DCF Plans to Revamp Mental Health Care for Children

The state Department of Children and Families is out with a draft plan to revamp how the state provides mental health services to children.

Lawmakers ordered the plan in 2013 as part of its response to the December 2012 massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School by Adam Lanza, a 20-year-old with a history of mental-health issues.

The agency and its nonprofit partner, the Child Health and Development Institute, have been holding forums across the state to get input from experts and families of children with mental health needs.

Suggestions in the plan include periodic standardized screening of children for mental health problems; better training of teachers and doctors to identify issues; and an expansion of services.

A final plan will be presented to the legislature in October.