Child Health and Development Award recipients announced

The ICTS is proud to announce the 2014-2015 recipients of the Child Health and Development grants to support community engaged research and community programs targeting childhood trauma and other negative experiences.

Research

Trauma Informed Practice in an Iowa Elementary School
Armeda Wojciak, PhD, LMFT, Department of Rehabilitation and Counselor Education, University of Iowa
Carol Smith, PhD, LPC, NCC, Department of Rehabilitation and Counselor Education, University of Iowa
Community Partners: College Community School District in Cedar Rapids
Funding amount: $25,000 (July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016).

The purpose of this project is to develop and implement an intervention that will provide elementary school teachers and staff in one College Community School District school with trauma-informed training and intervention strategies in order to reduce behavioral concerns among students, to increase the staff’s confidence in using trauma-informed practices, to increase staff satisfaction and self-efficacy belief’s, and to impact school climate.

This project has three aims:
Aim 1: Develop a trauma-informed intervention for elementary school personnel.
Aim 2: Pilot the trauma-informed intervention in one school for the 2015-2016 academic year.
Aim 3: Collect data from a matched school as a control for the intervention.

 

Community

Lemonade for Life – Parenting through Childhood Stress
Family Resources, Inc.
Davenport, IA
http://www.famres.org 

Funding amount: $10,000 (July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016)

The Lemonade for Life - Parenting through Childhood Stress project aims to increase parent and community knowledge of adverse childhood experiences, trauma informed responses, and family resiliency to promote the healthy development of children. The project encompasses training a cohort of support service providers in the evidence-based Lemonade for Life curriculum, working with community parent groups to discuss the effects of ACEs, and referring families who have been impacted by them to the specialized support service providers that will help develop strategies for personal and family resilience through an understanding of their ACEs and effects.


Trauma Informed Care for Professionals: TIC-P
Tanager Place
Cedar Rapids, IA
http://www.tanagerplace.org/
Funding amount: $10,000 (July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016)

The goal of the Trauma Informed Care for Professionals: TIC-P project is to educate mental health professionals about the effects of trauma on children and give them the knowledge and skills to deliver trauma informed care that results in long-term healing for children.


Connections Matter Community Engagement Project
Prevent Child Abuse Iowa
Des Moines, IA
www.pcaiowa.org
Funding amount: $10,000 (July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016)

Connections Matter aims to create a shared public message about brain development and the impact of trauma, and to engage community members in building caring relationships.  The project is coordinated by Prevent Child Abuse Iowa in partnership with the Central Iowa ACEs 360 Steering Committee, Trauma Informed Care Project and the Developing Brain Committee.

 

These new awards are for researchers and community members working together to develop evidence-based strategies for preventing and reducing the lifelong effects of adverse childhood experiences like neglect abuse, and exposure to other traumatic events. Research shows that enduring such negative experiences may disrupt healthy neurological development in children and lead to behavioral and/or physical health issues as they age; however, by implementing successful prevention and response strategies communities can intervene to protect children and reduce levels of exposure to harmful situations. The funding awards will support research activities and community programs for a period of 12 months. 

Ultimately, it is our hope that the projects will successfully and meaningfully contribute to a better understanding of how negative experiences can impact healthy development, introduce evidence-based methods for effectively identifying and treating children exposed to adverse childhood experiences, and identify best practices and strategies for various target populations and environments.

This Institute for Clinical and Translational Science grant opportunity is supported by funds from the Office of the Vice President for Research & Economic Development and the Office of Outreach and Engagement.