Behavioral health workforce development
CHDI and our partners are identifying and implementing solutions to address the children's behavioral health workforce shortage.
Building a sustainable workforce to support children's behavioral health
Connecticut, along with the rest of the country, is navigating two interwoven challenges: rising behavioral healthcare needs among children and significant behavioral health workforce shortages. As a result, many providers report long waitlists and increasing staff burnout and turnover, while families share frustrations with finding treatment.
CHDI is engaged in a variety of workforce development initiatives to address the workforce pipeline, recruitment, retention, and competencies. When we invest in the workforce, we improve access to and quality of services for children and families.
We're working with the State of Connecticut, providers, youth, families, and other partners statewide to find solutions to address the current shortage and recommend strategies to ensure a sustainable workforce for the future. Current and recent initiatives in this area include:
- Behavioral Health Workforce Strategic Plan
- Kids Mental Health Online Training Portal
- CT Health Horizons
In addition, CHDI was recently awarded funding from The Tow Foundation to develop a Children's Behavioral Health Workforce Center for the state of Connecticut. Learn more
Resources for Aspiring Children's Behavioral Health Professionals
To ensure that all kids and families statewide can access essential behavioral health care—when and where they need it—the field needs more caring, compassionate people like you!
Explore pathways to meaningful, rewarding careers in the children's behavioral health field.
CT Health Horizons
CHDI provided social work content expertise and data analysis support to the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) as part of the state's CT Health Horizons project. Swipe through to learn more about our role:
CT Health Horizons was a three-year project funded by the Governor’s Office to address workforce shortages in the fields of nursing and social work. The initiative provided funding to colleges and universities to expand faculty and provide tuition support for students while creating strategic workforce partnerships.
Project Support
Supported innovative projects proposed by MSW programs intended to strengthen hiring pipelines, share resources, and design flexible programs for students and faculty
Data Analysis
Analyzed statewide data on current and prospective social worker staffing needs as well as higher education needs
Policy Recommendations
Identified recommendations to address workforce shortages and develop sustainable mechanisms to track workforce supply and demand
Public Reporting
Produce an annual, publicly available report on the state’s social work landscape and progress in implementing best practices.
Behavioral Health Workforce Strategic Plan
In collaboration with the Children’s Behavioral Health Plan Implementation Advisory Board and with funding from the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), CHDI developed a strategic plan to guide the State in building a sustainable workforce capable of meeting the behavioral health needs of Connecticut's children, youth, and families.
The final plan, Strengthening the Behavioral Health Workforce for Children, Youth, and Families: A Strategic Plan for Connecticut, was published in November 2023. It includes system, policy and practice, short- and long-term recommendations regarding the workforce pipeline, recruitment, retention, diversity strategies, and competency areas to strengthen.
The strategic plan included eight recommendations:
- Increase reimbursement rates for children’s behavioral health services to cover actual costs of high-quality care and establish a transparent and systematic rate-setting process.
- Make immediate and significant investments in behavioral health workforce recruitment and retention.
- Develop a children’s behavioral health workforce center that can track and respond to trends in supply and demand and sustain workforce development efforts.
- Grow and diversify the children’s behavioral health workforce pipeline.
- Increase behavioral health training across the child-serving workforce.
- Remove administrative barriers to workforce entry and retention.
- Expand the youth and family peer support workforce.
- Expand the role and capacity of community-based organizations in prevention and early intervention.
As of late 2025, significant progress has been made on some of the plan's recommendations, including:
-
In response to a study of Medicaid rates for behavioral health services which found Connecticut’s rates were significantly less than those in comparable states (by approximately $48 million), $7 million was allocated to increase children’s behavioral health Medicaid rates.
-
A Medicaid rate was established for Urgent Crisis Center (UCC) services.
-
The CGA appropriated $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to DCF to be used in support of children's behavioral health. DCF prioritized this funding in support of behavioral health provider workforce recruitment and retention efforts. Funding was distributed in three ways: a portion was allocated to all DCF behavioral health contracts; another portion was allocated to behavioral health in-home treatment services contracts; and a third portion was allocated to IICAPS. This represents a much-needed infusion of resources, but as they are one-time investments, the impact will be time-limited.
