Committee advances $100,000 for Mid‑Fairfield Link program serving multilingual students to council

The Community Services Committee on June 24 voted to forward to the full City Council a proposed $100,000 agreement with Mid‑Fairfield Community Care Center to support the Latinx Integrated Care Link program for fiscal 2026–27.

Marissa Mangone, senior officer for business development and community partnerships at Mid‑Fairfield, told the committee Link — started in 2019 as a partnership between the city, Mid‑Fairfield and Norwalk Public Schools — is a school‑based program designed to reduce barriers to care for multilingual learners and families new to Norwalk. “Link was started in 2019 as a partnership between the city of Norwalk, Mid‑Fairfield, and Norwalk public schools,” Mangone said.

Natalie Rodriguez, Link’s program director, described staffing of three clinicians and two care coordinators and said the program operates in eight schools and provides licensed mental‑health clinicians, care coordination and in‑school and in‑home services. Mangone and Rodriguez cited program outcomes: of clients discharged during the past year about 90% achieved meaningful improvements on a standardized functioning/problem‑severity scale, and more than 90% reported favorable experiences with staff communication and responsiveness.

Committee members asked about referral pathways and community resources; presenters said care coordinators and clinicians work closely with schools and community partners to connect families to tangible supports and higher levels of care when needed. The committee voted unanimously to move the funding authorization to the full City Council for final action.