Children’s Health Initiative

Mission

The Children’s Health Initiative (CHI) brings together clinicians and researchers to advance children’s mental health policy through the development and dissemination of evidence-based approaches. CHI specializes in strategies  for improving health care access, engagement, and outcomes among vulnerable populations at-risk for disparities.

Who We Are

Launched in 2002, the Children’s Health Initiative (CHI) is an internationally-recognized children’s health policy research group located within the Academic Research Programs of the Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). It brings together a team of clinicians and researchers dedicated to improving outcomes for children with mental health needs. The CHI team regularly collaborates with other research teams within CHA, as well as across the country in activities related to analyzing practice approaches and delivery system design elements intended to enhance clinical quality and cost-effectiveness.

The Children’s Health Initiative’s founder and director, Dr. Katherine E. Grimes, is a child psychiatrist and children’s health services researcher, who participates actively in training programs within Harvard Medical School, the Harvard teaching hospitals, Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Tufts School of Public Health, to develop workforce capacity, and develop innovative research into social policy outcomes and ways to improve population health.

Meet the team here!

What’s New

SAMHSA LogoSeptember 30, 2020. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has awarded CHI and the Cambridge Public Health Commission a 4-year, $4 million grant for the “The Safety-Net Approach: Weaving a Community-based System-of-Care to Improve Child Mental Outcomes” project, led by Dr. Katherine Grimes  at Cambridge Health Alliance. The Safety-Net project is intended to disrupt disparities in mental health treatment access for children at-risk for childhood trauma (ACEs) and/or serious emotional disturbance (SED).