Judith Meyers received the Priscilla Canny Research Award from Connecticut Voices for Children at the 2016 First for Kids Awards ceremony on November 9 at the Pond House in West Hartford. Meyers, along with award recipients Myra Jones Taylor and Sarah Eagan, were recognized for their working tirelessly on behalf of children in Connecticut. A fourth grade class from Pine Grove School in Avon was also recognized reminding us of that people of any age can make a difference when they set their minds to it. Click here for the press release and pictures from the event.

Congratulations to Jeana Bracey on her appointment to the Commissioner's Roundtable for Family and Community Engagement in Education. The purpose of this Roundtable is to advise the Commissioner of Education regarding policy and programmatic priorities to improve outcomes for all students and advance the State Board of Education's comprehensive plan for equity and excellence in Connecticut schools. Bracey is CHDI's Director for school and community initiatives.

Jeff Vanderploeg was the lead author on a journal article in Children and Youth Services Review. The article describes Connecticut's Mobile Crisis Intervention Service, EMPS, including the core components of the model, the characteristics of youth and families who are served by EMPS, and provider performance measures and outcomes. CHDI oversees quality improvement for EMPS through a contract with the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), which has resulted in improved service access and outcomes for children and families using EMPS. The article will be included in an upcoming issue of the journal. Click here for an online version.

The Juvenile Justice Information Exchange published an article by Jeff Vanderploeg titled "Better Integrating Behavioral Health, Juvenile Justice Systems Will Rescue More Kids". The article discusses ways Connecticut is helping meet the behavioral health needs of children by enhancing integration across child-serving systems. The article draws on lessons learned from recent efforts in Connecticut of which CHDI has been a part, such as the Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee, implementation of the Children's Behavioral Health Plan, CONNECT, and the School-Based Diversion Initiative.

More than 30 agencies and over 300 clinicians are using a measurement feedback and monitoring system called Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) Tracker. The tool is used to ensure children's mental health evidence-based practices are working as intended. Data from EBP Tracker show that children receiving evidence-based practices in Connecticut demonstrate significant improvements in symptoms and functioning. CHDI developed EBP Tracker in consultation with EBP model developers and trainers, and with KJMB Solutions, LLC (the software developer) through funding from DCF. The tool also features a searchable public directory of providers offering selected EBPs. Click here to learn more.

The Educating Practices In the Community ( EPIC) program has added three new trainings for Connecticut pediatric offices. The new trainings are:

• Keeping Children Healthy in Child Care - The training addresses the role of pediatric health providers in ensuring the health and safety of their patients in child care. It provides resources for improving health in child care as well as parent resources for selecting child care.

• Suicide Prevention: Improving Identification, Prevention and Care - The training provides information and statistics on youth suicide, as well as the attitudes and experiences that pediatricians have regarding youth suicide. Learn how to provide lethal means restriction counseling in order to reduce suicide risk and connect families to additional services.
   
• Domestic Violence and Children - The training provides information on domestic violence, prevalence of domestic violence in households with children, other maltreatment that may be occurring in addition to domestic violence, and the short and long-term effects it has on children.

EPIC offers 17 training topics to help pediatric practices across Connecticut better meet the needs of children. If you would like to schedule a training, please contact Maggy Morales (mamorales@uchc.edu).

CHDI is seeking one or more Data Analysts/Research Assistants to work on projects related to evidence-based practice dissemination and quality improvement initiatives in children's behavioral health. Click here for the job description and application process.