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
Patty Coletti
HK Mentor Program Coordinator
Alli Behnke
Director of Mental Health and Prevention
Kerry Holmes
Bookkeeper
Kyana Anderson
Prevention Coordinator
Jennifer Favalora
Director of Operations
Scott Erskine
Board Member, Killingworth
Lauren Perley
Board Member, Killingworth
Jane Baird
Co-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.
Services &
Resource Support
Confidential Call for Assistance – 211
Care4Kids – Info on Affordable Childcare
Birth to Three – Info on Child Development
Helping Hands (Killingworth) Food Pantry
Haddam Emergency Service Food Bank
Renter Assistance Programs
Local Health &
Municipal Services
Killingworth Health Department
CT River Area Health District (CRAHD)
CDC – COVID-19 Updates
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
The Invention of Race, podcast
The Mind of a Village: Understanding Our Implicit Biases, Hidden Brain Podcast
Implicit Bias Test
Let’s Get to the Root of Racial Injustice, TEDx
White Fragility – Brother to Sister
Jane Elliot’s 3rd Grade Lesson on Discrimination: A Class Divided