Innovations Institute
Improving Outcomes for Children, Youth, Their Families, and Communities Through Translational Research and Implementation
The Innovations Institute at the UConn School of Social Work builds research-based, inclusive, culturally-responsive, and transformative child-, youth-and family-serving systems and services, and develops the capacity of the workforce within these systems.
We do this work in partnership with government agencies, health care providers, youth and their families, and community-based organizations in order to improve outcomes for and with children, youth, and their families.



Who We Are
Innovations Institute faculty and staff have nationally recognized expertise, education, and leadership in the fields of:
Care Coordination
Child Welfare
Crisis Response Systems
Instructional Design & Media
Juvenile Justice
LGBTQ+
Mental Health
Policy, Finance & Systems Design
Research & Evaluation
Systems of Care
Workforce Development & Implementation
Youth & Families
We support state and local governments and organizations in implementing and sustaining effective systems and clinical practices that best meet the needs of those involved in the public systems and their families and communities.
We provide training, technical assistance, facilitation, analysis, consulting, implementation support, and research and evaluation to support workforce development, systems design and financing, data-driven strategic planning, and quality improvement. Our work is grounded in research, a commitment to social justice, experience and expertise from the field, adult learning theory, and implementation science.
Scope & Impact
Innovations Institute is a leader in building effective services to improve the well-being and ensure vibrant futures for children, youth, their families, and communities. Our programs touch nearly every state and territory in the nation and, through online and in person training, we have trained over 60,000+ practitioners in child welfare, children’s behavioral health, and other child-serving systems. The impact of this work is improved quality and effectiveness of services that are responsive to unique needs of children, youth, young adults, and their families from diverse communities, cultural backgrounds, races, genders, and experiences.


Vision
We believe we can achieve a world where all families thrive in their communities and the work of child-, youth-, and family-serving public systems is grounded in research and implementation science and driven by principles of anti-racism, social justice, equity, inclusion, and authentic partnerships with youth and their families and communities.
Mission
The Innovations Institute at the UConn School of Social Work uses its research, commitment to social justice, partnerships with youth and families, and expertise to build robust, inclusive, culturally responsive, and high-quality child-, youth-, and family-serving public systems.
Our Centers
The National SOGIE Center

NWIC

QIC-R

QIC-LGBTQ2S

TA Network

CoE-LGBTQ+

