NAHC will implement the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative at our health centers located in Sobrante Park & Fruitvale/San Antonio neighborhoods of East Oakland, California with expansion in the greater Bay Area. Residents of our community are highly susceptible to experiencing trauma in their lifetime due to a combination of environmental & socioeconomic factors- including elevated rates of poverty, exposure to violence, drug addiction, racial discrimination, & limited health care access. According to 2018 Census data, rates within our clinic zip code compared to county averages show: unemployment (6.4% v 4%); residents that have received federal assistance within the past 12 months (20.9% v 7%); residents that do not have health care coverage (17.9% v 6.9%); & families that live at our below the federal poverty line (23.4% v 7.4%), all which contribute to increased trauma related mental health issues such as depression, anxiety & post-traumatic stress disorder. Though trauma is often believed to be experienced in adults, the stressful social & environmental factors experienced by children in early age is likely to cause disruptions in development which can lead to substance use, anxiety, depression as well as an increase of chronic health & mental health conditions as adults. As indicated by NAHC youth trauma screenings. Among 472 youth served among UFSA/Life & Madison SBHCs in 2018, 36% were screened for trauma with 8% identified as needing follow up by a clinician. Of the youth receiving depression screenings in 2018, 75% received positive screens, demonstrating need for additional clinical services. This demonstrates the need to provide youth with not only direct trauma informed treatment services, but culturally appropriate programming.
Network Members
This listing of NCTSN members includes current grantees as well as NCTSN Affiliates, former grantees who have maintained their ties to the Network.
Native American Health Center
Network for Enhancing Wellness in Disaster-Affected Youth (NEW DAY)
The Network for Enhancing Wellness in Disaster-Affected Youth (NEW DAY) provides national expertise, training, and technical assistance on the behavioral health needs and intervention of youth in disaster-hit and disaster-prone communities. Under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Comer, NEW DAY works to improve professional knowledge, skill, adoption, and implementation of evidence-based, trauma-focused disaster services and supports for youth, with a primary emphasis on meaningfully reducing racial and ethnic disparities in post-disaster behavioral health and service provision. NEW DAY engages with school systems, youth-serving professionals, families, community agencies, stakeholder partners, and technology to broaden the reach and sustainability of supported behavioral health programs for trauma-exposed youth, including Psychological First Aid (PFA), Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR), and Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement (CARE).
NeuroDevelopmental Science Center, Akron Children's Hospital
Akron Children's Hospital strives to raise awareness of the affect of traumatic stress and adversity on traumatized children and their families. This initiative will train medical health providers and staff on the physical and psychological consequences of experiencing adverse events and the importance of early identification. We also focus on building resiliency in those who work with traumatized children and families.
New York Presbyterian Hospital
The Family PEACE (Preventing Early Adverse Childhood Experiences) Trauma Treatment Center (FPTTC) at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's Ambulatory Care Network works to help very young children and their families heal from experiences of family violence, abuse, and other forms of trauma. The program provides mental health services to children ages birth to five years of age (0-5), siblings (6-12), and caregivers who have been exposed to various forms of trauma. FPTTC is dedicated to improving the safety and well-being of children and families exposed to violence/abuse and breaking the intergenerational transmission of trauma through early identification and treatment. We believe in promoting inherent strength and authenticity of individuals and families by creating a safe, empowered community for people to feel seen, heard, and valued through self-awareness, cultural attunement, and spiritual sensitivity. FPPTC is committed to providing trauma-informed, culturally responsive programming that is rooted in anti-oppression principles. Individuals have intersectional identities and backgrounds that are integral to their trauma experience and healing journey. At the FPTTC, we use concepts from liberation psychology and ethno-healing to acknowledge the impact of oppression and racial trauma on families. Our goal is to align our interventions with the individual's cultural beliefs and values to help families form a healing narrative. Our clinic offers integrative therapies- spiritual counseling, creative arts, and somatosensory approaches. Further, we have intentionally made efforts to embed anti-racism and anti-oppression principles at all clinic levels, from hiring, training, policy/practice to clinical service delivery.
