CHDI identified and defined our core values through a collaborative process with our staff and board. The process was guided by our participation in the 2020 National Child Traumatic Stress Network's Virtual Summit Initiative, “Being Anti-Racist is Central to Trauma-Informed Care: From Awareness to Action.”
CHDI’s core values of anti-racism, respect, accountability, collaboration, and equitable action have been intentionally and collaboratively designed to reflect the culture we strive to embody and the ways that we approach our work. We aspire to uphold these values in order to transform our organization as well as the systems, practices, and policies that promote the health and well-being of children.
Anti-Racism as a Core Value
CHDI aspires to apply an anti-racist lens to all that we do so that we can one day live in a state where racism does not play a role in impacting children’s health and well-being. We acknowledge the centuries of racism and all related forms of oppression that have shaped our country’s history and recognize that historical and present-day racism is a type of trauma that impacts both children and their families. We recognize that anti-racism is a conscious effort and are working to identify and dismantle racism in our internal operations and the external systems and services we seek to improve.
Respect as a Core Value
We demonstrate respect for ourselves and each other within CHDI and those we work with externally including organizations, communities, and families. Our policies and practices aim to foster a healthy environment. CHDI will use inclusive and accessible language in our work, and transparent reporting of data, to empower and honor the dignity of every child and family involved in children’s behavioral health and other child-serving systems across Connecticut.
Accountability as a Core Value
CHDI aims to be accountable to the children and families of Connecticut, our staff, our Board, our partners, and our funders. Our value for accountability takes multiple forms, including: accountability for the achievement of our strategic plan, the strategies and outcomes of our work, and the ethical behavior of our employees.
Collaboration as a Core Value
CHDI values collaboration to achieve a collective vision shared by many system partners. We believe in teamwork and power sharing at all levels of our organization. We seek to improve collaboration with public agencies, policy-makers, researchers, providers, community-based organizations, and families who are directly impacted in order to make evidence- and community-based decisions to improve the systems, practices, and policies that impact children’s health and well-being.
Equitable Action as a Core Value
We strive to take bold action to make equitable improvements to the systems, practices, and policies that impact children’s health and well-being. In order to do so, we know that we must foster authentic engagement across our organization, with our partners, and with the community at large. We believe that such action can only enhance the larger child-serving system so that inequity and injustice no longer impede the opportunities afforded to children and their families. We envision this to be a living document that is incorporated into our daily work.
May 12, 2021
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