The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Many of our community partners are probably aware that Project CONTACT is funded by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), which was created by Congress in 2000 to raise the standard of care and increase access to evidence-based treatments for children impacted by traumatic events. The NCTSN is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA), which continues the federal investment previously managed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The Network brings together service providers, researchers, family members, and other partners to provide clinical services, develop and disseminate new interventions, offer training to providers across the country, engage in data collection and evaluation, and inform public policy.
In addition to these important and transformative activities, NCTSN maintains a website which serves as a resource for the public, professionals, family members, and others who want to learn about child traumatic stress. NCTSN.org is a trove of free educational materials created by national experts in the field of child trauma. We encourage all CONTACT partners who are not familiar with the website to spend a few minutes exploring the site. Whether you are an administrator, case manager, clinician, or other child-serving provider, you will undoubtably find helpful tools for your work!
Our favorite part of the website is the Resources tab. After clicking the tab, click All NCTSN Resources. Here, a helpful search function allows you to filter by resource type (e.g., handout, video, etc.), trauma type, language, audience (e.g., youth, teacher, child welfare worker, judge, parent, policymaker, etc.), and other. This makes it relatively easy to find exactly what you need. All resources are available for free download. Examples of resources available include: tips for teachers to help youth following community trauma, facts for providers about child neglect, and a film for youth about complex trauma.
The Training tab is a wonderful starting point for newer staff or those who want to learn more or sharpen their skills. Click Webinars to find recorded presentations by child trauma experts. These webinars feature master clinicians discussing topics such as grounding work with teens or how race and culture impact trauma treatment. The training tab also contains e-learning courses and instructional videos related to child trauma. One of our favorites is Overview of the 12 Core Concepts, a great educational activity to orient staff to using a trauma lens and understanding the impact of child trauma.
We hope you find the NCTSN website as helpful we do!
Project CONTACT’s Principal Investigator, Joel Epstein, is a newly appointed member of the NCTSN Steering Committee. In his role, Joel will assist the Committee in setting Network priorities and issuing policy and position statements.