In his annual year-end letter, CHDI President and CEO Jeff Vanderploeg, Ph.D shared highlights from fiscal year 2023 and recognized our staff, board of directors, funders and partners for working together to strengthen the children's behavioral health system in Connecticut and beyond. Here's an excerpt:

"I am deeply grateful to our staff, Board of Directors, state agency and federal funders, providers, schools, and many other partners for their collaboration in supporting children with behavioral health needs and their families...

At CHDI, we join hands with the many others who believe, as we do, that this work is important and achievable."

We also released our annual infographic of CHDI's key outcomes and activities.

Each year, CHDI publishes a range of reports, briefs, and resources on key children's behavioral health topics. In case you missed them, we're revisiting some of our most-viewed publications and resources from fiscal year 2023 (in no particular order):

During adolescence, a growing sense of identity and autonomy often results in youth seeking more support from peers. Evidence suggests that, when implemented as part of a Comprehensive School Mental Health (CSMH) approach, peer supports can promote student well-being and protect against a range of behavioral health challenges.

Our latest Issue Brief, "Students Helping Students: School-Based Peer Support Programs Enhance Student Well-Being," examines peer support models as an innovative strategy schools can use to support student behavioral health and improve school climate within a CSMH approach.

CHDI's Jason Lang, Ph.D. and Jeff Vanderploeg, Ph.D. recently co-authored an article in Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health examining the types of treatment and outcomes for children with adjustment disorders in outpatient clinics. Co-authors included former CHDI postdoctoral fellow Phyllis Lee, now with Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU), as well as ECSU colleague Madison Bodley and Timothy Marshall of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families.

The study used data from outpatient mental health clinics across Connecticut to examine 1) intake differences between children with adjustment disorders and other common diagnoses, 2) how often children with adjustment disorders received cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT, the recommended evidence-based treatment for these disorders), and 3) outcome differences among children who received CBT and those who received other treatments.

A December 4th article in The Conversation highlighted a recent study by Drexel University that involved a cost-benefit analysis showing the financial benefit of a school-based diversion program in Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program (PPSDP) is a school-based, pre-arrest diversion initiative. The Drexel study showed that the program resulted in better, more equitable student outcomes and saved the city millions of dollars. CHDI's Dr. Jeana Bracey (a "school responder model" expert and lead for Connecticut's School-Based Diversion Initiative) helped PPSDP partners strengthen the initiative's behavioral health components in 2018.

Connecticut’s School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI) emphasizes addressing behavioral health needs as an alternative to exclusionary discipline and arrest. SBDI has helped 73 schools across the state significantly reduce arrests and connect students to behavioral health services.

Alice Kraiza, MPH and Heather Solak, MA (pictured) presented on how the CBITS and Bounce Back Initiative resulted in more equitable outcomes for Connecticut's diverse youth.

Rebekah Behan, Mackenzie Wink, Ph.D., and Rosie Breindel, MA, along with Matthew Madruga from Bristol Public Schools, shared their experiences developing Comprehensive School Mental Health systems across Connecticut.

Fran Rabinowitz, Executive Director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS), joined the CHDI Board of Directors earlier this month.

Earlier this month, Senior Project Coordinator Yecenia Casiano, MS discussed approaches and opportunities for states to expand youth diversion programs (such as Connecticut's School-Based Diversion Initiative) as a panelist on a virtual convening by The Council of State Governments (CSG).

The CSG is developing customized, state-level data tools and a national report sharing key findings, recommendations, and best practices for state and local system transformation on diversion and other juvenile justice approaches.

CHDI is now accepting applications for a one-year postdoctoral fellowship to begin in summer 2024. The Fellow will work on one or more initiatives focused on improving children’s behavioral health in Connecticut, with an emphasis on working at the systems, policy, and practice levels.

The Child Health and Development Institute (CHDI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing effective and integrated system, practice, and policy solutions that result in equitable and optimal behavioral health and well-being for children, youth, and families in Connecticut and beyond.

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