What is a Trauma -Informed System of Care?
Recent studies have documented that exposure to trauma, left untreated, can interfere with children's healthy brain development and lead to mental disorders.
Because trauma has many sources - physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence, exposure to violent acts and natural disasters among others - the treatment of trauma lends itself perfectly to a system of care approach. Children with a history of trauma can show up at any door: in school, in a community mental health center, in a homeless shelter, in a foster home, or even in a youth correctional facility. Families often face a bewildering maze of services available through schools, communities, health care providers, counseling agencies, law enforcement, just to name a few. Getting connected with the right services at the right time and learning how they can work together can be one of the toughest challenges.
It is imperative that the systems caring for these vulnerable children and their families work together to meet their needs.
Who is involved and what is happening in Maine?
Children's Behavioral Health Services, a division of the State of Maine's Department of Health & Human Services, has teamed up with Tri-County Mental Health Services, Maine's leading mental health provider in trauma-informed care, to build a seamless 'system of care' for these children and their families. It will be more than a referral network - it will be a new way of working as a community to meet the needs of all children and families. It will be a system built in partnership with youth, families and communities.
The $9 million project is funded by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Click here to view a fact sheet about System of Care Outcomes
Contacts:
Arabella Perez, Project Director
Tri-County Mental Health Services
PO Box 2008
Lewiston, Maine 04241-2008
(207) 782-5783
aperez@tcmhs.org