Connecticut Family First - Connecticut's Department of Children and Families (DCF) requests funding to accelerate title IV-E prevention implementation across two service tracks: building claiming infrastructure for two established prevention services, and launching a new prevention service within Connecticut's Outpatient Psychiatric Clinics for Children (OPCC) network. Connecticut already delivers Functional Family Therapy (FFT) and Multisystemic Therapy (MST) statewide to eligible families; both are rated well-supported by the title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse and are already in Connecticut's approved five-year prevention plan, but neither currently generates title IV-E reimbursement, and both maintain statewide waitlists. This project will build the eligibility determination, documentation, cost allocation, and funding-coordination infrastructure needed to operationalize claiming for both, generating new revenue Connecticut can reinvest to expand capacity and reduce those waitlists. The project will also implement Motivational Interviewing (MI), a Clearinghouse-rated well-supported practice not yet in Connecticut's title IV-E prevention plan, as a new OPCC-delivered prevention service. MI is already used informally by OPCC clinicians with 814 children having received this service in FY2025, making it the second most frequently delivered evidence-based practice. What's missing is the credentialed training, fidelity monitoring, documentation, and claiming infrastructure title IV-E requires. Implementation will begin with up to 11 of Connecticut's 26 OPCC clinics, serving a population involved with the child welfare system at roughly 5.6 times the rate of Connecticut's general child population, making family engagement at this point of contact a direct lever for the Family First Prevention Services Act's goal of safely reducing foster care entries. The project will build that training, fidelity, and documentation model within DCF's Provider Information Exchange (PIE), plus a claiming pathway anchored to verified clinician qualification, designed to extend to DCF's own child welfare workforce in a future phase. Across both tracks, the project will integrate claiming, referral, and outcomes data across DCF's core systems, establish a continuous quality improvement framework, and produce case studies for national dissemination through ACF's learning community. DCF is the title IV-E agency and applicant; Chapin Hall is the project's sole subrecipient, providing technical assistance on claiming, data infrastructure, and evaluation; and the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut (CHDI), DCF's existing OPCC quality improvement contractor, will extend its role to MI training, coaching, and fidelity support. By the end of the 18-month period, Connecticut expects operational title IV-E claiming for FFT, MST, and MI; an initial cohort of 11 OPCCs delivering MI as a claimable service; and financing and data infrastructure built to sustain and expand access beyond the award period.
