Trauma ScreenTIME Course: Child Welfare. For kids in the child welfare system, early trauma identification can change everything.
Learn how to screen for trauma in the #ChildWelfare system—no clinical background necessary—in this free, self-paced, expert-led course.
Plus, this program is approved by NASW for 4.5 continuing education contact hours!
Enroll now: https://loom.ly/tuk80UA
#ChildhoodTrauma #DCF #CPS
Got a few free minutes this weekend? Use them to make an impact!
We're looking for stories from professionals working in children's behavioral health in CT to inspire others to join the field.
➡️ Learn more & submit your video for a chance to win $500: https://loom.ly/r1Ey4e8
#CTMentalHealth
Who better to teach the Ohio Scales than the person who created them?
This #TrainingTuesday, co-founder Ben Ogles, PhD, walks you through everything you need to know—from the basics of these standardized evaluation measures to the evidence behind them.
Register here: https://loom.ly/3kVgtHA
Have you heard? We need your help to motivate the next generation of children's behavioral health professionals in #Connecticut, and all it takes is a short video!
Did we mention you could win up to $500? Learn more: https://loom.ly/r1Ey4e8
#TherapistSky #CTTherapists
If you care about kids' mental health, our monthly newsletter is for you!
📬 March's edition is out now.
➡️ Read it now and sign up for future editions to stay in the loop: https://loom.ly/q7mFacE
#ChildrensMentalHealth #YouthMentalHealth #CTSchools #CTLeg #Connecticut
The whole community is showing up for students at Enlightenment School. As Principal Lauren Miele puts it: "It takes a village—and there is a village!"
📖 Read our newest #SchoolMentalHealth Spotlight to see the difference two years of #CONNECTIV has made: https://loom.ly/BN2dpTM
#CTSchools
We've published 3 new tip sheets to help #CBITS & #BounceBack providers better reach teenage boys, students transitioning back to class, and younger children.
⬇️ Download guides by visiting the Publication and Resource Library (https://loom.ly/Il6pbKc sort → "Tools & Guides"
#SchoolMentalHealth
How trauma can impact students: • Lower reading achievement: trauma exposure can hinder literacy skills, including vocabulary. • More absences: trauma can cause absences and may lead kids to exhibit distress in schools. • Lower GPAs: trauma's psychological and cognitive effects can negatively affect academic performance. • More suspension risk: behaviors stemming from trauma can put students at higher risk of suspension. • Disruptive behavior: trauma can cause a child to be constantly in "fight-or-flight" mode, impacting their ability to emotionally regulate.
Schools play a critical role in reaching and supporting children who have experienced trauma or violence. CHDI works with over 100 schools to implement #CBITS and #BounceBack, school-based group interventions designed to address these impacts and help students recover.
#EvidenceBasedPractices
We're hiring a Senior Accountant! This position will serve as the primary administrator for Functional Family Therapy-Foster Care (FFT-FC) funds. Additionally, the Senior Accountant will work directly with the VP for Finance and Operations on quarterly budget to actual reporting, and quarterly invoice preparation for all programs.
Are you an experienced accountant who is passionate about supporting children in foster care? Want to join one of CT's "best places to work"? We have a unique employment opportunity for you! 💼
🔗 Learn more and apply: https://loom.ly/Z6GdoEY
#CTJobs
📢 Now recruiting schools for the 2026-27 School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI)! Join 80+ #CTSchools transforming their approach to student behavior—keeping more kids in the classroom and out of the juvenile justice system: https://loom.ly/UpQ3ezk
#RestorativePractices #HelpNotHandcuffs
Schools. Clinics. Hospitals. Neighborhoods. Courtrooms. Treatment centers. Shelters. Child welfare agencies. Administrative offices.
This #SocialWorkMonth, we're celebrating the dedication, resilience, and empathy of every social worker who shows up for children, youth, and families.
CEO Jeff Vanderploeg, PhD testified in Hartford this week on the need to increase #Medicaid reimbursement rates for behavioral health services so that all kids and families can access the care they need.
