State of Connecticut Behavioral Health Plan for Children
CHDI has played an integral role in developing and implementing the state of Connecticut's legislatively mandated Behavioral Health Plan for Children.
The Public Act 13-178
The 2013 legislative session ended with the General Assembly passing Public Act 13-178, which directed the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to produce a children’s behavioral health plan for the state of Connecticut by October 2014. The Act requires the plan to:
- Be comprehensive and integrated
- Meet the behavioral health needs of all children in the state
- Prevent or reduce the long-term negative impact of children’s mental, emotional and behavioral health issues
CHDI facilitated the development of this plan with funding and support from a public/private partnership including DCF, the Connecticut Health Foundation, the Children’s Fund of Connecticut and the Grossman Family Foundation.
CHDI, along with external consultants, solicited input from a diverse group of families, youth, providers, advocates, and other stakeholders through:
- Open forums (open to the public)
- Advisory committee meetings
- Facilitated discussions
- Family, youth and young adult community conversations
- A website and online input form (also downloadable)
In preparing the final Connecticut Behavioral Health Plan for Children, CHDI worked with key stakeholders to collect, analyze and synthesize relevant research, background documents, reports and other data.
Plan4Children
CHDI created the www.plan4children.org website to provide information about the plan and opportunities for families, community members, mental health experts and other interested people to provide feedback.
Kids Mental Health Info
Information and resources for parents, caregivers, and providers about caring for children's mental health.