Connecting Children and Families to Care

BUILDING A SYSTEM OF CARE IN CONNECTICUT

In 2014, while the Behavioral Health Plan for Children was being developed, Connecticut was simultaneously awarded a federal grant to integrate child-serving systems into a “network or system of care” to equally and effectively serve all children and families. This system of care grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has funded the Connecticut Network of Care Transformation (CONNECT) initiative since 2014. 

The work of CONNECT built upon previous efforts (such as WrapCT*) to bridge gaps in services and create an integrated system of care so families can access the services they need in a timely and effective manner.

CONNECT has fostered partnerships between families, state agencies, and service providers at the local, regional, and state levels and established on-going CONNECTing Children and Families to Care workgroups. The workgroups are part of the State’s sustained effort to improve children’s behavioral health in accordance with Connecticut’s Behavioral Health Plan for Children.

Additionally, CONNECT supports health equity planning for Connecticut's OPCC network and other child-serving organizations by providing free training and technical assistance. Download the Assistance and Support Menu or self-guided toolkit, "Advancing Health Equity and Racial Justice in Children's Behavioral Health."

CHDI serves as the statewide Coordinating Center for CONNECT. For more information about CONNECTing Children and Families to Care, CONNECT, or WrapCT, contact Jeana Bracey.

*WrapCT was funded in 2006 to help communities provide comprehensive mental health care to children and families through the Wraparound evidence-based service delivery model. CHDI coordinated the consultation, training, workforce development, technical assistance, and evaluation components of this Wraparound Initiative. The Wraparound model has been sustained statewide through care coordination services and local system of care community collaboratives.