CTData Collaborative Earns $80,000 Grant
The Connecticut Data Collaborative (CTData), and the Hartford Data Collaborative (managed by staff from CTData), has been awarded an $80,000 grant for a new initiative, Behavioral Health Indicators for City Youth. Through this initiative, CTData will partner with state and city agencies and Hartford youth to develop and analyze data aimed at improving understanding of issues related to youth behavioral health, and lead to changes in youth programs and policies.
The grant, from Data Across Sectors for Health (DASH), is part of a multi-state initiative, Learning and Action in Policy and Partnerships (LAPP), supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Connecticut is one of only five states to have an organization selected to receive a grant in the initiative’s second year; the others are in Nebraska, New Mexico, Georgia and Utah.
Each organization is to receive up to $80,000 to support sustainable, coordinated local or state government and community partnerships as they leverage COVID-19 relief funds to advance policies for data sharing and data-integration efforts, improve a culture of health, and advance equity, and, importantly, inform state policy development.
“A primary goal of this project is to develop a better understanding of youth behavioral health in Hartford and across Connecticut, to enact more effective and equitable systems for youth,” explained Michelle Riordan-Nold, Executive Director of the CT Data Collaborative. “The project will expand Hartford’s ability to learn about its youth outcomes, particularly in behavioral health, by providing data-driven insights.”
CTData’s Hartford Data Collaborative initiative - a partnership of Hartford agencies and community leaders that facilitates data sharing and integration - will work with city and state partners to discuss and develop key indicators for youth behavioral health. The project will partner with the City of Hartford in its efforts to prevent youth violence and increase youth engagement by addressing barriers to successful supports for Hartford youth, who are struggling with the impacts of COVID-19.
The project will also provide an opportunity for the Hartford Data Collaborative to partner with Hartford youth to serve as Youth Researchers. The Youth Researchers will gain professional development skills in data literacy and analysis and share their knowledge and insights about youth behavioral health with city and state leaders as well as their community. Additionally, the project will further the integration of data from city providers of youth engagement programs funded by federal COVID-19 relief funds, to better understand the impact of federal funds and enhance ongoing youth engagement efforts in Hartford.
Leading the initiative for CTData and the Hartford Data Collaborative will be Kate Eikel, MPP, Data Integration Strategist and City-State Partnership Manager, joined by Geethika Fernando, MS, Data & Community Engagement Manager; and Jasmine Honegan, Data Engagement Specialist, who will serve as facilitator of workshops for Hartford youth.
"As a founding member and co-chair of the Hartford Data Collaborative Executive Board, we are thrilled for this investment in our community programs and our youth," said Kim Oliver, Director of the Department of Families, Children, Youth, and Recreation for the City of Hartford. "This project reflects Hartford's commitment to reducing youth violence through youth engagement and addressing youth behavioral health needs, especially after the challenges of closures and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. This data collaboration project is critical to our collective success."
This is the second round of funding in the multi-state DASH program, a collaboration between the Illinois Public Health Institute and its Michigan counterpart, MPHI; in partnership with the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS). In 2021, the program broke ground with six states, who are utilizing funds, resources, and technical assistance to enhance community data-sharing capabilities and foster relationships between state government, community-based organizations, and community members.
With the LAPP Program, DASH hopes to continue its core support of multi-sector collaboration and data sharing efforts and leverage these lessons to identify powerful policy and system change opportunities. The LAPP initiative was developed with guidance from federal and state officials, community-based organization leaders, subject matter experts, and community members.
To learn more about the Hartford Data Collaborative, visit https://www.ctdata.org/about-hdc; for more about the national initiative, visit www.DASHconnect.org/LAPP.
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