We are a team that believes
anything is possible.

As the coordinating unit of community-based services for youth and families in Haddam and Killingworth, we’ve seen there are no limits to what can be accomplished when we all work together to advance for the common good.

Our Purpose

About 50 years ago, municipalities in Connecticut began creating Youth Service Bureaus (YSBs) to address growing youth problems, including crime, family crises, school truancy, and substance abuse. In 1975 Public Act No. 75-487 established YSBs as a permanent part of the service delivery system for youth and families within what is now the Department of Children and Families (DCF).

Since then, YSBs such as ours have been asked to play a growing role in the community. This includes providing positive youth development, bullying prevention, and mentoring programs, as well as acting as a Juvenile Review Board that gives young offenders the opportunity to make things right without going to Juvenile Court. We act as a service bridge among families, police departments, school systems, human service departments, mental health delivery systems, and the DCF.

Mission

HKYFS Vision, Core Values, and Strategic Plan

In 2022, the HKYFS Board of Directors hired the Haddam-based Strategic Planning Company Build Your Plan Now, LLC to guide the desired future and focus of the agency for the next 3-5 years. Interviews with community stakeholders and a community survey were conducted to help determine a common vision and direction for the agency.

The community survey responses ranked the most critical services offered by HKYFS as:

  • #1: Child Therapy
  • #2 Youth Prevention Programming
  • #3 Family Therapy
  • Other notable items: H-K Community Coalition, Youth Groups, Educational Programs within Community, Adult Individual Therapy, LGBTQ Support

The community response to the level of concern regarding issues impacting YOUTH

  • #1: Mental Health
  • #2: Bullying
  • #3: Prescription drugs, illicit drugs, and alcohol

Through this feedback, the Board of Directors determined the following:

  • VISION

  • CORE VALUES

 

 

 

 

  • STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

 

Our Team

Our staff has years of experience in community support and is backed by a hard-working Board of Directors.
Please feel free to contact any of us to find out more about getting help—or helping us provide it.

Staff

Board

Patti Coletti

Patty Coletti

HK Mentor Program Coordinator

Alli Behnke

Director of Mental Health and Prevention

Kerry Holmes

Bookkeeper

Kyana Anderson

Prevention Coordinator & Youth Program Coordinator

Denise Grodzicki

Contract Clinician

Jennifer Favalora

Director of Operations

Scott Erskine

Board Member, Killingworth

Lauren Perley

Board Member, Killingworth

Jane Baird

Chair, Haddam

Heather Pach

Vice Chair, Haddam

Kerry Emerson

Treasurer, Killingworth

Shawna Goldfarb

Member, Haddam

Marc Adelberg

Board Member, Haddam

Louise Hayash

Member, Killingworth

Kim Kelly

Secretary, Haddam

Gretchen Spector

Board Member, Haddam

We’re Proud to Work
with Incredible Partners

Our Impact

60%

We have seen a 60% increase in new families requesting counseling services.

87%

We have seen an 87% increase in families requesting holiday giving help.

150%

We have seen a 150% increase in local families requesting school supplies.

Resources

These are some of the resources that young people and families can draw on through HKYFS.