National technical assistance center for child, youth and family mental health - the university of connecticut's innovations institute and the family-run executive leadership association (FREDLA),…

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) awarded the University of Connecticut $25.342 million on September 30, 2025, to operate the National Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth, and Family Mental Health (NTTAC) under the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances (SED) program (CFDA 93.104). The award extends through September 29, 2030, with performance based in Storrs, Connecticut.

The University of Connecticut's Innovations Institute, in partnership with the Family-Run Executive Leadership Association (FREDLA) and a pool of subject matter experts, will deliver training and technical assistance (TTA) to Children's Mental Health Initiative (CMHI) and Statewide Family Network (SFN) recipients, family- and youth-run organizations, System of Care partners, and child-serving systems and provider networks. NTTAC will embed lived experience in leadership through two deputy positions throughout all activities. The center will serve children, youth, and young adults with or at risk for serious emotional disturbance, including those with co-occurring substance use and developmental challenges, and their families. Priority TTA topics include governance and collaboration, building accessible service arrays, workforce retention and development, crisis and suicide prevention, financing and sustainability, cross-sector collaboration, family and youth peer support, managed care for youth with complex needs, and technology use.

The University of Connecticut has engaged multiple sub-recipients to deliver technical assistance components: Education Development Center, Inc. (awarded March 17, 2026), the Family-Run Executive Director Leadership Association (March 12, 2026), The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute for Texas (February 2, 2026), the National Alliance on Mental Illness (January 27, 2026), the Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc. (January 19, 2026), the National Council for Behavioral Health (January 19, 2026), Judge Baker Children's Center (January 15, 2026), and the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (January 5, 2026).

National technical assistance center for child, youth and family mental health - the university of connecticut's innovations institute and the family-run executive leadership association (FREDLA), along with their partners and pool of subject matter experts (SMES) will operate the national technical assistance center for child, youth, and family mental health (NTTAC) with lived experience in leadership (two deputy positions) throughout all activities. Training and technical assistance (TTA) will be provided for children's mental health initiative (CMHI) and statewide family network (SFN) recipients, family- and youth-run organizations (FROS/YROS), their system of care (SOC) partners, and child -serving systems and provider networks to better address the prevalence of children's mental health conditions in the US and the barriers to accessing high quality care. NTTAC's population focus includes children, youth, and young adults, with, or at risk for, serious emotional disturbance, including those with CO-occurring substance use and developmental challenges, and their families. Despite surging rates of youth depression, suicidality and overdose, fewer than one in five youth with these disorders access needed services (CDC, 2023). Contributing factors include high workforce turnover and reduced investment in evidence-based community service. As a result, there is an increased reliance on emergency departments (EDS) and out-of-home (OOH) placements - reversing decades of progress. Drawing from our experiences while serving as NTTAC from 2015 to 2020, a literature review, and 2025 survey and focus group data, we identified priority TTA topics of: governance and collaboration; building a broad, accessible service array; workforce retention and development; crisis/suicide prevention; financing and sustainability; cross-sector and interagency collaboration and systems management; family and youth peer support; managed care for youth with complex needs; use of technology; and promoting family and youth leadership. The NTTAC will address these needs through a nimble and responsive, three-tiered TTA approach, informed by lived experience, grounded in implementation science, guided by data to advance SOC principles, and focused on fiscal and workforce sustainability throughout all TTA. In partnership with samhsa, we will establish a technical expert panel, with proposed national association membership, to provide guidance on overall project NTTAC implementation, including proposed products, approach and continuous quality improvement. Universal TTA (tier 1) will promote broad-based dissemination of resources and information and include a quarterly E-newsletter, website, and searchable resource portal with a 24/7 learning management system, an online directory of CMHI and SFN recipients, and a minimum of nine products and 4 online learning modules each year. Tailored TTA (tier 2) will provide more individualized TTA through rapid response; a minimum of four virtual learning communities to include one on SOC adaptive leadership & change management and one for family leaders; and annual CMHI and SFN meetings. Intensive TTA (tier 3) will strengthen system infrastructure, build organizational capacity, and support fidelity and sustainability of effective practices. Tier 3 will include individualized TA for CMHI and SFN recipients with an assigned TA lead and access to a broad array of SMES along with virtual and in-person site visits. Non-recipients will be able to request consultation through the NTTAC website. Tier 3 also will include a quality learning collaborative (planned in year 1 with launch in year 2), an intensive opportunity to address collaboration requirements between systems to address increased reliance on EDS and OOH placements particularly for youth with CO-occurring mental health and intellectual and developmental disabilities. NTTAC is projected to provide TTA to up 1,705 CMHI recipients; 600, FROS/SFN recipients; and 850 public entities, for a total of 3,155 over 5 years.