Take Action Mental Health in Your State

Connecticut

By The Numbers

547,000

Number of K-12 Students (2022 Projection)i

39,000
Children with major depressionii
24,000

Children with major depression who do not receive treatmentiii

1:548

Ratio of School Psychologists to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:500)

1:580

Ratio of School Social Workers to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

1:457

Ratio of School Counselors to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

Take Action
in Connecticut

There is a national emergency in children’s mental health. Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. 

Take Action

Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. Mental health challenges can affect success at school and in life, yet few students get the help they need to thrive.

The Hopeful Futures Campaign, a coalition of national organizations, is committed to ensuring that every student has access to effective and supportive school mental health care. The campaign’s school mental health report cards highlight accomplishments and provide important action steps to help address the children’s mental health crisis in every state.

At A Glance: State School Mental Health Policies

School Mental Health Professionals:

School-Family-Community Partnerships:

Teacher and Staff Training:

Funding
Supports:

Well-Being Checks:

Healthy School Climate:

Skills for Life Success:

Mental Health Education:

Little or no progress achieved

Some progress achieved

Meaningful progress achieved

Substantial progress achieved

HOW CONNECTICUT COMPARES

State Rankings from Mental Health America iv

2015

2020

2021

2022

Overall State Rank for Youth Mental Health

24

8

17

8

Youth with At Least One Major Depressive Episode in the Past Year

24,000 / 8.26%

36,000 / 13.16%

39,000 / 14.24%

39,000 / 14.41%

Youth with Major Depressive Episodes in the
Past Year Who Did Not Receive Treatment

Not Asked

16,000 / 43.6%

24,000 / 59.1%

24,000 / 65,60%

Youth with Major Severe Depressive Episodes in the Past Year

Not Asked

27,000 / 10.2%

24,000 / 9%

20,000 / 7.80%

Youth with Severe Major Depressive Episodes
Who Received Some Consistent Treatment

Not Asked

5,000 / 23.6%

5,000 / 21.6%

5,000 / 23.60%

Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance
for an Individualized Education Program

5,230 / 10.47%

5,526 / 11.51%

5,691 / 11.94%

5,824 / 12,43%

Youth with Private Insurance That Did Not
Cover Mental or Emotional Problems

22,625 / 39.8%

5,000 / 3.3%

5,000 / 3.3%

5,000 / 3.50%

Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year

20,000 / 6.85%

13,000 / 4.64%

13,000 / 4.64%

10,000 / 3.74 %

i. Projections of education statistics to 2022. National Center of Education Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014051.pdf.
ii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iv. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
Connecticut

By The Numbers

547,000

Number of K-12 Students (2022 Projection)i

39,000
Children with major depressionii
24,000

Children with major depression who do not receive treatmentiii

1:548

Ratio of School Psychologists to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:500)

1:580

Ratio of School Social Workers to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

1:457

Ratio of School Counselors to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

Take Action
in Connecticut

There is a national emergency in children’s mental health. Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. 

Take Action

Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. Mental health challenges can affect success at school and in life, yet few students get the help they need to thrive.

The Hopeful Futures Campaign, a coalition of national organizations, is committed to ensuring that every student has access to effective and supportive school mental health care. The campaign’s school mental health report cards highlight accomplishments and provide important action steps to help address the children’s mental health crisis in every state.

At A Glance: State School Mental Health Policies

School Mental Health Professionals:

School-Family-Community Partnerships:

Teacher and Staff Training:

Funding
Supports:

Well-Being Checks:

Healthy School Climate:

Skills for Life Success:

Mental Health Education:

Little or no progress achieved

Some progress achieved

Meaningful progress achieved

Substantial progress achieved

HOW CONNECTICUT COMPARES

State Rankings from Mental Health America iv

2015

2020

2021

2022

Overall State Rank for Youth Mental Health

24

8

17

8

Youth with At Least One Major Depressive Episode in the Past Year

24,000 / 8.26%

36,000 / 13.16%

39,000 / 14.24%

39,000 / 14.41%

Youth with Major Depressive Episodes in the
Past Year Who Did Not Receive Treatment

Not Asked

16,000 / 43.6%

24,000 / 59.1%

24,000 / 65,60%

Youth with Major Severe Depressive Episodes in the Past Year

Not Asked

27,000 / 10.2%

24,000 / 9%

20,000 / 7.80%

Youth with Severe Major Depressive Episodes
Who Received Some Consistent Treatment

Not Asked

5,000 / 23.6%

5,000 / 21.6%

5,000 / 23.60%

Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance
for an Individualized Education Program

5,230 / 10.47%

5,526 / 11.51%

5,691 / 11.94%

5,824 / 12,43%

Youth with Private Insurance That Did Not
Cover Mental or Emotional Problems

22,625 / 39.8%

5,000 / 3.3%

5,000 / 3.3%

5,000 / 3.50%

Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year

20,000 / 6.85%

13,000 / 4.64%

13,000 / 4.64%

10,000 / 3.74 %

i. Projections of education statistics to 2022. National Center of Education Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014051.pdf.
ii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iv. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.

