Child & Family Services

Bridges’ outpatient child and family services are dedicated to providing behavioral health services to children, adolescents and their families. The program provides individual, family, and group therapy.

Bridges also partners with several local school systems to provide behavioral health services on-site at specific area schools. Services include comprehensive psychosocial assessments, developmental evaluations, psychotherapy, psychiatric consultation, collaboration with the school system and other service providers, and case management.

Services are available to children up to the age of 18 – through their 18th birthday until the day before they turn 19.

The Care Coordination Program provides intensive, individualized coordination of services for children and their families. Care Coordination services are offered to any child or adolescent under age 18 with complex behavioral health needs requiring the coordination of multiple services.

The Care Coordinator partners with the family to: identify the child’s strengths and needs; create a support team; develop a plan of care that identifies needs and goals; locate and coordinate services and supports in the community; and advocate for services.

IICAPS provides intensive home based clinical and case management services for children and families. The IICAPS service delivery model is a team approach; a clinician, mental health worker, and psychiatrist work together to provide the necessary services. These include: comprehensive assessment of treatment needs; development and implementation of a goal-oriented treatment plan; individual, family, and couples psychotherapy; psychiatric consultation; crisis intervention; school observation and consultation; and case management. IICAPS works with a family for up to five hours per week for six months.

Services are designed for children under age 18 at risk for psychiatric hospitalization; returning to the home or community from a hospitalization or placement; or in a lower level of service and more intensive services are needed to maintain the child in the home or community.

IFP is a short-term, intensive, in-home service designed to intervene with targeted families in order to reduce immediate risk factors for future abuse and/or neglect and to assess the need for out of home placement. The staff provides case management services with two home visits per week for four to six months. The goal is to keep the family intact and to avoid the need for placement.

IFP services are provided for children under age 18 with an open DCF case and who are at risk of being removed from their home due to abuse or neglect. Referrals to the program are only accepted from DCF.

Bridges partners with the Milford Prevention Council (MPC), West Haven Prevention Council (WHPC) and Bethany, Orange and Woodbridge Drug and Alcohol Action Committee (BOWDAAC) to address underage drinking, the illegal use of marijuana, the abuse of prescription drugs, vaping, opioids and other identified substance abuse issues in the community. The Councils seek to achieve their goals through prevention education, the support of law enforcement and the strengthening of community collaboration. In addition, Bridges works with the Milford Public Schools to coordinate the Natural Helper Program.

ConnectiKIN (C-KIN) program is an innovative statewide Kinship Navigator Program that partners with kinship caregivers to provide the connections, support, and resources needed to raise resilient children who thrive. C-KIN also aims to provide opportunities for community outreach, connections, and collaboration so that equitable and consistent support is provided to build the confidence, connections, and self-reliance of kinship families. Kinship families will receive additional support, including assistance with economic and concrete needs, benefits coordination, legal advice, connection to peer support groups, and warm transfers. The kinship navigator works with the family for six months; a three-month extension is available if needed. All children in the program are involved with DCF. C-KIN serves children from birth to age 18 in kinship and fictive-kin homes (someone from church, neighbor, teacher, etc.) Referrals to the program are only accepted from DCF.

Primary healthcare services are now available onsite at our Milford Clinic offices for children engaged in services with Bridges. These services are provided by our medical partner, Optimus Healthcare. Caregivers of pediatric clients may call 203-608-3466 to make an appointment with Optimus at our clinic. Click here to learn more.

Bridges offers FREE Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) trainings. Youth MHFA teaches individuals how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use challenges among children and adolescents ages 12-18. This training gives adults who work with young people the skills they need to reach out and provide initial support to children and adolescents who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem and help connect them with appropriate care. To learn more or to register for a class, visit our MHFA page.