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Connecticut agencies outline early-childhood mental-health programs and statewide supports
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Summary
Officials from DMHAS, DCF, DSS, DDS, SDE and the Office of Early Childhood described coordinated programs for young children and caregivers, citing Medicaid expansions, ARPA-funded school mental-health grants, urgent-crisis centers, and peer/recovery supports.
State officials used an Office of Early Childhood webinar to describe programs and partnerships intended to support mental health for children and caregivers across Connecticut.
LaKesha (Lakeisha) Hyatt of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services described DMHAS’s integrated care model and a continuum of services that range from prevention to inpatient care. Hyatt said the agency serves about 95,000 individuals per year through a mix of community-based nonprofit providers and eight state-operated facilities. She highlighted programs such as 988 (suicide and crisis lifeline), opioid-prevention work, women-centered recovery supports and assertive community treatment teams.
Fatimah Williams, deputy Medicaid director at the Department of Social Services, described Medicaid partnerships with DCF and DMHAS and cited an 1115 substance-use disorder waiver implemented in 2022 that expanded coverage for residential and other services and includes pregnant and parenting women. Williams also noted internal employee supports — “holding spaces” and elevated employee-assistance-program outreach — aimed at reducing stigma and supporting staff wellbeing.
The Office of Early Childhood’s Birth-to-3 coordinator, Dr. Nicole Cassatt, summarized early-intervention services, home visiting, Help Me Grow and a behavioral-health initiative that connects programs to families in the field. Kate Bohannon of the State Department of Education said the department has awarded more than $26,000,000 in American Rescue Plan funds since 2023 to help districts hire school mental-health professionals and provide training; she named initiatives including Connecting Schools to Care and suicide-prevention professional development.
Liliana Keith Blanks of the Department of Developmental Services urged the audience to avoid “diagnostic overshadowing” — assuming a developmental disability precludes co-occurring mental-health needs — and described medication-review and human-rights processes intended to protect people with intellectual disabilities.
Nut graf: Together, officials stressed coordination across agencies — Medicaid, behavioral health, education and early-intervention systems — and emphasized both system-level strategies (1115 waiver, ARPA grants, crisis lines) and caregiver-level practices (modeling, destigmatization). Several speakers recommended integrating behavioral-health care into primary and school settings to make help easier to access.
Panelists also listed performance and satisfaction measures: Hyatt cited internal DMHAS figures showing user-reported satisfaction levels in the low 90s (for example, 93.6% said staff believed they could grow or recover). DSS said Medicaid and CHIP cover services for around 1,000,000 Connecticut residents. The webinar concluded with a short video from Head Start materials and a request that attendees complete a follow-up survey.
The webinar did not announce new funding streams beyond previously implemented ARPA awards and the 1115 waiver; officials emphasized ongoing program coordination and expanded access rather than new legislation.
