Government to Spend Millions to Address Childhood Trauma
An influx of funding from the federal government is intended to improve the lives of children and adolescents who are experiencing trauma, whether due to war, domestic violence, or chronic and serious illness.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in September awarded $28 million to a group of programs that deal with youth being treated for the mental health sequelae of trauma exposure.
“These grants will strengthen the nation's capacity to provide help to children of all ages who experience traumatic events, such as interpersonal violence, natural disasters, or acts of terrorism,” said Terry Cline, Ph.D., SAMHSA administrator, in a press release announcing the grants.
Each grant recipient will receive up to $600,000 a year for up to four years.
The following is a description of the programs that received SAMHSA grants for trauma treatment:
Children's Hospital Corporation, Boston: $599,998 a year to support network centers to fund interventions for child refugees who may have been exposed to war, political oppression, torture, and/or forced displacement. | |||||
University of Maryland at Baltimore: $600,000 a year to develop, implement, and evaluate family-based interventions for underserved urban and military populations. | |||||
The University of Montana, Missoula: $600,000 a year to evaluate evidence-based trauma treatments American Indian/Alaska Native children, particularly on reservations. | |||||
Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York: $600,000 a year to fund trauma-focused interventions to serve children and families in protective-service settings. | |||||
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: $599,829 a year to address and reduce medical trauma in the lives of children and their families by promoting trauma-focused health care and integrating evidence-based tools into pediatric medical care. | |||||
Children's Institute, Los Angeles: $400,000 in the first year to implement the Central Los Angeles Child Trauma Collaborative that will improve access to trauma-specific mental health treatment for high-risk urban children and adolescents, many of whom are ethnic minorities. | |||||
Denver Department of Human Services: $400,000 a year to make child-parent psychotherapy available to abused and neglected children and their families within Denver's child-welfare system. | |||||
Children's Home Society of Florida, Pensacola: $400,000 a year to partner with the Florida Mental Health Institute and develop a Trauma Recovery for Youth Center. | |||||
University of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington: $400,000 a year to provide clinical training and information on evidence-based practices in four rural and urban areas in the state. | |||||
Mental Health Services for Homeless Persons Inc., Cleveland: $400,000 a year to serve traumatized children aged 4 to 18 who have been referred for treatment and to provide training for employees of the Department of Children and Family Services of Cuyahoga County. | |||||
Latino Health Institute, Boston: $399,999 in the first year to improve access to and quality of treatment and intervention services for Latino children and their families who have been impacted by traumatic events. | |||||
Kennedy Krieger Research Institute Baltimore: $399,961 a year to provide comprehensive services for high-risk, underserved children who have experienced traumatic events. | |||||
Community Counseling Center, Portland, Maine: $400,000 in the first year to implement a community-wide trauma-focused system of care for children who have witnessed violence at home. | |||||
Catholic Charities Inc., Jackson, Miss.: $400,000 in the first year to implement a trauma-focused system of care to provide best practices for children and their families who have experienced trauma. | |||||
Aliviane Inc., El Paso, Texas: $400,000 in the first year to create a trauma-focused initiative with an array of evidence-based services for children exposed to complex trauma to help them improve social competence and better manage their emotions. ▪ | |||||
