Parents and children together(pact) - this proposed project, parents and children together (pact) is an initiative to fill a trauma-specific services GAP for children of substance abusing women in…

Parents and children together(pact) - this proposed project, parents and children together (pact) is an initiative to fill a trauma-specific services GAP for children of substance abusing women in northwest arkansas. Pact will enhance services for clients through case management and connection to clinical and community resources. This collaborative effort between uams, county drug courts, ozark guidance, INC. And community agencies will link children to evidence-based treatments to treat past trauma and prevent future trauma. The target population is children of parents who have a substance use disorder (SUD), or CO-occurring SUD/mental illness (COD), have experienced trauma, and who are at high risk for trauma continued inter-generational trauma. Pact will enroll participants in benton, washington and madison counties in northwest arkansas (NWA). Pact will serve 335 children and their families throughout the lifetime of the project. Goals of the project are to: 1) increase access and engagement of services among the target population; 2) improve system capacity and infrastructure to provide effective, evidence based, culturally appropriate trauma services; and 3) improve child/family outcomes in NWA and reduce health disparities among historically disadvantaged populations. Uams will facilitate infrastructure development to expand and enhance access to a comprehensive and trauma-informed continuum of care and connection to resources for our population of focus. By utilizing evidence-based practices and strategies like trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CF-CBT), CPP, cpit, quality childcare, home visiting programs, social-emotional learning and parenting education, pact will enhance and continuously improve the delivery of evidence-based and culturally appropriate services that are effective in preventing childhood trauma and treating existing trauma symptoms. Participant outcomes will be measured through baseline and follow-up assessments of decreased child trauma symptoms, decreased school disciplinary occurrences, improved parenting self-efficacy, decreased parental SUD/COD symptoms, and improved family relationships/family functioning. The pact project will provide for an imminent need in filling a GAP in trauma treatment and trauma informed system service delivery for a vulnerable population at risk intergenerational trauma that has been even greater exasperated by the covid-19 epidemic.