New York University School of Medicine
Newman, Jan
Nora McNamara
Nora McNamara was the child and adolescent psychiatrist for the Children Who Witness Violence pilot program in Cleveland, Ohio from 2001-2009. Currently, McNamara serves as the child and adolescent psychiatrist on the Trauma Systems Therapy collaborative team with Frontline Services, Canopy, the Centers for Families and Children, and the Cuyahoga County Coroner's office in Cleveland, Ohio.
Norrington-Sands, Kimani, PhD
As a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, I have over twenty years of experience working in collaboration with children, families, and professionals to support mental well-being. My work has been informed by my personal experiences as a trauma survivor as well as extensive training/professional work in trauma. In recognition of the multiple ways that sociohistorical contextual issues impacts mental health, I have developed and co-developed a number of trainings such as: Black Youth & Suicide; Is Your Job Mask Making It Hard For You To Breathe; Supporting Your Child(ren) and Yourself During Challenging TImes; and Cultural Context & Trauma:Implications for Students. For a number of years, I have been an active participant in NCTSN in the Culture Consortium as well as Racial Justice and Trauma Subcommittees. I am currently a Co-Chair of the Practice Based Effectiveness Workgroup.
Northern Rivers Family of Services
Parsons Child and Family Center’s Sidney Albert Training and Research Institute (SATRI) has provided training, consultation, and research as a NCTSN Community Practice Site since 2002, including national and regional leadership in developing and disseminating evidence-supported trauma and resiliency-focused services for children and families with traumatic stress. The HEROES Project, a SAMHSA-funded NCTSN grant, provided integrated trauma-informed training for six programs at Parsons, the Albany County Children’s Mental Health Clinic, and the Albany County Department of Children, Youth and Families from 2009-2012. The Project trained therapists, foster parents, residential counselors, child protective services workers, and educators, and evaluated of the efficacy of Real Life Heroes (RLH), a trauma and resiliency-focused treatment, to help children and families who had experienced multiple and interpersonal traumas such as emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, domestic violence, losses, or community violence. Results of HEROES Project research are being published in a journal of the American Psychological Association and include statistically significant decreases in child behavior problems and trauma symptoms. The study supported the efficacy of implementing trauma and resiliency-focused treatment in a wide range of child welfare and children’s mental health programs. Following Parsons’ affiliation with the Northeast Parent and Child Society in 2012, the scope of SATRI training and consultation has more than doubled. The combined agencies currently serve more than 12,000 children and family members each year in 46 counties of New York State with 60 programs and over 1,200 staff. Primary service areas include: early childhood, education, training and research, behavioral health, family foster care, residential care, case management, prevention and family preservation, and career development. As a NCTSN affiliate organizations, the two agencies have continued Parsons’ commitment to “‘learning, adapting, creating, and delivering the most effective services for children and families.”’ Training programs, research, and publications continue Parsons’ commitment over the last 12 years to collaborative work with other NCTSN colleagues on disseminating evidence-supported trauma treatment. This has included participation in the NCTSN Affiliate Advisory Group, the Complex Trauma and Integrated Health Care committees, and co-leadership of the NCTSN Resource Parent Workgroup, which developed a highly regarded trauma-informed training used by foster, kinship, and adoptive parents across the United States. Training in Real Life Heroes, the Resource Parent Curriculum, and consultation on implementation of trauma-informed treatment in child welfare and children’s behavioral health programs are available through the Parsons SATRI.
Northern Virginia Family Service/Youth Initiatives
NVFS' Youth Initiatives programs provide teenagers and young adults with the skills and resources needed to build healthier well-being – at school, at home and within their communities. This includes connections to healthy activities as well as the skills to build and maintain healthy relationships with friends and family. Providing our youth with these tools helps them build brighter futures not only for themselves, but for their community as well. We provide therapeutic services which include, Groups, CBITS, Individual & Family mental health services, and educational workshops to address trauma recovery needs of referred clients. We serve all of Northern Virginia at no cost.