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Yale University Trains CJC Clinicians

YALE UNIVERSITY TRAINS UTAH CHILDREN JUSTICE CENTERS
National Children’s Alliance Selects Utah and Idaho as Grant Beneficiaries

SALT LAKE CITY – The Yale Child Study Center, a division of Yale University School of Medicine, spent two days in Utah training 19 Children’s Justice Centers clinicians that serve twelve counties. Utah was one of two states selected by the National Children’s Alliance, the parent organization of the Utah CJCs, for the training provided by a grant awarded by Cambia Health Foundation.

“We are very excited,” said Michelle Miller, the Project Coordinator for Mental Health Initiatives at National Children’s Alliance. “The Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention training has amazing results for kids and for caregivers. Not only do kids have reduced symptoms, but parents also have reduced trauma symptoms in about 5 to 8 sessions. We had a large project in the Carolinas and we’re excited to move this west and provide it for Utah.”

The National Children’s Alliance received $199,335 to implement the Child & Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) treatment program in Children’s Advocacy Centers, similar to CJCs, across the nation. This is a vital part of the aftercare, particularly to address the concern or myth that a child who suffers physical or sexual abuse will spend the rest of their lives suffering from the effects or in therapy.

“The Yale Child Study Center and NCA partnered to raise the standard of care for abused and traumatized children and their families and improve their access to effective treatment throughout the United States,” Carrie Epstein, the Director of Clinical Services and Training at the Yale Child Study Center, stated. “Sharing evidence-based trauma-focused mental health treatments like the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) is a critical step. We are excited to see this model introduced and implemented in Utah, and we are looking forward to working closely with the Children’s Justice Centers in Utah.”

Through research by the Yale Child Study Center, CFTSI is an evidence-based early intervention curriculum for children 7 to 18, researched and developed by the Yale Child Study Center, that reduces traumatic stress reaction and the onset of PTSD. Successfully used with children suffering from extensive trauma histories, the program’s implementation within 30-45 days for a traumatic event. The program evaluation conducted consistently showed a comparable reduction in symptoms. A randomized controlled trial completed at Yale in 2009 found that children receiving CFTSI:

  1. Were 65% less likely than comparison youth to meet criteria for full PTSD at three-month follow-up.
  2. Were 73% less likely than comparison youth to meet combined criteria for partial and full PTSD at the three-month follow-up.

Moving forward these clinicians will be mentored by leaders associated with Yale to help guide the implementation into caseload.

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NOTES:

  1. You can find out more about CFTSI and its development here: https://medicine.yale.edu/childstudy/communitypartnerships/cvtc/cftsi/.  
  2. For more information on the National Children’s Alliance, go here: http://www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/.
  3. If you are interested in the work of the Utah Children’s Justice Centers and how to support, you can find more information here: https://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/childrens-justice-centers/.