The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has awarded the Center for Child and Family Advocacy (CCFA) and Behavioral Health Services at Nationwide Childrens Hospital a $1.2 million three-year federal grant to become a National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative Community Treatment and Services Center.
This grant funding will support the training of mental health providers in additional evidence-based treatments and a care management system to help eliminate treatment barriers for families, in addition to allowing for further integration of medication and psychotherapy services. This support will address the needs of children and adolescents who have experienced severe psychiatric disorders and complex trauma. Complex trauma refers to diverse difficulties that result from early, chronic exposure to maltreatment.
Nancy Cunningham, PsyD, Behavioral Health Services Clinical Director; Jack Stevens, PhD, The Research Institute at Nationwide Childrens; and Shari Uncapher, LISW, CCFA Clinical Manager for Family Support Services, are responsible for the grant award. Cunningham will provide clinical and administrative oversight of health care providers and foster working relationships with local referral sources, state agencies, and other SAMHSA centers across the country. As Principal Investigator, Stevens will monitor clinical outcomes and systematically study the need for cultural adaptations to these treatment approaches. Uncapher will provide clinical and administrative oversight to trauma treatment therapists. Brandon Strange, MD, Behavioral Health Services, will serve as the project's consulting psychiatrist.
Yvette McGee Brown, President of the CCFA and Senior Vice President of Behavioral Health Services at Nationwide Children's Hospital, said, SAMHSA grants are extremely competitive and we are delighted to be selected. This funding will enable us to enhance our care to the most traumatized children and families we serve as we assist them in achieving the healthy, productive life they deserve.
$1.2 Million Grant Awarded to Center for Child and Family Advocacy and Behavioral Health Services at Nationwide Children's Hospital
October 13, 2009
About Nationwide Children's Hospital
Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-24 list of “Best Children’s Hospitals,” Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of America’s largest not-for-profit free-standing pediatric health care systems providing unique expertise in pediatric population health, behavioral health, genomics and health equity as the next frontiers in pediatric medicine, leading to best outcomes for the health of the whole child. Integrated clinical and research programs, as well as prioritizing quality and safety, are part of what allows Nationwide Children’s to advance its unique model of care. Nationwide Children’s has a staff of more than 14,000 that provides state-of-the-art wellness, preventive and rehabilitative care and diagnostic treatment during more than 1.7 million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.