Wednesday, May 23, 2012

SAMHSA Issues RFA

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within HHS has issued their Request for Applications (RFA) for their “National Center for Child Traumatic Stress (NCCTS) — Category I” grant program. The grant program will operate within SAMHSA’s “National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI).

The purpose for the NCCTS grant program is to develop and maintain a collaborative National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). Funding is anticipated to be $5 million for NCTSI and $1 million for data analysis and reporting activities.

The purpose is to coordinate national child trauma education and training efforts for children, adolescents, and families who experience or witness traumatic events and need to have access to effective trauma treatment and services. Children of deployed military personnel have more school, family, and peer-related emotional difficulties in comparison to national samples.

NCTSN will have three categories of centers. These centers include the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress (Category I), Treatment and Service Adaptation Centers (Category II), and Community Treatment and Services Centers (Category III). The goal is to develop a public health approach to trauma in order to strengthen surveillance, prevention, screening, and treatment to support trauma-informed systems.

Applicants eligible to apply include state and local governments, AI/AN Tribes and tribal organizations, public or private universities and colleges, and community and faith-based organizations.

Applications for the “National Center for Child Traumatic Stress-(Category I) (SM-12-005 grants are due June 20, 2012.