Project Grant H79SM087895

S.O.S. - SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS - BRIDGES' TRAUMA - BRIDGES' SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS (SOS) INITIATIVE WILL ESTABLISH SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN 5 LOCAL SCHOOLS WHICH INCLUDE LARGE HISPANIC/LATINO, FOREIGN-BORN, LGBTQ, AND OTHER POPULATIONS AT HIGH RISK OF TRAUMA AND RESULTING EMOTIONAL AND CONDUCT ISSUES. TO ADDRESS THESE, BRIDGES WILL COLLABORATE WITH CHILD HEALTH DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE (CHDI) TO PROVIDE A VARIETY OF TRAUMA-INFORMED STRATEGIES OF IDENTIFICATION AND TREATMENT, AND WITH A NETWORK OF CHILD-SERVING LOCAL AGENCIES. THE POPULATION OF FOCUS CONSISTS OF 3 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN WEST HAVEN AND A HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL IN MILFORD, BOTH LOCATED IN THE GREATER NEW HAVEN AREA OF SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT. WEST HAVEN SCHOOLS HAVE LARGE MINORITY POPULATIONS, WITH NEARLY A THIRD OF STUDENTS SPEAKING A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH AT HOME, AND NEARLY A FIFTH CLASSIFIED AS "ENGLISH LEARNERS" AT SCHOOL. OVER A FIFTH OF THE WEST HAVEN POPULATION IS FOREIGN BORN. IF WE ACCEPT THE PEW INSTITUTE ESTIMATE THAT ONE-FOURTH OF FOREIGN-BORN RESIDENTS ARE UNDOCUMENTED, OVER 5% OF WEST HAVEN IS UNDOCUMENTED, AS IS 2.75% OF MILFORD. THE MILFORD SCHOOLS ARE A LITTLE OVER 20% MINORITY, WITH FEWER LOW-INCOME STUDENTS. BUT DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFT IS OCCURRING IN BOTH TOWNS; IN 12016-2021 THE HISPANIC POPULATION ROSE BY 25% IN WEST HAVEN AND 17% IN MILFORD. INDICATORS OF TRAUMA IN THE WEST HAVEN SCHOOLS INCLUDE FIGURES FOR SUBSTANTIATED CHILD/ABUSE NEGLECT REPORTS, PERCENTAGE OF TEENS WHO CONSIDERED SUICIDE IN THE PAST YEAR, AND RATE OF JUVENILE ARRESTS THAT EXCEED STATE RATES BY 70%, 64% AND 51% RESPECTIVELY. AT SUBSTANTIAL RISK IN MILFORD ARE LGBTQ STUDENTS (AT 12%, SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER THAN THE STATE AVERAGE). OF HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH WHO IDENTIFY AS GAY, LESBIAN, OR BISEXUAL, 46.8% SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED ATTEMPTING SUICIDE IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS, OVER TRIPLE THE RATE FOR HETEROSEXUAL YOUTH PER NATIONAL DATA. OUR PROPOSED PROJECT WILL HIRE 4 FULL TIME CLINICIANS TO PROVIDE SCHOOL-BASED SERVICES IN THE TARGET SCHOOLS. CHDI, THE STATE-DESIGNATED PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT CENTER, WILL SUPPLY STAFF TRAINING AND SUPPORT. BRIDGES' COLLABORATIVE NETWORK WILL INCLUDE ADAM'S HOUSE, AN INDEPENDENT GRIEF EDUCATION CENTER FOR CHILDREN; THE MILFORD RAPE CRISIS CENTER, INTEGRATED REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT SERVICES, TO SUPPORT UNDOCUMENTED FAMILIES; THE MILFORD AND WEST HAVEN PREVENTION COUNCILS, MILFORD-ANSONIA INTER-AGENCY MEETINGS ON INVESTIGATION/MANAGEMENT OF CHILD ABUSE CASES; THE JUVENILE REVIEW BOARD; AND MONTHLY TRUANCY REVIEW MEETINGS. TRAINING FOR SCHOOL STAFF WILL INCLUDE TRAUMA SCREENTIME, A CHDI SPONSORED TRAINING ON TRAUMA SCREENING IN CHILDREN. CLINICIANS WILL BE TRAINED IN 5 TRAUMA-INFORMED EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES; THE MODULAR APPROACH TO THERAPY FOR CHILDREN WITH ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, TRAUMA AND CONDUCT PROBLEMS (MATCH-ADTC) WHICH SYNTHESIZES ELEMENTS FROM SEVERAL TREATMENTS IN ONE FLEXIBLE MODEL TO BETTER ADDRESS COMORBIDITY COMPLEXITY; THE COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION FOR TRAUMA IN SCHOOLS (CBITS) GROUP INTERVENTION FOR 5-12TH GRADERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAUMA; BOUNCEBACK, A VERSION OF CBITS FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN; TRAUMA FOCUSED COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (TF-CBT), A CHILD/PARENT TREATMENT FOR YOUTH; AND EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION AND REPROCESSING (EMDR), USED WITH CHILDREN/ADOLESCENTS WITH TRAUMA WITH CONSIDERABLE SUCCESS. THE GOALS ARE TO INCREASE CAPACITY OF THE TWO SCHOOL SYSTEMS TO PROVIDE SCREENING/TREATMENT FOR YOUTH WITH TRAUMATIC STRESS, WITH OBJECTIVES TARGETING SCHOOL PERSONNEL TRAINED, STUDENTS REFERRED TO BRIDGES' CLINICIANS, STUDENTS RECEIVING SERVICES, STUDENTS WHO COMPLETE CBITS/BB COURSES, AND STUDENTS WHO COMPLETE A COURSE OF INDIVIDUAL TREATMENT, INCLUDING APPROPRIATE PERCENTAGES OF BLACK/HISPANIC AND LGBTQ STUDENTS; AND INCREASE POSITIVE OUTCOMES AMONG YOUTH IN THE TWO SCHOOL SYSTEMS, WITH OBJECTIVES TARGETING STUDENTS WHO SEE A DECREASE IN SYMPTOMS PER CPSS-V MEASURES. PROJECTED NUMBERS SERVED ARE AS FOLLOWS: YEAR 1 - 100; YEARS 2-5 - 160; FOR A TOTAL OF 740.