The Building Resilience through Residential Communities (BRTRC) project is a Category II Treatment and Services Adaptation Center. The BRTRC's central aim is to develop, adapt, and disseminate trauma-informed care (TIC) approaches and evidence-based practices (EBPs) for residential treatment centers (RTCs) nationwide that serve high risk, trauma-impacted youth and their families. The BRTRC's mission is to address key gaps in available strategies for implementation of TIC in RTCs, increase access to effective EBPs for youth in residential care, and bolster workforce development in RTCs. Through these activities, the BRTRC will raise the standard of care, increase resiliency of programs, staff and clients, and improve client clinical outcomes. The primary goals of the BRTRC project are: (1) wide scale dissemination, implementation and sustainability of Building Communities of Care (BCC), a trauma and evidenced informed, strengths based model designed to address the unique needs of RTCs, through training and TA with all staff (front line, clinical, educational, medical, administrative); (2) to increase access to EBPs for trauma in RTCs serving trauma-impacted youth through intensive training and technical assistance in EBPs that have demonstrated effectiveness with YRC, including Attachment, Regulation, and Competency (ARC), Trauma Focused CBT (TF-CBT), and Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS); and (3) to build a trauma-informed workforce in RTCs through education, training and technical assistance via both intensive RTC partnerships and national dissemination activities. The BRTRC expert staff provide intensive training and technical assistance to RTCs across the nation.

Richard Kagan, Ph.D. has had extensive leadership experience in child and family services and behavioral health care as director of professional development, QI, research, and psychological services and served as the principal investigator for two NCTSN grants. He is the author or co-author of 34 articles, chapters, and papers and ten books: Families in Perpetual Crisis, Turmoil to Turning Points; Building Hope for Children in Crisis Placements, Wounded Angels; Lessons from Children in Crisis; Rebuilding Attachments with Traumatized Children; Healing from Losses, Violence, Abuse, and Neglect, the Real Life Heroes Life Storybook 1st, 2nd and 3rd editions, the Real Life Heroes Practitioner’s Manual, the Real Life Heroes Toolkit for Treating Traumatic Stress in Children and Families, and Wounded Angels; Inspiration from Children in Crisis.

Dr. Kagan developed Real Life Heroes, an evidence-supported treatment model for children and families with Complex Trauma. He is currently the director of Training Programs on Traumatic Stress in Columbia, SC and provides training and consultation on practical and innovative approaches that organizations and therapists can utilize to engage hard-to-reach children and parents/caregivers, to strengthen resilience and to reduce toxic stress. Dr. Kagan has also served on the NCTSN Steering Committee, the Affiliate Advisory Board, the Complex Trauma and Child Welfare Committees, the Trauma-Informed Organizational Assessment Advisory Group and he co-led development of the NCTSN curriculum,Caring for Children Who Have Experienced Traumatic Stress as co-chair of the Resource Parent Committee.

Kayla has used her lived experiences in foster care to implement policies and procedures on a local and National platforms. Kayla has dedicated her career to healing and uplifting Black and Brown communities with advocacy to prevent further generational trauma that is rooted in our nation's historical traumatization. As a Trauma Informed Yoga instructor, Kayla provides a safe space for individuals who have experienced trauma to reconnect with their bodies through movement, positive:” I am” affirmations, meditation, and journaling. When we slow down and take time to connect with ourselves we can change the narrative of our lives. We are brave. We are strong. We are resilient like our roots!