CONNECTICUT DEVELOPS STRATEGIC PLAN FOR STRENGTHENING THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES

The Child Health and Development Institute, with support from the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, led a recent initiative to create a statewide behavioral health workforce plan for Connecticut’s children, youth, and families. The Annapolis Coalition’s Senior Science and Policy Advisor, Michael Hoge, is a co-author of the plan, which was developed with input from families, local providers, and national experts. Released in November 2023, the plan identifies eight recommendations for policy and system changes.

The plan was developed in response to increasing behavioral health needs among Connecticut’s children and an unprecedented workforce shortage, especially among providers trained to serve this population. The eight recommendations in the plan draw heavily on best practices in other states that were identified by the Annapolis Coalition. They are:

1. Increase reimbursement rates for children’s behavioral health services.
2. Make immediate investments in behavioral health workforce recruitment and retention.
3. Develop a children’s behavioral health workforce center.
4. Grow and diversify the children’s behavioral health workforce pipeline.
5. Increase behavioral health training across the child-serving workforce.
6. Remove administrative barriers to workforce entry and retention.
7. Expand the youth and family peer support workforce.
8. Expand the role and capacity of community-based organizations in prevention and early intervention.