facts: Expanding Family and Youth Peer Support Services in Connecticut | | |
This fact sheet summarizes key findings from CHDI's recent report, "I've Been There": How Connecticut Can Expand Family and Youth Peer Support Services.
Readers can use the fact sheet to:
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Inform policy and budget decisions: Use as a briefing document or a source of accurate figures for meetings, hearings, and testimony
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Guide practice and program planning: Understand where family and youth peer support fits into care, build partnerships, and spot gaps
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Align advocacy and partnerships: Establish shared talking points, or utilize for grant proposals and outreach
| | October Featured Course: Trauma ScreenTIME Early Childhood | | | | |
Symptoms of trauma exposure in very young children can be hard to spot without the right skills.
This month's featured Kids Mental Health Training helps early childhood professionals identify traumatic stress in children ages 0-6.
Appropriate for teachers, home visitors, clinicians, case managers, child welfare workers, and more, learners will gain the tools to conduct screenings and use the results.
This free course also includes infant-specific (ages 0-2) considerations for trauma screening.
| | This program has been approved for 4.25 Continuing Education Credit Hours by the National Association of Social Workers, CT, and meets the continuing education criteria for CT Social Work Licensure renewal. | | | | |
Kids Mental Health Training is an online learning portal that provides convenient, evidence-based training on a variety of children’s behavioral health topics for clinicians, educators, pediatric providers, and other youth-serving professionals.
All KMHT courses are offered at NO cost and most offer continuing education credits.
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Connecticut Association for Infant Mental Health (CT-AIMH)
CT-AIMH is Connecticut's statewide association for infant and early childhood mental health, working to enhance care through advocacy, policy, education, and workforce support. They offer professional development and educational resources, including a competency-based credential that recognizes training and experience in culturally-sensitive, relationship-focused practice, as well as a membership for child-serving professionals.
CT-AIMH is the organization behind the Big Work Happens Here campaign, bringing the state together to support the mental health of children ages 0-6.
As part of Big Work Happens Here, CT-AIMH is hosting the 2026 Team Baby Summit, Connecticut's Inaugural Infant Mental Health Summit.
| | | Staff News and Highlights | | Highlighting the Role of Data in Quality Improvement at CrisisCon | | |
On October 6th, Senior Associate Kayla Theriault, MPH, and Senior Project Coordinator II Yecenia Casiano, MS, presented on our Quality Improvement work for Connecticut's Mobile Crisis Intervention Services (MCIS) at CrisisCon.
MCIS provides 24/7 mobile mental health crisis services to all children and youth statewide. CHDI serves as the Performance Improvement Center for MCIS, ensuring high-quality services and outcomes.
Accessing MCIS
- Call 211 and press 1 for crisis, then press 2 for children
- Call or text 988
Quality Improvement Resources
| | A Warm Send Off to Jack Lu | | | | |
We're wishing a fond farewell to Director of Implementation Jack Lu, PhD.
Jack first joined CHDI in 2014 and spent two years coordinating implementation and quality improvement work for MATCH and Mobile Crisis. He returned in 2019 to lead dissemination and implementation of evidence-based treatment initiatives, later focusing specifically on developing our area of work on substance use care for youth with co-occurring disorders. During his tenure with CHDI, he contributed to countless peer-reviewed publications, briefs, and research, secured multiple federal grants, and worked with dozens of providers, partners, and families across Connecticut.
| | We are extremely grateful for Jack's nine years of hard work and dedication at CHDI, and wish him all the best in his new role at the Innovations Institute at UConn. | | Looking to make a meaningful and lasting impact in children’s behavioral health? Join one of the "Best Places to Work in Connecticut"! CHDI offers a flexible, hybrid work schedule, competitive salaries, generous paid time off, and full benefits. | | |
Director of Substance Use Services Implementation
The Director will lead and expand statewide initiatives to improve youth substance use and co-occurring disorder prevention and intervention services across Connecticut. Responsibilities include overseeing projects, contracts, staffing, and reporting, contributing to publications and policy briefs, and pursuing new grant and contract funding.
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Senior Project Coordinator +
Project Coordinator
Substance Use and Co-occurring Disorder Initiatives
These roles will support CHDI's growing youth substance use and co-occurring disorder initiatives by focusing on evidence-based practice dissemination and quality improvement projects, including Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT), as well as youth engagement, community health prevention, and early intervention.
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