HARTFORD/WEST HARTFORD SYSTEM OF CARE

Trauma is just one circumstance that can impact a child's mental health.  Left unidentified, without intervention, these experiences can lead to intensive mental health treatment and/or entering the juvenile justice system. One organization working to understand the roots of these problems and identify solutions is the Hartford/West Hartford System of Care (SOC). 

In 2007, this collaborative received an 18-month, $125,000 grant from the Connecticut Health Foundation (CT Health).  SOC is one of 11 CT Health collaborative grantees that's developed comprehensive plans for reducing the number of children ages 6-14 entering the juvenile justice system or needing intensive mental health services.

SOC is comprised of parents, providers, neighborhood organizations, schools, police and the courts, as well as the state Department of Children and Families, and key mental health agencies, providing services to families raising children with mental illness and complex behavioral needs.

"We are identifying an at-risk target neighborhood and schools where we can implement screening, early assessment and brief intervention strategies," says Marie Mormile-Mehler, vice president of planning, performance and accountability at The Village for Families and Children, Inc.  "Specific interventions will come from ideas generated by that local community and through technical assistance from the foundation."

"If you are going to change systems, you must be willing to give parents and communities some control of what they need to be successful," says SOC Co-Chair Merva Jackson, executive director, African Caribbean American Parents of Children with Disabilities, Inc. "That's when you will really see change."

"We want to create a system that has every adult looking for signs that a child may be struggling and need support," adds Hector Glynn, vice president of community and youth services at The Village and coordinator of the SOC project.

"Long term, we want to create local prevention systems that will help these children develop a sense of self-worth and, ultimately, a model the state can follow," says Will Crimi, foundation vice president of program & evaluation.

"Ultimately, we hope a family will be able to walk into a school and know it is warm and responsive.  That the community is present and supported by all systems, and that it is committed to the developmental needs of every child in that community," adds Glynn.