The Village for Families & Children is the type of organization positioned to fill one of Connecticut's glaring needs.
The Hartford-based nonprofit offers nearly 50 programs ranging from behavioral health and early childhood care to financial and career assistance.
It also runs substance use treatment programs, an area where Connecticut is struggling to address a major gap in its social safety net.
As we reported last month, the state has been unable to find providers willing to offer intensive residential substance use treatment for teens covered by Medicaid.
After the story was published, The Village for Families & Children said it had been interested in starting such a program, but the cost proved too high — even after the state boosted its Medicaid reimbursement rates.
Its inability to step in demonstrates the challenge of serving teens struggling with addiction.
Tammy Freeberg, the organization’s senior vice president of strategy and planning, said The Village explored opening a residential program for youth enrolled in HUSKY Health last year. But it realized it would need more financial assistance to build and maintain the program.
"One major barrier to launching a program is the start-up investment required," Freeberg said in an email. "Operationally, providers need a financial model that supports sustainability."
Beyond clinicians specialized in adolescent care, teens typically need access to education and treatment plans that involve the entire family.
"Treating substance use in adolescents differs from adults due to their development age and stage and the role of the family system," Freeberg said. "Motivation and engagement can be a bigger hurdle."
Currently, The Village offers substance use treatment at outpatient and intensive in-home levels of care. It has also treated teens through its short-term residential crisis stabilization program — although it was designed to address behavioral health crises, and only allows stays of up to two weeks.
"Our team treated a 13-year-old who was sober for two weeks in our care for the first time in two years," Freeberg said. "Initial treatment outside the home, where parental substance use was present, was critical to making longer-term changes."
While the number of kids who require intensive residential treatment may be small, Freeberg insisted that access remains critical.
The Village is one of many members that make up The CT Community Nonprofit Alliance, known as The Alliance. Many, including the Village, contract with the state Department of Children and Families to provide behavioral health and substance use treatment.
Alliance president and CEO Gian-Carl Casa said Connecticut has the revenue to fund these programs, but needs to make it a priority.
While the cost may be high, Casa believes it's worth it if the result is keeping adolescent substance misuse from continuing into adulthood.
"Every time you make an investment in the system to be prepared to deal with these individual cases, you're saving money," he said. "Or at least potentially saving money into the future."