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School Mental Health Professionals

Little or no progress achieved

School psychologists, social workers, and counselors who, together, provide a range of necessary mental health services in schools.

 

Current Policy:

  • School psychologists: Connecticut has one school psychologist for every 548 students (the recommended ratio is 1:500).
  • School social workers: Connecticut has one school social worker for every 580 students (the recommended ratio is 1:250).
  • School counselors: Connecticut has one school counselor for every 457 students (the recommended ratio is 1:250).

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Invest in increasing the ratios of school psychologists, school social workers, and counselors in K-12, including through telehealth partnerships and workforce programs that incentivize careers in mental health.

School-Family-Community Partnerships

Meaningful progress achieved

Policies that support and enable schools to engage with families and community partners.  

Current Policy:

  • Family/community engagement: State statutes and regulations require districts to adopt plans, policies, or strategies to engage parents and families in the educational process.
    • Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-221(g)(1) (2021) provides that each local and regional board of education shall develop, adopt and implement written policies and procedures to encourage parent-teacher communication.
    • Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-223j (2019) provides that school governance councils shall have responsibilities including working with school administration to develop a compact with parents/legal guardians and students outlining responsibilities for enrollment and school membership and ways that parents and school personnel can build a partnership to improve learning, and developing a written parent involvement policy outlining the role of parents/legal guardians in the school.
    • Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-4g (1997) provides that the State Board of Education shall develop a program to encourage local and regional boards of education to develop and implement plans to involve parents of students in the educational process in that district and to increase community involvement in the schools.
    • Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-4p (2015) provides that the State Board of Education shall develop a five-year implementation plan with goals and strategies to, among other things, encourage greater parental and community involvement in public schools.

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require partnerships between school districts and community mental health providers that ensure access to services for students with ongoing needs.

Teacher and Staff Training:

Meaningful progress achieved

Policies that support training of teachers and staff in mental health, substance use, and suicide prevention.

Current Policy:

  • Mental health and suicide prevention training:
  • Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-145o (2013) requires training for beginning teachers in classroom management and climate, including bullying and suicide prevention.
  • Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-220a (2021) requires local or regional boards of education to provide in-service training program for school employees who hold the initial educator, provisional educator or professional educator certificate, including information on health and mental health risk reduction, and prevention of and response to youth suicide.
  • Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-222j (2014) requires the Department of Education to provide training on the prevention, identification, and response to school bullying and teen dating violence, and the prevention of and response to youth suicide.

Policy Opportunity:

  • Expand on existing training requirements to ensure K-12 teachers and staff receive regular training on substance use conditions, including available school and community-based services and resources.

Funding Supports

Some progress achieved

Policies that help support funding of school mental health services for Medicaid-eligible students.  

Current Policy:

  • Medicaid coverage: State Medicaid program does not cover school-based mental health services for Medicaid-eligible students who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 plan, but not for all Medicaid-eligible students.
  •  
  • Medicaid telehealth: State Medicaid program covers school-based mental health services delivered via telehealth.

Policy Opportunity:

  • Expand Medicaid billing to include school-based mental health services, including via telehealth, for all Medicaid eligible students (beyond students with an IEP).
  • Ensure the state Medicaid program covers services delivered by school psychologists, social workers, and school counselors.

Well-Being Checks

Little or no progress achieved

Regular checks of mental wellness that help identify students and staff who may need support.  

 

Current Policy:

  • No well-being checks required.

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require annual well-being checks for all students and staff in K-12.

Healthy School Climate

Meaningful progress achieved

Policies that foster safe, supportive schools, including anti-bullying policies, school climate surveys, inclusive environment (anti-discrimination) policies, excused absences for mental health, alternatives to exclusionary discipline, and suicide prevention programs.

Current Policy:

  • Anti-bullying: Gen. Stat. § 10-222d (2021) provides that local and regional boards of education will develop and implement a safe school climate plan to address bullying and teen dating violence. Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 10-263e (2003) provides that the Department of Education will establish a competitive safe learning grant program to encourage healthy school environments that are free from bullying and intimidation.
  • Inclusive environment: Gen. Stat. § 10-222s (2019) requires each local and regional board of education to provide on the website of the department training materials to school administrators regarding prevention of and intervention in discrimination against and targeted harassment of students.
  • Mental health excused absences: Substitute S.B. 2/Public Act 21-46 requires local and regional boards of education to permit students to take up to two non-consecutive mental health wellness days per school year.
  • Alternatives to exclusionary discipline:

Policy Opportunity:

  • Enact legislation to address additional healthy school climate policies, such as requiring annual school climate surveys, and requiring age-appropriate suicide prevention education for students.

Skills for Life Success

Some progress achieved

Skills, such as responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and self-management, that help students succeed in school and life.  

Current Policy:

  • Life skills: The Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards include life skills competencies/standards for K-3 (CASEL).

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Extend existing life skills education requirements to K-12, including making training in the curriculum available to parents and caregivers.

Mental Health Education

Substantial progress achieved

Health education in K-12 that includes instruction on mental health.  

 

Current Policy:

  • Mental health education: Gen. Stat. § 10-16b (2021) requires K-12 instruction in mental and emotional health, including youth suicide prevention.