TF-CBT workbook coach: safe AI-assisted implementation support for child trauma treatment - the north carolina youth violence prevention center (NC-YVPC) proposes TF-CBT workbook coach, a national…

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded $600,000 to the NC Youth Violence Prevention Center on September 30, 2026, to develop, test, evaluate, and disseminate TF-CBT Workbook Coach, a supervised AI-assisted interactive application that supports children and youth in completing structured trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy practice activities between sessions with human clinicians. The tool will guide users through established TF-CBT modules—psychoeducation, relaxation, affect modulation, cognitive coping, trauma narrative preparation, caregiver-supported practice, safety planning, closure, and relapse prevention—while preserving therapist responsibility for assessment, safety, mandated reporting, trauma processing, and clinical decision-making. Trauma narrative modules require active therapist assignment and documented readiness; youth without an assigned therapist may access lower-intensity orientation, coping, caregiver engagement, and safety-planning features only through a sponsoring agency with clinical supervision. The project targets rural and underserved communities where children exposed to abuse, neglect, violence, bullying, disasters, or other adverse experiences face extended waits for specialized trauma treatment.

The award is made under the Center for Mental Health Services Projects of Regional and National Significance (CFDA 93.532), a program supporting prevention, treatment, and recovery for Americans with mental health conditions through knowledge development, training, technical assistance, and systems change initiatives. Performance takes place in Lumberton, North Carolina, through September 29, 2031.

TF-CBT workbook coach: safe AI-assisted implementation support for child trauma treatment - the north carolina youth violence prevention center (NC-YVPC) proposes TF-CBT workbook coach, a national capacity-building project to expand access to evidence-based trauma treatment for children and youth through safe AI-assisted implementation support. The project will develop, test, evaluate, and disseminate a supervised interactive workbook application that helps youth complete structured trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) practice activities between human service contacts. The tool will not replace therapists or provide unsupervised AI therapy. IT will help youth practice skills, prepare for sessions, and engage caregivers while trained professionals retain responsibility for assessment, safety, mandated reporting, trauma processing, and clinical decision-making. Children exposed to abuse, neglect, violence, bullying, disasters, or other adverse experiences need timely trauma treatment, but rural and underserved communities often lack enough trained clinicians. Youth may be identified through schools, child advocacy centers, child welfare, juvenile justice, victim services, or community mental health systems, yet wait weeks or months for specialized care. This project addresses that GAP by creating a safe, supervised tool that extends TF-CBT practice without reducing the importance of the human therapist. The TF-CBT workbook coach will follow the established TF-CBT sequence: psychoeducation, relaxation, affect modulation, cognitive coping, trauma narrative preparation, caregiver-supported practice, safety planning, closure, and relapse prevention. Trauma narrative modules will require active therapist assignment, documented readiness, and human review. Youth not assigned to an active therapist may use only lower-intensity orientation, coping, caregiver engagement, and safety-planning features through a sponsoring agency with a clinical supervisor. The application will use clinically approved content and structured workflows rather than an open-ended public chatbot. IT will include orientation, consent/assent, safety planning, crisis contacts, therapist dashboards, human review of flagged content, and escalation procedures. The AI workbook coach will be restricted from diagnosing, giving medication advice, making legal or custody recommendations, mandated reporting decisions, or replacing clinical judgment. Safety flags will include danger to self or others, abuse or exploitation concerns, extreme distress, weapons access, medical emergencies, and secrecy about danger. Privacy protections will include data minimization, role-based access, secure data handling, audit logs, vendor review, and safeguards against using identifiable youth content to train public AI models. NC-YVPC will implement the project through national workforce and implementation activities, not merely software development. Activities will include APP development; therapist, supervisor, caregiver, and youth materials; provider training and consultation; collaboration with nctsn partners and nctsi category I, II, and III centers; youth, caregiver, clinician, and rural provider engagement; evaluation, CQI, and dissemination. Products will include the workbook application, therapist dashboard, safety protocols, fidelity checklists, readiness tools, training modules, caregiver materials, implementation briefs, and toolkits. The project will be anchored in rural southeastern north carolina and disseminated nationally to child advocacy centers, schools, child welfare, juvenile justice, community mental health, tribal and rural organizations, victim-service systems, and nctsn partners. Expected outcomes include safer provider use of supervised digital tools, youth completion of TF-CBT practice activities, stronger caregiver engagement, improved therapist review of between-session work, and wider dissemination of tools that help under-resourced agencies deliver evidence-based child trauma care with fidelity and human clinical oversight.