Message from the Director of the Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services

On behalf of the Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services and the Delaware Children's Department, I am delighted to invite you to register for this important conference where we will spend the day better understanding the mental health needs of and services for Delaware’s young children and their families. I have the pleasure to kick off the day with an overview of the New Division, formerly called the Division of Child Mental Health Services. Our new name reinforces our mission –– to provide effective prevention, early intervention and treatment services for children through collaboration with families and community partners.

Through this year’s conference, you will learn from experts and hear from family members about their first hand experiences in evidence-based treatments for young children with mental health, emotional and behavioral challenges. Our keynote speaker is Robin Gurwitch, Ph.D., a leading trainer in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) who specializes in improving the understanding of and response to children with child traumatic stress and working with the child welfare population.

Additionally, you will have the opportunity to choose from ten workshops where you will gain insights into the work of the Division and Delaware’s B.E.S.T. for Young Children and Their Families. Funded through a federal grant from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Delaware’s B.E.S.T. enabled our Division to begin its transformation towards providing a continuum of treatment and services for the full age range of children, from birth up to age 18.

Our Division is committed to increasing access to high-quality, evidence-based mental health and substance abuse treatment for children and families in Delaware. We are also committed to increasing the treatment capacity of local organizations and practitioners. Together with our treatment providers, community partners, government agency collaborators, families and advocates, we are making significant strides in increasing both access to and quality of treatment.

I look forward to having family members and caregivers, providers, advocates, and our System of Care partners join us at this year’s Delaware Conference on Young Children’s Mental Health and Child Traumatic Stress, scheduled for Thursday, September 30, 2010, at the University of Delaware/Clayton Hall in Newark, Delaware.

I thank you for your dedication to your profession and to the children we serve. I anticipate you will find the commitment of your time to be well worth your effort. For your convenience, both the conference brochure and our Division newsletter are available via downloadable PDFs on this website.

Susan A. Cycyk, M.Ed., CRC
Director