Puerto Rican Family Institute (PRFI) has opened the Children and Adolescent Trauma Center to provide trauma-informed services to Latin children ages 2 to 21, their families, and communities. Our clinicians are trained in the evidence-based practices, TF-CBT, embedding the principles of a trauma-informed organization in PRFI and offering community trauma education, consultation, and referral information to a diverse range of partners. The geographic catchment area is comprised of three New York City boroughs: Manhattan, Bronx, and Brooklyn, where PRFI maintains clinics and where we have strong current partnerships with schools and community-based organizations. Emotional trauma is one of the most unrecognized, undiagnosed, and untreated forms of trauma. Puerto Rican Family Institute proposes to help change that by enhancing our clinical expertise, leveraging the trust PRFI has established in the NYC Latin communities, and relying on the reputation we have for high-quality, culturally-informed services among our partners – medical organizations, schools, community coalitions, and other community organizations. We will provide education to understand a trauma-informed framework and perspective and prioritize practical and applied strategies that have immediate benefits for the well-being and healing of traumatized children, families, and staff who work with traumatized populations.
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.
Puerto Rican Family Institute
Purdue University Northwest
Purdue University Northwest is a leading metropolitan university situated in Northwest Indiana (NWI) and is affiliated with the Purdue University system. In partnership with multiple NWI pediatric and behavioral health organizations, the PNW Psychology Department is launching NWI-IMPETUS: Northwest Indiana Identification and Management of Pediatric Experiences of Trauma and Underlying Stress. Acknowledging that pediatric primary care clinics are pivotal in identifying trauma-affected children and families, this initiative aims to introduce regular screening for pediatric traumatic stress and enhance access to evidence-based interventions, both brief and long-term, across a notably underserved area of Indiana.
Ragan, Megan, MSW, LSW
Megan Ragan is a Licensed Social Worker with over 10 years experience in rural child-serving systems. Megan is considered a trauma specialist by those in her professional community; and she has accrued over 250 hours of training on subjects related to childhood trauma, trauma-informed care and secondary traumatic stress. Since 2020, Megan has been leading the Illinois branch of the Centerstone Trauma, Training and Treatment program. During this time, she has provided numerous community and organizational trainings on subjects related to trauma as well as facilitated the creation and development of the clinical program which currently provides evidence-based trauma therapy to over 200 local children. Most notably, Megan has been afforded the opportunity to increase trauma awareness through educational and positive messaging using multiple mediums including television, radio, and print. Megan is a trained clinician with formal training and experience in multiple evidence-based practices including TF-CBT, EMDR, CPP, and PCIT. In July 2022, Megan resigned from her position at Centerstone and is currently employed by The Stress and Trauma Treatment Center in Eldorado, IL, as an associate on a HRSA grant focused on addressing Southern Illinois' rural opioid crisis. In this position, Megan collaborates with community partners to exam the intersection of trauma and substance misuse for the purpose of increasing preventative measures as well as developing the current systems and supports already in place.
Rains, Mark, PhD
Offering consultation in trauma/resilience informed organizational assessment, secondary traumatic stress management and prevention, building resilience and resourcefulness in early childhood, integrated care for stress/trauma related problems, and polyvagal model of stress response systems (add "Safe-to-Friend" to Fight/Flight/Freeze/Faint).
Ralston, "Libby" M. Elizabeth, PhD
Elizabeth Ralston, PhD was the founding director of the Dee Norton Lowcountry Children’s Center, Inc. (DNLCC) an accredited Children’s Advocacy Center located in Charleston, South Carolina and, since her retirement in 2012, has served as their Director Emeritus.
Dr. Ralston is on the clinical faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at the Medical University of South Carolina. She has served on the National Children’s Alliance (NCA) Board of Directors and the NCA mental health standard revision committee, and participated in the partnership between NCA and NCTSN to develop the CAC Director’s Guide to Mental Health services. She currently serves as the vice chair of the South Carolina Children’s Justice Act Task Force.
Dr. Ralston served as the project director when DNLCC was designated as a Level III Center 2008, and implemented a community-based learning collaborative in the Charleston area in the provision of evidence-supported treatment for children with sexual behavior problems funded through SAMSHA. She has served as the co-director of Project BEST since 2007. This project, funded by the Duke Endowment, is a partnership between MUSC and NCVRC, and has developed and utilized a community based learning collaborative coordinated through Children’s Advocacy Centers.
The goal of Project BEST is to increase the availability of evidence-based treatment to the children of South Carolina by training community mental health professionals in the delivery of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy with fidelity, and training community treatment brokers to do evidence-based treatment planning and case management.
