Project coraz?n: innovating child trauma treatment for northern new mexico - LAS cumbres community services will provide trauma-focused treatment to children ages 0-18 and their families across four…

Project coraz?n: innovating child trauma treatment for northern new mexico - LAS cumbres community services will provide trauma-focused treatment to children ages 0-18 and their families across four counties in northern new mexico. Evidence-based programs (ebps) will be delivered in a staged treatment design to address a range of traumatic stressors, with focus on complex trauma. The project will improve access to ebps for special populations, support advanced training, and grow the children's behavioral health workforce in a designated mental health provider shortage area. Populations: the majority of families in the region are hispanic/latino and native american. Children referred to lccs experience high rates of aces, complex trauma, and parent-child separation related to poor social determinants of health, unresolved intergenerational and racial trauma, and exposure to cycles of interpersonal violence and substance misuse. Gaps in care will be addressed for the following special populations: latin american immigrant families, unaccompanied minors, and newly-arrived asylum seekers; children in kinship or foster care; and families in substance use recovery. Strategies/interventions: lccs will offer an innovative treatment model including enhanced pre-treatment and intake, and customized stages of treatment that first address safety, stability, and regulation prior to trauma processing and relationship repair. An integrated array of ebps will be offered to families with complex needs through a combination of individual, family, and group therapy. These include child-parent psychotherapy, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy; child-centered play therapy and circle of security parenting™ will also be offered as promising practices. Modifications to these ebps will be identified and implemented for special populations and to improve capacity to treat racial trauma in coordination with other nctsn centers. The clinical workforce will be grown through advanced training and trauma stewardship practices and through initiatives with institutions of higher learning and governmental entities. Goals and measurable outcomes: direct service goals will aim to improve engagement, enrollment, and efficacy outcomes for families experiencing complex trauma and parent-child separations; resolve symptoms of traumatic stress, and repair/strengthen caregiver-child relationships. EBP modification goals and workforce initiatives will aim to increase access to care and improve retention rates of experienced clinicians. These goals will be measured through quarterly, BI-annual, and annual project milestones. Standard screening and assessment tools will be administered at periodicity and utilized to measure treatment outcomes. Foundational and advanced training tracks will be designed and implemented for clinicians. Intensive supervision and trauma stewardship strategies will also be enhanced to improve clinician job satisfaction and retention. Customized internships and coursework will be offered throughout the course of the project to support regional workforce growth. Numbers served: 150 children and their families in year 1, 175 in year 2, and 200 in each of years 3-5 to total 925 over the project's 5-year course.