Learn more in our report: https://loom.ly/AddpYpk
#CTLegislature #CTPolicy #BehavioralHealth
The Trauma ScreenTIME Core Course elevates your trauma screening practice through expert-led, research-backed training that answers the questions practitioners ask most: • Why screen for trauma? • How do I choose a screening measure? • How do I use screening results to support clients?
"What happened to you?" are four words that can change a child's life. This FREE course for child-serving professionals gives you the #TraumaScreening tools to ask that question with skill, care, and intention. 4 CECs available.
Start your learning here: https://loom.ly/cvlDaNA
Let your story be heard! Enter our video contest and be the reason someone chooses a career in children's behavioral health. No video editing skills are required, and participants are eligible for prizes up to $500.
CT needs more children's behavioral health professionals. Expanding the workforce = better care and less burnout.
In the field? Tell us what you love about this work in a short video to inspire new clinicians! 📹 Learn more and enter: https://loom.ly/r1Ey4e8
#TherapistsOfCT #Connecticut
Title: The Women Who Created EBPs (evidence-based practices)
Lisa Jaycox, PhD, is a Senior Behavioral Scientist at RAND and co-author of the Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) manual.
Esther Deblinger, PhD, is an internationally recognized expert in trauma therapies for children and co-developer of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT).
Margaret Blaustein, PhD, and Kristine Kinniburgh, LICSW, are co-developers of the Attachment, Self-Regulation, and Competency (ARC) treatment framework.
Happy #WomensHistoryMonth! 💜💚🤍
This month, we're proud to spotlight just a few of the scientists, innovators, and clinicians behind the evidence-based practices we work to disseminate at CHDI.
#EvidenceBasedPractices #TFCBT #CBITS #ARC #ResearchSky #WomeninScience
This was one social media trend we just had to hop on - meet the team whose inner children are leading the way to better behavioral health for kids!
Learn more about the now-grown-ups behind the mission: https://loom.ly/PVA0EQw
#ChildrensMentalHealth #MeetOurTeam
Free, self-paced online Kids Mental Health Training "WRAP Crisis Planning", featuring an image of a clinician talking with a group of teenagers.
This week's free #TrainingTuesday course covers proactive & reactive strategies to crisis planning, plus tangible tools you can put to work right away. Licensed providers eligible for 2 free #CECs!
Register: https://loom.ly/MIuvo9E
#TherapistSky #ProfessionalDevelopment #Wraparound #CrisisServices
Alana Valdez (L) and Shannon Houston (R) on stage accepting the Hartford Business Journal Best Places to Work in Connecticut 2026 Award.
🏆 CHDI has been named one of Connecticut's Best Places to Work for the 5th year running!
Learn why on our blog: https://loom.ly/FgPemsk
#BPTWCT2026 #WorkplaceCulture #Connecticut
Mental health starts early.
So should support.
You don’t need a baby to care about this.
Because their future becomes our shared reality.
Believe in Babies.
Learn more or donate: https://bit.ly/3ZJqytH
#BelieveinBabies
The CT School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI) works with schools to reduce exclusionary discipline and increase access to care for students with behavioral health needs. Learn more: https://loom.ly/UpQ3ezk
#SchoolMentalHealth #RestorativePractices #CTSchools
Graphic welcoming Kasia Baca, PhD, MPH, MA, Senior Associate, featuring her professional headshot.
Graphic welcoming Mariah Brennan, MPA, Senior Data Analyst, featuring her professional headshot.
👋 We’re excited to introduce the newest members of our team: Dr. Kasia Baca and Mariah Brennan!
Both Kasia and Mariah are contributing to our co-occurring disorder initiatives, primarily Project CHAMPION.
#ChildrensMentalHealth #MeetTheTeam
Free, self-paced online course, "Overview of Developmental Disabilities," featuring two young girls with Down syndrome sitting together at school.
Learn to support children with developmental disabilities with confidence through ready-to-use tools and interventions. Plus, earn 2 free CECs!
