Outpatient TST trauma treatment - the lifeline center for child development, INC

Will expand its capacity through the addition of outpatient trauma services for 630 youth, ages 5 to 17 years, in queens, NY. Children and youth with emotional/behavioral dysregulation as a result of pandemic-related and complex trauma will participate in trauma systems therapy delivered via clinic and home-based services to increase their safety, help them cope with traumatic stress, and improve their emotional wellbeing. The lifeline center will focus outpatient trauma services on children and youth living in some of the most diverse and underserved communities in queens, NY. Two-thirds of jamaica/hollis residents identify as black (66%), half of corona/elmhurst identify as latino (51%), and more than half of flushing whitestone residents identify as asian (54%). Between 42% and 63% of residents in these neighborhoods are immigrants, and up to half have limited english proficiency. As a result, these neighborhoods bore the brunt of the covid-19 pandemic in NYC, with infection, morbidity, and mortality rates far exceeding other NYC and US regions. Many children and youth in these neighborhoods continue to experience traumatic stress related to the pandemic, including a high rate of loss of a parent or loved one. They experience high levels of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation or behavior, hyperactivity, aggressiveness, withdrawal, including from school, and risk for drop-out. Schools are under-resourced to address students' mental health and outpatient clinics have long waitlists. To help close the service GAP and make mental health services available to more underserved children and families suffering from the traumatic fallout of the pandemic, the lifeline center will expand its current capacity through the addition of an outpatient and home-based treatment component, utilizing trauma systems therapy (TST). TST provides an organizational framework and set of interventions to improve outcomes for children and youth whose level of emotional and behavioral dysregulation puts them at high risk for short- and long-term harm. For the purpose of TST implementation, we will contract the NYU school of medicine center for child welfare practice innovation (ccwpi), a nctsi-II treatment and service adaptation center led by DR. Glenn saxe, the developer of TST. The lifeline center will serve 70 children in year 1, and 140 in each of years 2-5, for a total of 630 children and youth and their families. We will also implement an educational campaign to increase the capacity of local schools to support children with trauma, using the ccwpi 'never look away' animated training series. As a result of extensive staff training, supervision, and implementing TST with fidelity, the lifeline center anticipates achieving the following goals and associated measureable objectives: increased capacity to provide children and youth with evidence-based trauma-informed clinical and support services; high retention in TST services and 50% completion rate; 80% of children show improved symptomatology, emotion regulation, and environmental stability; 90% of families report high satisfaction with TST services and outcomes; and 150 school staff have participated in trauma training, and 90% of participants show increased capacity to identify and respond to children's traumatic stress. Lastly, 200 school staff have received information for grief resource directories and other trauma support resources.