In 2013, Project BEST was expanded to the South Carolina Trauma Practice Initiative, a partnership between the Duke Endowment, the Dee Norton Lowcountry Children’s Center, the National Crime Victims Center at the Medical University of South Carolina, the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, and the South Carolina Department of Social Services. The goal of SCTPI is to increase to 100% the number of professionals trained through PB by training the majority of clinicians, supervisors, and senior leaders within the public mental health system, as well as caseworkers, supervisors, and senior leaders within the child welfare system. This project is expected to significantly increase the availability of evidence-based practice to the children of South Carolina and also to increase the collaboration between mental health and child welfare professionals, with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes for abused/traumatized children and their families in South Carolina.
Reagan, Laura, LCSW-C
Laura specializes in trauma and attachment focused therapy with adults with complex trauma from childhood. TJ works with mothers and parenting partners to address perinatal mental health using a trauma and attachment focus. Mary Beth helps children and adolescents, along with their families, when there has been attachment disruption due to trauma and loss. Sara specializes in complex/traumatic grief, particularly in adults who are survivors of a loved one's suicide. January specializes in selective mutism, sensory processing, and somatic co-regulation with young children, adolescents and their families using an attachment and trauma perspective. Jeanne works with adults with trauma from childhood abuse or other traumatic experiences.
Residential Child Care Project/College of Human Ecology
The “Creating Conditions for Change - Therapeutic Foster Care” project strives to improve the quality of therapeutic foster care (TFC), an essential undertaking as the Family First Prevention Services Act restrictions will increase the number and acuity of children placed in TFC. The goals are: 1) increase Therapeutic Foster Parents (TFPs) access to training that improves their capacity to meet their children’s trauma-specific needs, 2) increase the capacity of agency staff to support and mentor TFPs as they apply new skills and knowledge regarding trauma-informed care, and 3) increase the capacity of voluntary and public agencies to train, support, and retain qualified TFPs in their TFC programs. Two existing programs – the Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Families (TCIF) and Children and Residential Experiences: Creating Conditions for Change (CARE) - will be adapted, integrated, and updated based on a review of current scientific literature and stakeholder focus groups. CARE, a trauma-informed, evidence-based program model provides a set of evidence-informed principles that emphasize building developmental relationships, maintaining trauma-sensitive environments, and working effectively with biological families. TCIF is an evidence-informed curriculum that prepares foster parents to therapeutically prevent, de-escalate, or manage challenging behaviors. To improve accessibility, both TFP and Staff trainings will include materials to facilitate learning in three modalities: in-person training, live virtual training, and self-paced E-learning. Training a cadre of 240 3C-TFC Trainers will accelerate the adoption of this new trauma-informed, relationship-focused program in agencies nationwide.
Reyes, Edwina, MFT, CSAC
Edwina Reyes is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Substance Abuse Counselor, and Internationally Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor. She is the Vice President and co-founder for Ho'oko LLC, a private mental health counseling center in Hawaii. She is also in full-time private practice, specializing in faith-based counseling.
Richmond University Medical Center
RUMC is certified by the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH), Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), and Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) to provide treatment to a diverse array of children, youth, and families with a variety of needs. We deliver medical and behavioral health services to children and youth in multiple settings, ensuring that there is no wrong door of entry for any child who will benefit from our trauma informed services. Our multidisciplinary team takes a cross systems approach to treatment and observes each contact with a child as an opportunity to screen, evaluate and treat for trauma.
Riley, Tracey
Tracey Riley is a certified Project Management Professional with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology (Loyola University Chicago) and a Master's degree in Information Design and Strategy (Northwestern University). In addition to volunteering and working as a crisis line worker at the National Runaway Safeline, Tracey supported children and families involved in the Illinois child welfare system as an Intact Family caseworker. Prior to working within the NCTSN, Tracey published and presented research focused on psycho-social outcomes of emerging adults during the college transition. Tracey joined the Category II Center for Child Trauma Assessment Services and Interventions (previously the Center for Child Trauma Assessment and Service Planning) in 2015. Key contributions included the evaluation and reporting efforts across projects, development of two trauma-informed films (including Remembering Trauma), facilitation of state-wide focus groups with transition age youth and the development and execution of a national train-the-trainer initiative for the Think Trauma curriculum. Currently, Tracey manages projects in the early childhood education space at the Ounce of Prevention Fund and supports Ounce leadership in executing their strategic plan and annual operating initiatives. Tracey's areas of expertise include the successful management and execution of projects focused on improving outcomes for at-risk populations and building team capacity in managing communication, stakeholders, and risk in high performing, non-profit settings.