Youth Health Service, Inc. Wins Federal Grant to Aid Local Children and Families
(Elkins, WV) Youth Health Service, Inc (YHS) has been awarded a competitive federal grant to join a national network of child trauma centers to provide psychological assistance and support to children who have experienced traumatic events, and their families.

With the four year grant, YHS becomes a member of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). The NCTSN mission is to increase access to care and improve the quality of treatment for children who experience traumatic events.

With this new funding, YHS will improve its services to children and families and will encourage other community organizations to do the same. All YHS staff will be trained on how to interact with and help children who have been traumatized. Training is also being offered to other community organizations who work with children and families. The project, A Strength Builders, will transform YHS and its services to be trauma informed and at the completion of the project YHS will be designated a Level 3 trauma treatment center. Margy Burns, Executive Director of YHS states, “We are thrilled with the opportunity to be part of this national effort to meet the needs of traumatized children. National statistics indicate that one in four children experience a serious traumatic event by their sixteenth birthday. Common sources of trauma include abuse and neglect; serious accidental injury; disasters; experiencing or witnessing violence in neighborhoods, schools, and homes; animal attacks; car accidents; near-drownings; sudden bereavement; and life-threatening illnesses and invasive medical treatments. Without appropriate attention and intervention, exposure to these events can have serious negative effects on the child's school success, social and family interactions, behaviors and coping.”

The NCTSN grants are funded through the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Congress created the National Child Traumatic Stress Network
(www.nctsn.org) in 2000 in response to the growing need of children exposed to trauma in the U.S. Throughout the Network, member centers help children exposed to all forms of trauma through direct treatment and through training others to provide treatment.

In the spring, YHS therapists and psychologists traveled to Allegheny Hospital in Pittsburgh for training on a specific trauma therapy for children with two of the developers of the treatment, Dr. Judy Cohen and Dr. Anthony Mannarino. The treatment, Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, is now being used with children and families at YHS. This method seeks to treat the trauma survivor child with the support of his or her family. Dr. Cohen and Dr. Mannarino are known nationally and internationally for the evidence-based effectiveness in this treatment. Strength Builders project staff traveled to Chicago in April to attend the NCTSN National Conference. They were able to connect with other trauma centers from across the country and attend workshops on specific trauma issues.