Innovations Institute
@innovations-uconn
Innovations Institute @ UConn SSW advances research-based, community centered, and transformative solutions for child-, youth-and family-serving public systems, and supports the workforce within these systems.
Our Pyramid Practice 8/2025 L&L, “Starting the School Year Off on the Right Foot,” offers practical strategies to help children, families & ECE teams begin the year feeling connected, supported & ready to learn. ▶️ Watch: s.uconn.edu/piec-ll-1 ▶️ Explore the full series: s.uconn.edu/pyr-playlist
🎙️ Help shape future episodes of #UnwrappingWraparound! Suggest guests, request Care Coordination Field Guide topics, submit questions for Covi & Conan, or share feedback. Your ideas can help strengthen care coordination & systems of care: s.uconn.edu/pod-survey
Did you miss a recent Pyramid Practice Lunch & Learn session? We know ECE providers can't always stop to watch a webinar. That's why recordings from the past year are available in 1 convenient playlist. ▶️Explore the full playlist: s.uconn.edu/pyr-playlist #PyramidModel
How can #MRSS transform crisis care for children & families? Sarah Quinn joins #UnwrappingWraparound to explore family partnership, responsive care & stronger systems. 🎧 Listen: s.uconn.edu/sq-unwrap 📘 Join the #Crisis365 Fall cohort starting in September: s.uconn.edu/register365
More than 40% of Americans live in a MH care shortage area. Our latest TA Telegram Policy Corner explores how states can strengthen the BH workforce & expand access to community-based care for children & families. 🔗 s.uconn.edu/7-13telegram 📩 s.uconn.edu/subscribe2ii #InnovationsInstitute #Workforce
Introducing Crisis Catalyst—our new Crisis Care quarterly briefing! The 1st issue explores SAMHSA's Model Standards for Crisis Care Workers & features new resources + a preview of our 7/22 #UnwrappingWrap episode. Crisis Catalyst Issue1: s.uconn.edu/ii-catalyst1 Subscribe: s.uconn.edu/crisissignup
📢 New time starting this month! Our Pyramid Practice Lunch & Learn is moving to 1:30–2:30 PM ET based on feedback from families & caregivers. Join us to explore strategies for supporting young children's social-emotional development through play. 🎟️Register: s.uconn.edu/piec-7-23 #PyramidModel
📢 The 2026 SAMHSA Statewide Family Network NOFO is now open! Eligible family-run organizations can apply for up to $150K/year (up to 3 years) to strengthen support for families raising children & youth with behavioral health needs. 🗓️ Applications due by July 27. 🔗s.uconn.edu/sfn26-nofo
Strengths aren't just feel-good statements—they're tools for change. In our latest CCFG short, learn to identify functional strengths, uncover what's working & document supports that drive meaningful care plans. 🎧 s.uconn.edu/ccfg5 #UnwrappingWrap #Wraparound #CareCoordination
🌍Exciting news! @uconnssw.bsky.social's #InnovationsInstitute is partnering w/the College for Behavioral Health Leadership & @gleworld.bsky.social to expand leadership development & continuing ed for behavioral health professionals. Learn more: s.uconn.edu/ii-cbhl-gle #BehavioralHealth #Leadership
Our recent Policy Corner reflects on 3 June observances that share a common message: children, youth & families thrive when policies & practices center freedom, authenticity, connection & belonging. Read more: s.uconn.edu/6-29telegram #FamilyReunificationMonth #Juneteenth #PrideMonth
💚 During #FamilyReunificationMonth, we celebrate families & the people who make safe, timely reunification possible. Hear from parent partners, judges, clinicians & more in our QIC-R's Video Perspectives from the Field. 🎥 s.uconn.edu/qic-r-vids #ChildWelfare #InnovationsInstitute #FamilyUnification
Join us today at 12:00 PM ET for June's Pyramid Practice Lunch & Learn for anyone interested in learning strategies to support young children w/identifying & expressing emotions. 🖥️ June Pyramid Practice L&L 📅 Thurs 6/25, 12–1 PM ET 🎟️ s.uconn.edu/piec-6-25 #InnovationsInstitute #EarlyChildhood
New podcast episode! 40 years ago, the Alaska Youth Initiative helped spark a movement. Join Covi & Conan as they sit down w/Wraparound pioneer John VanDenBerg to explore the origins of family-driven care, natural supports & the lessons that continue to shape the field today. s.uconn.edu/vdb-unwrap
Sign-up for our new quarterly Crisis Newsletter, a resource for those seeking practical strategies, emerging trends & real-world insights to strengthen crisis systems & support children, youth, families & communities. Scan the QR code or go to s.uconn.edu/CrisisSignup to receive the inaugural issue!
