Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health | Thrive Center for Children, Families and Communities

a little boy holds his ears while looking out a window

The Thrive Center is committed to addressing the behavioral health needs of underserved individuals, including individuals with disabilities and co-occurring mental health problems, parents with disabilities, young children, children and families experiencing trauma and toxic stress, and children with special health care needs.

For many years, the Center’s work has focused on the promotion of positive mental health and treatment for all children through the creation of integrated community systems that assure needed services, support, and evidence-based interventions. This commitment includes strengthening innovative approaches in clinical and community settings to promote the positive mental health, effective treatment, and full recovery of children, adolescents, and their families.

Current Research

Robertson, H. A., Biel, M. G., Hayes, K. R., Snowden, S., Curtis, L., Charlot-Swilley, D., … & Domitrovich, C. E. (2023). Leveraging the expertise of the community: a case for expansion of a peer workforce in child, adolescent, and family mental health. International journal of environmental research and public health, 20(11), 5921.

Key Activities

Community and Clinical Services

Center for Innovation in School-Based Mental Health: Located in the Department of Psychiatry at Georgetown University, this center is developing innovative programming to bring high-quality mental health prevention and treatment services to schools serving low-income urban children and youth.
DC Early Childhood Innovation Network

Research and Evaluation

DC Social Emotional and Early Development (SEED) Project: A four-year Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) System of Care Expansion and Sustainability Cooperative Agreement was awarded to the DC Department of Behavioral Health in 2016 to address the needs of young children (birth-6) who were at-risk for or diagnosed with serious emotional disturbance (SED). GUCCHD led a mixed methods evaluation to support the project’s. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the community-based clinical teams shifted to delivering early childhood mental health treatment services via telehealth.