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CHDI Hosts 17th Annual Evidence-Based Practice Conference

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The 17th Annual Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) Conference was held on May 20th at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. 

This year's conference, themed "Connect. Learn. Grow. Share" brought together nearly 500 behavioral health providers, school professionals, state agency staff, and others working with CHDI and the State of Connecticut to strengthen children's behavioral health EBPs.

Attendees were welcomed by Jodi Hill-Lilly, MSW (pictured at right), Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), Gary Roberge, Executive Director of the Connecticut Judicial Branch Court Support Services Division (CSSD), and CHDI President and CEO Jeff Vanderploeg, PhD

CHDI Chief Program Officer Jason Lang, PhD also gave attendees a high-level overview of the collective impact this network has had statewide, sharing that as of 2025, 700+ clinicians at 330 sites across Connecticut are now offering key trauma-focused EBPs for children, youth, and their families. This cumulative effort has resulted in 23,937 Connecticut children receiving an EBT!

Swipe through to see photos from opening remarks and throughout the day (and keep scrolling to see photos from some of the day's 33 workshops!).

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    DCF Commissioner Jodi Hill-Lilly, MSW welcomes conference attendees in the CT Convention Center ballroom

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    DCF Commissioner Jodi Hill-Lilly celebrating providers' hard work and dedication

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    CHDI President and CEO Jeff Vanderploeg, PhD welcomes the Convention Center crowd

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    CHDI Chief Program Officer Jason Lang, PhD shares the collective impact of Connecticut's EBP providers in opening remarks

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    A slide from Jason Lang's remarks highlights the geographic range of EBP sites and providers in Connecticut as of 2025

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    Keynote speaker Keith Cruise, PhD and CHDI President and CEO Jeff Vanderploeg during a break between sessions

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    CHDI's Annie Winneg, Katie Newkirk, and Tiffany Franceschetti (l-r) at the registration table

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    Child Health and Development Institute staff

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    CHDI's Meghan Flynn and Caleb Owen

For nearly two decades, CHDI has collaborated with state and federal partners, providers, and families to improve access to effective behavioral health services for children and youth. As part of this effort - and with funding and support from DCF and CSSD - we have hosted the EBP Conference annually since 2008 to provide training, support, and networking opportunities for clinicians disseminating evidence-based practices across the state. Together, we have developed a workforce in Connecticut that now delivers multiple evidence-based treatments and practices to thousands of children and families each year.

Keynote: Understanding Complex Trauma

Keith Cruise addressing large crowd at CT Convention Center ballroom (seen from back of ballroom)

Dr. Keith Cruise gives the keynote address at the 2025 EBP Conference

Following welcoming remarks, attendees heard from Keith Cruise, PhD, who gave a powerful keynote on complex trauma, "Complex Trauma: What it is and Why it Matters in Supporting Risk Reduction, Recovery, and Resilience for Youth Experiencing Multi-System Involvement." As co-director of the Center for Trauma Recovery and Juvenile Justice (CTRJJ) and professor of psychology at Fordham University, Dr. Cruise shared expert insights on how complex trauma shapes youth behavior—and how we can support youth involved in multiple systems (e.g. juvenile justice, child welfare) through understanding, recovery, and resilience.

In the afternoon, Dr. Cruise also hosted a breakout session, "The Risk-Needs-Responsivity (RNR) Model: What Mental Health Practitioners Need to Know When Working with Youth + Families Experiencing Juvenile Justice Involvement," providing a deeper dive on how the RNR model can improve outcomes for youth involved in the juvenile justice system, who have high rates of trauma exposure.

Breakout session highlights

Conference participants chose from 33 breakout sessions where providers and child-serving professionals enhanced their professional development and earned continuing education credits in a wide range of topics, including:

  • Trauma screening
  • Cultural sensitivity in clinical supervision and practice
  • Increasing family/caregiver collaboration and engagement
  • Supporting family connectedness
  • Using data for better decision-making
  • Complex trauma impact and interventions
  • Trauma through a cultural lens
  • Substance use treatment and confidentiality
  • Creative ways to engage youth in EBPs through Disney stories, superhero fandom, yoga and mindfulness, and other tools
  • Helping youth with co-occurring substance use and mental health needs
  • Working with special populations, including early childhood, juvenile justice, autistic and neurodivergent youth, human trafficking survivors, and others
  • Many other EBP- and condition-specific workshops

 

Swipe through the photo album to see some of the day's workshops!

