Biography

Thomas A. Kirk, Jr., Ph.D.
Commissioner
Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
State of Connecticut

Governor John G. Rowland's nomination of Dr. Kirk for a second term as Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) was confirmed by the Connecticut General Assembly February 2003. His first term began May 2000, after having served as Deputy Commissioner since October 1995. The Department is a healthcare service agency whose half-billion dollar budget supports a comprehensive, person-centered array of health promotion, treatment and recovery support services delivered by 3,600 state operated staff and 130 non-profit service agencies under contract with the Department.

His primary goal as Commissioner has been to reframe the Connecticut behavioral healthcare system into a recovery-oriented system of care whose single most defining characteristic is its quality. In support of this goal, he has focused on promoting cross-state agency and public-private partnerships, expansion of recovery support services such as housing, and on implementing culturally competent and integrated services for persons whose needs are particularly challenging or not well met in the current system. This has led to an emphasis on system redesign and evidence-based practices for persons with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, those with histories of trauma, young adults, forensic clients, high volume users of more expensive behavioral health services, and persons involved with the judicial and/or child welfare systems.

His experience has led him to conclude that one's values, not just their technical knowledge, are what is most important. His values include a strong belief in public service, that substance abuse and mental illness are treatable healthcare issues, that one's income, gender, or culture should never be a barrier to receiving the highest levels of care and respect, and that the best teachers of what services work and are needed are the persons we are honored to serve.

This statewide leadership role is the latest in a career of design, delivery, and management of behavioral healthcare services in the private and public sectors. Dr. Kirk's work began as a tenured faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia. He later led a psychological consulting firm, had a private practice, and served as a psychologist, manager, clinical director, and then senior administrator of varied public systems of behavioral healthcare. His most recent private sector position was from 1990 to 1995 as President of Liberation Programs, a substance abuse healthcare agency in Stamford, Connecticut.

Dr. Kirk is the chair of the Connecticut Community Mental Health Strategy Board, co-chair of the state's Alcohol and Drug Policy Council as well as its Mental Health Policy Council, and was co-chair of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Mental Health. All of these multi-state agency, public-private sector bodies help to set the strategic direction and funding support for mental health and substance abuse services in Connecticut.

Dr. Kirk earned his Ph.D. in experimental/clinical psychology from Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C., is a member of varied national professional and healthcare associations, has authored and presented numerous professional papers, and has been recognized with national awards for his work and career.

Dr. Kirk lives in Ridgefield, Connecticut and his family includes wife Janet, daughter Jessica, son Michael and daughter in law Julie and their first child, Patrick Lucas, born April 2001.