This initiative is a collaboration with the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS)  to improve access to needs-driven, evidence-based mental and behavioral health services in child welfare. Louisiana was one of 9 states to receive five-year grants for demonstration projects. The project is under the supervision of Dr. Michael Scheeringa, Tulane University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

 

Goals of the Project:

 

• Enhance the knowledge and skill level of the DCFS staff and key stakeholders to understand the prevalence and impact of trauma on youth.

 

• Implement  a new screen for traumatic events and emotional and behavioral problems to be used by DCFS caseworkers for children in foster care and Family Services.

 

• Promote effective collaborative relationships among all stakeholders involved with target population of children, including creating advisory boards of stakeholders in each of the nine regions across the state.

 

• Improve the mental health outcomes for target population children in the DCFS system by training clinicians to provide evidence-based treatment (CBT for trauma).

 

 

Training Video for the Trauma and Behavioral Health Screen