Our Work
The Child Health and Development Institute (CHDI) advances effective and innovative system, practice, and policy solutions that improve behavioral health and well-being for children, youth, and families in Connecticut and beyond.
What we do
CHDI collaborates with policymakers, providers, educators, families, and other partners to transform child-serving systems, disseminate evidence-based and best practices, guide schools in supporting student mental health, and advance policy solutions to improve behavioral health care for children, youth, and their families.
Our Areas of Focus
Evidence-Based Practices
We improve the quality of behavioral health care for children and their families by identifying and disseminating evidence-based practices (EBPs) and supporting their delivery in real-world settings.


School Mental Health
We help schools and districts strengthen and improve the mental health and well-being of their students by building their capacity to prevent, identify, and address behavioral health concerns so students can reach their full potential.
Quality Improvement
We help ensure children’s behavioral health programs and services work as intended and operate with a continual focus on improving access, quality, and outcomes.


Systems and Policy
We bring together government, youth and family, provider, school, community, and research partners to identify system challenges and advance research-based solutions that improve care and outcomes for children, youth, and families.