Connecticut maternal-mental-health subcommittee sets tight timeline, forms four workgroups to close service gaps

At a subcommittee meeting of Connecticut’s maternal mental health task force, co-chairs Corey Bernard and Shelley Nolan outlined a compressed schedule to identify gaps and recommend fixes ahead of a report the statute requires for the legislature in January 2027. "We went from a D last year to a C this year," Bernard said of the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health state report card, which the group plans to use as the blueprint for its work.

The co-chairs said the subcommittee will split into four breakout groups that mirror the report card’s domains—screening and detection; providers and treatment; policy and payment; and parental support—to allow smaller teams to dig into specific metrics and the data behind them. Bernard summarized the internal milestones: subgroups should understand what data exist by July, propose recommendations to address gaps by August, and begin shaping formal recommendations by September so the larger task force can assemble a report in time for the statutory deadline.

Stephanie, a health program associate with the Office of Health Equity at CTDPH, told the group DPH is "rounding out our recruitment" for statutorily required seats and will help coordinate outreach and logistics. Speakers emphasized that a green check on the report card does not always mean equitable access statewide—clinician ratios can mask regionally concentrated shortages—and urged subgroups to assess geographic and demographic access as well as metric scores.

Members were told a survey will be sent to capture subgroup preferences; minutes and the survey link will be distributed after the meeting. Organizers said they expect subgroup meetings to begin in the weeks before the next full convening, with co-chairs and staff available to help identify needed agency experts and data sources.