Policy

Child trauma continues to be an issue of importance to policymakers and key stakeholders around the country. The NCTSN Policy Speaker Series will address several timely local, state, and federal policy issues identified by the NCCTS Policy Program and NCTSN Policy Task Force related to the NCTSN mission. This series will include presentations from key local, state, and federal policy experts and NCTSN members, affiliates, and partners who have played a leadership role in child trauma policy efforts. The policy issues that will be highlighted include recently enacted federal laws (e.g., Health Care Reform, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity Law); ongoing Executive Branch initiatives (e.g., Department of Justice Defending Childhood Initiative); and child trauma policy lessons learned at the state level from NCTSN members, affiliates, and partners (e.g., policy issues in implementing EBTs, state innovations in child trauma policy).

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In this webinar, experts from diverse service sectors will explore trauma-informed, culturally-responsive strategies for serving separated children who have migrated to the US from countries in Latin America. They will discuss policies and practices relevant to the protection and best interests of unaccompanied and separated immigrant children. Presenters will also give viewers an overview of a project providing mental health care and family navigation services for Latino immigrant families along the US southern border and community-based interventions in rural northern New Mexico. In addition, they will identify clinical challenges and strategies for serving migrant children and families in a primary health care setting.
This webinar will provide examples of state and federal policy issues related to child sex trafficking. Further, NCTSN resources related to the topic will be shared.
Explores policy challenges and solutions relevant to working with refugee youth. The webinar will provide an overview of NCTSN activities and resources related to refugee youth. Federal, state, and NCTSN perspectives will be highlighted.
This webinar will detail how National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) researchers and practitioners with expertise in complex trauma and children partnered with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the New York State Department of Health to establish complex trauma in children as an eligible condition for health home coverage. This translation of research and practice into policy provides an enhanced treatment and financing benefit for children exposed to complex trauma. Learn how New York State put this concept into practice and generated a complex trauma referral workflow for this population of children.
In this webinar experts will explore policy challenges and lessons learned in promoting and supporting trauma-informed schools. Speakers will share key NCTSN resources related to the development and implementation of trauma-informed schools; discuss the relationship between practice and policy in the sustainability of trauma-informed school models; and share examples and insights gained from the creation and implementation of a trauma-informed school in Los Angeles, California.
Trauma exposure is common among youth and families experiencing substance use problems, and having both problems leads to greater need and impairment. Given the strong link between trauma and substance use, national policy efforts to address substance use must be trauma informed. This webinar will provide an overview of several national policy challenges and solutions in the area of trauma and substance use. Experts will highlight recently enacted and pending federal policy proposals to address substance use issues across the lifespan; discuss the substance use policy challenges facing child trauma practitioners assisting children, youth, and families; and discuss the work of the NCTSN and its Trauma and Substance Abuse Collaborative Group to address these important issues. The experiences and policy-relevant recommendations of a family caregiver familiar with substance use issues will also be highlighted.

Since the Defending Childhood Initiative was launched in 2010, the DoJ has awarded grants around the country to develop strategic plans for comprehensive community-based efforts that will further demonstrate the goals of this initiative. This webinar will guide participants in understanding the DCI and its policy implications for the child trauma field.  Presenters will discuss the history and current status of the DCI and highlight current and future practice and policy implications for those committed to addressing the needs of children and families exposed to trauma.

As the landscape continues to shift increasingly towards integrated care as a mechanism for focusing on whole health, many child serving organizations must grapple with complex issues that arise in implementing integrated care and addressing child trauma in non-traditional settings. This webinar will feature leading child and adolescent experts who will speak about their recommendations for effectively addressing policy challenges in implementing integrated care.

Many states are playing a leadership role in enacting and implementing policies to support trauma-informed services for children and families. This webinar will highlight two examples of such state-based child trauma policy innovations.