Today, we honor #Juneteenth—a celebration of freedom, community & Black achievement. At #InnovationsInstitute, we remain committed to partnering w/communities to build systems where every child, youth, family & community can thrive. May this day inspire reflection, learning, rest & celebration.
New findings from @zerotothree.bsky.social show economic pressure, emotional distress & uncertainty intensified through 2025. The earliest years matter. Supporting families matters. Read the report: s.uconn.edu/ztt-rattled #EarlyChildhood #FamilyWellBeing #InfantMentalHealth
Children w/complex BH needs deserve coordinated support—not fragmented systems. A new SAMHSA TA paper highlights how states can strengthen cross-system collaboration to improve outcomes for children & families. Proud that #InnovationsInstitute contributed to this! 📖s.uconn.edu/samhsa-csc
Registration is open for the Fall 2026 cohort of #Crisis365: Academy for Comprehensive #CrisisCare! Designed for crisis responders, peers & leaders, this series provides practical training to strengthen family-centered support & system-level coordination. 🔗s.uconn.edu/register365
Our recent #TAtelegram Policy Corner highlights a SAMHSA paper on SED in children & youth—authored by 4 #InnovationsInstitute faculty & staff. 📖 Read the issue: s.uconn.edu/6-1-telegram 🔗Subscribe & get the next issue, featuring another paper in the SAMHSA series: s.uconn.edu/subscribe2ii
The story isn't in a single incident—it's in the patterns. In our newest #UnwrappingWrap CCFG short, Covi & Conan share practical strategies for moving beyond vague labels & understanding family concerns in context. When families feel understood, teams respond more effectively. 🎧 s.uconn.edu/ccfg4
💚 #CMHAM2026 is a wrap—but action can't stop now. Thank you for helping turn awareness➡️action by sharing resources, amplifying youth voice & advocating for stronger SOCs. Let's keep building communities where every child thrives! Explore the resources & keep up the momentum: s.uconn.edu/2026cmham
Don't miss June's Pyramid Practice Lunch & Learn on emotional literacy for anyone interested in learning strategies to support young children with identifying & expressing emotions. 🖥️ June Pyramid Practice L&L 📅 Thurs 6/25, 12–1 PM ET 🎟️ s.uconn.edu/piec-6-25 #InnovationsInstitute #EarlyChildhood
Thinking about pursuing a Master of #SocialWork? Learn more and apply for UConn School of Social Work's fully online MSW program by July 1! 🔗 s.uconn.edu/applymsw @uconnssw.bsky.social
💚 Children cannot wait—the urgency is now. To drive action, the new Children’s Behavioral Health Collective just released its official Comms Toolkit & data infographic. Learn how cross-system coordination keeps kids safely in their homes & communities. 🔗 s.uconn.edu/cbhresources #CBHcollective
We are thrilled to share that #InnovationsInstitute is a founding member of the Children’s Behavioral Health Collective, a group formed to strengthen the national continuum of care by developing actionable goals for policy, governance & program implementation. 🔗Learn more: s.uconn.edu/bhcollective
Communities hold knowledge, wisdom & solutions that deserve recognition & elevation. As #CMHAM2026 comes to a close, learn how Community Defined Evidence Practices (CDEP) center lived experience, culture & community voice in supporting MH. 🎥 s.uconn.edu/cdep-cmham Learn more: s.uconn.edu/cdep
In the latest episode of #UnwrappingWrap, Director of Systems Design & Implementation Strategies, Kim Estep, shares the story of the child & family team meeting that changed her perspective—& ultimately shaped decades of work supporting children, youth & families. 🎧 s.uconn.edu/kim-unwrap
💚 It’s Children’s Mental Health Action Month! 🧠✨ When kids struggle, co-regulation is key. Our “In the Moment” guide breaks it down: 1-Regulate yourself first. 2-Provide a model for the child to mirror. 3-Problem-solve once calm. 📄 Download the 1-pagers: s.uconn.edu/pyr-handouts #CMHAM2026
It’s Children’s Mental Health Action Month! 🧠✨ Big impacts come from small moments. Our “Small Moments, Big Impact” guide shows how to turn grocery trips, laundry & bath time into meaningful connections that build a child's well-being. 📄 Download the one-pagers: s.uconn.edu/pyr-handouts #CMHAM2026