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Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Mental Health Services and Policy Program

The Center for Child Trauma Assessment, Services and Interventions of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network

Principal investigator: Cassandra Kisiel

Funding source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

The Center for Child Trauma Assessment, Services and Interventions (CCTASI, formerly the Center for Child Trauma Assessment and Service Planning) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is a university-based Treatment and Services Adaptation Center of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). Our center offers national expertise on interventions for the developmental effects of trauma for service providers across a range of child-serving settings, including child welfare, behavioral health, educational and juvenile justice settings.

We use a culturally sensitive lens and emphasize work with specific subpopulations or sectors where gaps in trauma-informed practices exist, such as early education, child welfare residential, juvenile probation and transition age youth programs. We emphasize resource development, training and implementation support for providers, caregivers and youth in range of settings. This includes the use of the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths — a trauma-focused, comprehensive assessment, treatment, service planning and outcomes evaluation tool — in conjunction with other data collection strategies.

Key activities of our center include:

  • Training and implementation of trauma-informed screening and assessment strategies.
  • Developing and adapting resources to support the meaningful use of trauma-informed assessment for family engagement, psychoeducation and treatment/service planning.
  • Training and implementing NCTSN service interventions/approaches for non-clinical, front-line providers across settings, including the Think Trauma Toolkit and Resource Parent Curriculum.
  • Adapting resources and interventions for different cultural groups to address health disparities.
  • Raising public awareness on the developmental effects of trauma through development and widespread dissemination of child trauma resources, all to lay the ground work for building sustainable trauma-informed systems. 

See the CCTASI website for more information.