National center for relationship oriented organizational trauma services (the roots national center) - the children's center utah (TCCU) proposes to establish the national center for relationship…

The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded The Children's Center Utah $600,000 on September 30, 2026, under the Center for Mental Health Services Projects of Regional and National Significance program (CFDA 93.532) to establish the National Center for Relationship Oriented Organizational Trauma Services (The Roots National Center).

The Roots National Center will improve access to high-quality, evidence-based trauma treatment for infants and young children from birth to age five and their families by strengthening organizational capacity to implement, adapt, and sustain evidence-based trauma treatment and trauma-informed services with fidelity. The center addresses persistent implementation barriers including workforce shortages, staff turnover, limited leadership engagement, fragmented referral pathways, geographic isolation, and inadequate implementation infrastructure, particularly in rural and frontier communities. The project will develop, pilot, evaluate, and disseminate a comprehensive organizational implementation model consisting of three integrated components, including the Early Childhood Trauma Treatment Organizational Readiness Assessment (ECTT-ORA). Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) will serve as the primary demonstration model given its evidence base for children birth to five and applicability to children experiencing complex trauma. The center will also support implementation of other evidence-based trauma treatments and trauma-informed service approaches appropriate for participating organizations.

Performance occurs in Salt Lake City, Utah. The award period runs through September 29, 2031.

National center for relationship oriented organizational trauma services (the roots national center) - the children's center utah (TCCU) proposes to establish the national center for relationship oriented organizational trauma services (the roots national center) under the national child traumatic stress initiative (NCTSI) category II treatment and service adaptation (TSA) center program. Roots will improve access to high-quality, evidence-based trauma treatment for infants, young children (birth to age five), and families by strengthening the capacity of organizations to implement, adapt, and sustain evidence-based trauma treatment and trauma-informed services with fidelity. Despite the availability of effective evidence-based trauma treatments, many organizations experience persistent implementation barriers, including workforce shortages, staff turnover, limited leadership engagement, fragmented referral pathways, geographic isolation, and inadequate implementation infrastructure. These barriers are especially pronounced in rural and frontier communities, resulting in limited access to specialized trauma treatment for young children. Roots addresses these challenges by adapting the organizational implementation methodology used to support evidence-based treatment rather than modifying the clinical components of the treatment models themselves. Child-parent psychotherapy (CPP) will serve as the primary demonstration model because of its strong evidence base for children birth to five and its applicability to children experiencing complex trauma. The project will also support implementation of other nctsn-supported evidence-based trauma treatments and trauma-informed service approaches appropriate for participating organizations. Roots will develop, pilot, evaluate, and disseminate a comprehensive organizational implementation model consisting of three integrated components: (1) the early childhood trauma treatment organizational readiness assessment (ECTT-ORA) to assess organizational readiness and implementation capacity; (2) the trauma treatment implementation roadmap (TTIR) to provide individualized implementation and sustainability planning; and (3) the roots academy, a flexible workforce development system that offers leadership development, learning collaboratives, implementation coaching, reflective supervision, teleconsultation, and role-specific professional development. Organizations will participate through multiple pathways, including intensive learning collaboratives, individualized consultation, and stand-alone training, allowing participation based on organizational readiness and capacity. During the five-year project period, roots will provide organizational implementation support to at least 40 child-serving organizations, facilitate two child-parent psychotherapy learning collaboratives in utah, establish two national roots academy learning collaboratives, develop and disseminate nationally replicable implementation resources, and strengthen the workforce through competency-based training and supervision. The project will also create a workforce development plan, supervision curriculum, telehealth implementation resources, and implementation toolkits designed to improve organizational readiness, implementation fidelity, workforce competency, and long-term sustainability. Project activities will be guided by the consolidated framework for implementation research (CFIR) and evaluated using proctor's implementation outcomes framework, spars/gpra performance measures, and continuous quality improvement methods. Products and lessons learned will be disseminated nationally through conferences, webinars, publications, technical assistance, and collaboration with NCTSI category I, II, and III centers. The proposed project requests $600,000 annually for five years to establish roots as a national implementation resource that strengthens organizational capacity, expands access to evidence-based trauma treatment and trauma-informed services, and improves behavioral health outcomes for children affected by trauma.