Child Health and Development Institute (CHDI)

Mental Health care - in addition to their physical Health, children's positive Development depends on their social and emotional well-being. Chdi focuses on prevention, screening, early intervention and providing access to quality children's mental Health services and trauma-informed care for children with behavioral Health needs. We collaborate with state agencies, community-based providers, schools, and academic institutions, and family advocates to identify, implement, and evaluate effective models of treatment, and have developed an approach to ensure these research-based models work in real-world settings, resulting in better outcomes for children and families. Our work has resulted in more than 14,000 children receiving an evidenced-based treatment for trauma and other behavioral Health conditions since 2008. We have helped Connecticut build trauma-informed systems of care, develop and advance a model of comprehensive school mental Health, and advanced statewide behavioral Health policy and system changes so children can thrive. Chdi co-developed and coordinates the Connecticut school-based diversion initiative (sbdi), which helps schools identify and connect students with behavioral Health concerns to community-based services, decreasing the likelihood of suspension, expulsion or arrest, and promoting better academic outcomes and overall well-being.