Register here: https://loom.ly/1TY2ci8
#TrainingTuesday
School support staff and administrators are invited to join an info session for CONNECTing Schools to Care IV Students Initiative. School support staff session: March 5, 9:30-10:00 AM. Administrator session: March 12, 9:30-10:00 AM.
Find out how CONNECT can support your school through financial incentives, connection to community behavioral health supports, and more, and hear the perspectives of some of the 60 Connecticut schools already benefiting!
Join the Zoom for either session: https://loom.ly/W_myJ0c
#SchoolMentalHealth
Check your inbox for our February newsletter!
Haven't subscribed yet? Read it here: https://loom.ly/1D0wlzY
Sign up for future editions: https://loom.ly/ghj4kiY
#ChildrensMentalHealth #YouthMentalHealth #QualityImprovement #SchoolBasedDiversionInitiative
The MATCH treatment model offers flexible, evidence-based modules to meet each child’s unique needs.
New research from Jason Lang (CHDI) and Phyllis Lee examines how module selection and sequencing relate to outcomes. Read more: https://loom.ly/LN9b1os
#ResearchSky
This week's #TrainingTuesday course explores how race and cultural context influence access to behavioral health treatment. 🎓 Up to 6 free NASW CT-approved CECs available upon completing Parts 1 & 2.
Register here: https://loom.ly/i7fFuKc
#BehavioralHealth #HealthEquity #CECs
Title slide for carousel, 3 Black Trailblazers in Child & Family Mental Health
Photo of Hariette Pipes McAdoo, PhD, one of the first researchers to study Black middle-class families through a strength-based lens.
Photo of Inez Beverly Prosser, PhD, one of the first Black women to earn a PhD in psychology, whose dissertation examined the impact of segregation and racism on academic performance.
Photo of Robert Williams, PhD, who founded the Department of Black Studies at Washington University and was a founding member of the Association of Black Psychologists. He developed alternative IQ tests to demonstrate racial bias in standardized testing.
The work of Black scholars, clinicians, and thought leaders has shaped and strengthened behavioral health for generations of children and families. For #BHM100 this week, we're honoring three early changemakers who were among the first to confront racial bias in the field:
Screenshot of Jeana Bracey's testimony on 2/17 from CT-N alongside her quote "SBDI was developed to address exclusionary discipline in Connecticut, and it has delivered. We are keeping kids in classrooms and improving staff's capacity to support student well-being by improving practice and policy."
This week, CHDI's Jeana Bracey urged CT legislators to restore full funding for the CT School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI), which works with schools statewide to reduce student arrests, suspensions, and expulsions. Watch here: https://loom.ly/Yb1KtDU
#CTPolicy #CTSchools #SchoolMentalHealth
Title page for carousel "Black History Month Books for Kids". CHDI's logo is in the bottom left corner, graphic uses colors from the Pan-African flag.
List of books recommended for grades Pre-K to 4, including "Change Sings", "Many Shapes of Clay", "The ABCs of Black History", "Big", "All Because You Matter", and "Mindful Moves".
List of books recommended for grades 5-8, including "The Stars Beneath Our Feet", "Genesis Begins Again", "Ghost", "New Kid", "Swim Team", and "Brown Girl Dreaming".
List of books recommended for teens and young adults, including "Who Put This Song On?, "The Beautiful Struggle", "Me: Moth", "King of the Neuro Verse", "Monday's Not Coming", and "Black Birds in the Sky".
📚 Check out our Black History Month reads for kids - children’s books by Black authors that touch on mental health, resilience, history, and big feelings ⬇️
#BHM100 #BlackAuthors #ChildrensMentalHealth
Graphic promoting the Kids Mental Health Training, Gizmo's Pawesome Guide to Mental Health, developed by CHDI.
He may be small (and adorable), but Gizmo is doing big things for youth mental health!
🔗 Register for the training: https://loom.ly/509l5qY
🐾 Gizmo 4 Mental Health initiative: https://loom.ly/iaAqhxQ
#TrainingTuesday #YouthMentalHealth
