Article featuring CHDI data analysis highlights funding concerns of CT's youth Urgent Crisis Centers
Connecticut's Urgent Crisis Centers (UCCs) - walk-in clinics for youth experiencing behavioral health crises - have served more than 2,500 children since opening in 2023. But as this recent CT News Junkie article highlights, with federal funding expiring this fall and final state budget discussions ongoing, the centers' long-term sustainability is uncertain.
The article cites CHDI data analysis to show the centers' success in their first two years of operation, including:
- Over 97% of children served by UCCs between January 2024 - March 2025 were able to go home following their UCC visit
- More than half of families served (as of March 2025) said they would have gone to the emergency room if they hadn't gone to the UCC
- Risk of harm (34%) was the top reason for youth going to UCCs
CHDI serves as the Performance Improvement Center for Connecticut's Urgent Crisis Centers. In this role, we work closely with the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) and UCC providers to establish best practices and engage in continuous quality improvement through ongoing data analysis and reporting, data-driven consultation with providers, and training for UCC staff.
Last last year, CHDI President & CEO Jeff Vanderploeg co-authored a Policy Brief with Wellmore Behavioral Health's Gary Steck and The Village for Families & Children's Tammy Freeberg (both UCC providers) and Lisa Tepper Bates of Connecticut United Way on how the state can preserve its nationally recognized youth crisis management system:
Learn more about our work supporting quality improvement efforts for Connecticut UCCs
