Today is National Children's 
Mental Health Awareness Day

Mental health is just as important as physical health to children's well-being. In recognition of Children's Mental Health Awareness Day, we wanted to share the following resources and recent news on children's mental health issues.
 







News & Resources

Please help us share this important resource for parents and caregivers. This website provides credible information on children's mental health issues, addresses frequently asked questions and links caregivers to Connecticut and national resources for getting help. Visit www.kidsmentalhealthinfo.com.
Forum on Teen Depression this Evening

 

Today in Hartford, a forum on teen depression is being hosted by the Connecticut Health Investigative Team. CHDI's KidsMentalHealthiInfo.com website is a sponsor of the event.

 

"Uncovering Our Kids: Towards A Better Understanding of Teen Mental Health" begins at 5:00 pm at the Lyceum in Hartford. 

 

Walk-in registration is welcome. Click here for details.


National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day

Each year the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA) recognizes national Children's Mental Health Awareness Day. This year's theme is: Caring for Every Child's Mental Health, which seeks to raise awareness about the importance of children's mental health and that positive mental health is essential to a child's healthy development from birth. Click here to learn more about national activities.

 

In the News...

Children's Mental Health Crisis Services

The Connecticut Health Investigative Team (C-HIT) recently published an article on an important mental health resource for families in Connecticut, the Emergency Mobile Psychiatric Services (EMPS), along with a list of mental health services. 

 

Connecticut's EMPS is a crisis intervention program that provides immediate, mobile assessment and intervention to children up to age 18 with behavioral or mental health needs. Because this service is mobile and available to all Connecticut residents, it can be provided in a variety of settings, including the child's home, school, local emergency department, or community setting. It can be a helpful alternative to bringing a child to an Emergency Department in a time of crisis. To access EMPS services across Connecticut, call 2-1-1. CHDI serves as the Performance Improvement Center for EMPS.  

Infant Mental Health


 

Yesterday, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro joined The Connecticut Association for Infant Mental Health (CT-AIMH), CHDI, state officials, and infant mental health experts for an in-depth discussion on infant mental heath and workforce development with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. CT-AIMH has a comprehensive Endorsement system for professionals working with young children and their families to effectively promote and address social-emotional development (often referred to as infant mental health). The roundtable was sparked by a  Connecticut Health Investigative Team article on CHDI's Infant Mental Health IMPACT report. Learn more about this important issue. View photos from the event, read the event news release, or read an article in the New Haven Independent about the event.

 


School-Based Mental Health

WNPR's Where We Live Show with John Dankowsky addressed the issue of school-based mental health:
CHDI's Jeff Vanderploeg discussed research linking school arrests and mental health issues and highlighted the School-Based Diversion Initiative as a program helping Connecticut schools. 

Learn more about CHDI's school-based mental health initiatives.


Childhood Trauma

We wanted to reshare the Connecticut Mirror's four-part "Starting Early" series on childhood trauma by Arielle Levin Becker. The series offers an in depth look at a critical public health issue and includes an excellent Resources section.

 

Click below for links to the four articles and the related resources:

 

The Problem: The Long Reach of Childhood Trauma
Intervention: Changing Course
Prevention: From Brain Science to Stop & Shop
Recognition: Recognizing Trauma & Isolation
About Trauma: How to Talk About Trauma
Find Help: Resources  

 

Childhood trauma is a major focus of our work at CHDI. For more information on CHDI's work to build a trauma-informed system of care in Connecticut visit www.chdi.org.

 

Child Health and Development Institute
860.679.1519 | [email protected]
www.chdi.org

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