-
The CT Health Horizons initiative has continued to provide tuition assistance to Master’s in Social Work (MSW) students.
-
The Governor implemented a new student loan reimbursement program.
-
New asynchronous workforce trainings (KidsMentalHealthTraining.org) were launched by CHDI following development of an online platform funded by DCF.
-
Public Act 24-30 allows CT to participate in a multistate social work licensure compact. While this may facilitate practitioners transferring to Connecticut, this will only have impact if CT is able to address disincentives for practice here, such as salaries and lower reimbursement rates compared to similar states.
-
The LMSW test will be reinstated.
-
CHDI is currently finalizing a report assessing the landscape for family and youth peer support services in Connecticut and making recommendations to the state (investing in and expanding these services was one of the workforce plan's original recommendations), expected in early 2026.
In collaboration with the Children’s Behavioral Health Plan Implementation Advisory Board and with funding from the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), CHDI developed a strategic plan to guide the State in building a sustainable workforce capable of meeting the behavioral health needs of Connecticut's children, youth, and families.
The final plan, Strengthening the Behavioral Health Workforce for Children, Youth, and Families: A Strategic Plan for Connecticut, was published in November 2023. It includes system, policy and practice, short- and long-term recommendations regarding the workforce pipeline, recruitment, retention, diversity strategies, and competency areas to strengthen.
The strategic plan included eight recommendations:
- Increase reimbursement rates for children’s behavioral health services to cover actual costs of high-quality care and establish a transparent and systematic rate-setting process.
- Make immediate and significant investments in behavioral health workforce recruitment and retention.
- Develop a children’s behavioral health workforce center that can track and respond to trends in supply and demand and sustain workforce development efforts.
- Grow and diversify the children’s behavioral health workforce pipeline.
- Increase behavioral health training across the child-serving workforce.
- Remove administrative barriers to workforce entry and retention.
- Expand the youth and family peer support workforce.
- Expand the role and capacity of community-based organizations in prevention and early intervention.
As of late 2025, significant progress has been made on some of the plan's recommendations, including:
-
In response to a study of Medicaid rates for behavioral health services which found Connecticut’s rates were significantly less than those in comparable states (by approximately $48 million), $7 million was allocated to increase children’s behavioral health Medicaid rates.
-
A Medicaid rate was established for Urgent Crisis Center (UCC) services.
-
The CGA appropriated $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to DCF to be used in support of children's behavioral health. DCF prioritized this funding in support of behavioral health provider workforce recruitment and retention efforts. Funding was distributed in three ways: a portion was allocated to all DCF behavioral health contracts; another portion was allocated to behavioral health in-home treatment services contracts; and a third portion was allocated to IICAPS. This represents a much-needed infusion of resources, but as they are one-time investments, the impact will be time-limited.
-
The CT Health Horizons initiative has continued to provide tuition assistance to Master’s in Social Work (MSW) students.
-
The Governor implemented a new student loan reimbursement program.
-
New asynchronous workforce trainings (KidsMentalHealthTraining.org) were launched by CHDI following development of an online platform funded by DCF.
-
Public Act 24-30 allows CT to participate in a multistate social work licensure compact. While this may facilitate practitioners transferring to Connecticut, this will only have impact if CT is able to address disincentives for practice here, such as salaries and lower reimbursement rates compared to similar states.
-
The LMSW test will be reinstated.
-
CHDI is currently finalizing a report assessing the landscape for family and youth peer support services in Connecticut and making recommendations to the state (investing in and expanding these services was one of the workforce plan's original recommendations), expected in early 2026.
Kids Mental Health Training Portal
In 2025, CHDI launched the Kids Mental Health Training portal, which provides free asynchronous trainings and courses for clinicians and other child-serving professionals to help increase knowledge and skills in key areas of children's behavioral health.
Developed in partnership with clinicians, families, and nationally recognized experts, course topics were selected to address current gaps in workforce training; new courses will be added over time. For eligible licensed professionals, many courses offer continuing education credits/units!