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    Michele Santos, LPC of Community Mental Health Affiliates (CMHA) presenting on creative ways to engage clients and families in EBPs like CBITS, TF-CBT, and MATCH

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    Jessica Mommens of Urban Trauma, LLC presents "Understanding Urban Trauma: A Framework for Culturally Responsive Clinical Practice"

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    Jason Lang, PhD, of CHDI presents "Best Practices in Screening Children for Trauma"

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    Jasmine M. McLean, LCSW, M.Ed. of Child and Family Guidance Center presents "Cultural Sensitivity: A Framework for Leadership to Provide Culturally Sensitive Supervision"

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    Keith Cruise, PhD, presenting at afternoon workshop on applying The Risk-Needs-Responsivity (RNR) Model to work with youth and families with juvenile justice involvement

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    Bob Madden, LCSW, JD of University of St. Joseph presents "Preparation and Guidance For Providing Effective Court Testimony"

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    Christine Tomlin of Community Child Guidance Clinic presents on engaging young children in therapy with ARC

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    Katie Connelly, PhD, NCSP, of Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) presents "The Power of Pretty Data: Simple, Comprehensive, and Easy Systems for Better Decision-Making"

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    Diana Perry, PsyD, LPC and Jen Tuller, MA of Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) present "Trauma-Informed Tips for Working with Neurodivergent Students"

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    Elizabeth Gentile, LCSW of Stamford Public Schools presents "Using Yoga and Mindfulness to Complement and Elevate the Delivery of Bounce Back and CBITS groups"

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    Savannah Slowik, LPC-A and Amanda Lafoe, LPC-A of Community Child Guidance Clinic present "Working With High Conflict Families within EBPs"

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    Kathy Hanley, CPS and Chelsea Kapitancek, CPS of Western CT Coalition present "Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences- The Building Blocks of HOPE"

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    Ellen Whelan, Psy.D. of DMHAS Young Adult Services Division presents "Introduction to Human Trafficking"

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    Michele Galietta, Ph.D. of John Jay College of Criminal Justice presents "Applications of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for Juvenile Justice"

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    Travis Walls, LCSW of Child and Family Agency (CFA) presents "Engaging the Child with Autism"

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    Emily Flores, LMSW, Saif Ahmed, LMFT-A, and Cassandra Marrero, LCSW of The Village for Families & Children present "Magic of Healing: Using Disney Stories in Trauma-Focused CBT for Young Children"

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    Vivian Kannemeyer, LMFT (pictured) and Marcos Rosa, LMFT of Redeem Wellness Center presented "Supporting Families During Crisis: Using Hardships to Rebuild Family Connectedness"

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    Win Turner, Ph.D of the Center for Behavioral Health Integration presents "Helping Youth with Co-occurring Substance Use and Mental Health Needs: Applying Motivational Interviewing, MET, and CBT to Promote Change"

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    Tracy Clough, LCSW and Liz Legary, LCSW of United Community & Family Services present "Increasing Caregiver Engagement within ARC: How it Relates to Treatment Planning and Supervision"

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    Meghan Korn, M.Ed., of CT Judicial Branch Court Support Services Division, leading workshop entitled, "Serving Connecticut’s Youth, Families, and Communities: An Introduction to Juvenile Probation"

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    Kayla Rodriguez, LPC-A and Chelesea Ferello, MAATC, LPC, ATR of The Village for Families & Children present "Harnessing the Power of Fandoms in TF-CBT for Adolescents: Engaging Clinicians and Clients"

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    Handouts from "Harnessing the Power of Fandoms in TF-CBT for Adolescents: Engaging Clinicians and Clients" with examples of ways to incorporate fandoms like anime, gaming, and comic books into TF-CBT treatment, developed by presenters Kayla Rodriguez + Chelesea Ferrello

2025 Honorees

Each year, CHDI also recognizes agencies and individual clinicians demonstrating outstanding performance in implementing an EBP model over the previous year (based on program data). 2024-25 honorees for each EBP included:

Bridges Healthcare
Charlotte Hungerford Hospital
Karen Stevens, LCSW (Charlotte Hungerford)
Tina Dyer, LCSW (United Community & Family Services - UCFS)

Learn More About TF-CBT

Child & Family Agency of Southeastern CT
Community Health Resources (CHR)
Jennifer Maier-Gerst, LPC (UCFS)
Jarlyn Phillips, LMFT (CHR)
Gina Spring, LPC-A (CHR)
Learn More About MATCH

Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut
Community Child Guidance Clinic
United Community & Family Services
Tracy Clough, LCSW (UCFS)
J'Ada Serrano, LCSW (CCGC)

Learn More About ARC

Clifford Beers Community Care Center
Newtown Public Schools
Tiffani Wells (Clifford Beers)
Lauren Sheintop, LCSW (Newtown PS) Learn More About CBITS

Child & Family Agency of Southeastern CT (CFASE)
Community Mental Health Affiliates (CMHA)
Southwest Community Health Center
Erika Keys (Mid-Fairfield Community Care Center)
Mackenzie Rossi, LCSW (CMHA)
Gina Spinelli, MS (CMHA)
Learn More About Bounce Back

BH Care
Community Child Guidance Clinic
Alexandra Klubek, LCSW (BHCare)

CHDI applauds all EBP providers across Connecticut for their ongoing work to improve the quality of children's behavioral health care.

How we support EBP providers statewide

 
View from the CT convention center ballroom during the awards ceremony

Watch a brief video recap of this year's conference: