Anniversaries Challenge America, Network to Take Stock

Across the U.S., our attention turns to the anniversaries of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and
the terrorist attacks of 2001. How are children and families coping one year after the hurricanes? How have NCTSN members across the country made a difference in the lives of traumatized children and families?

JAMA News in August 2006 reported that throughout Southern Louisiana, many children are still struggling and services are in short supply. Joy
and Howard Osofsky, of the NCTSN Louisiana
Rural Trauma Services Center, are quoted in this report as saying that many families are
demoralized by the slow recovery in the area, and that the crisis has now transitioned from acute to chronic.

The problems remain; many children are still surrounded by continual reminders of the
devastation, their experiences with the hurricanes, and their losses.  

The return to the school year is good for children because it provides structure, Joy Osofsky told NCTSN e-News. In preparation for the anniversary
of the hurricanes, her NCTSN center adapted materials that had been created by NCTSN sites in New York City for the first anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks. The brief brochure explains to parents that it is normal for children to experience difficulties with anniversary reactions, and it lists signs that indicate a child might need more help.

Three NCTSN Center Directors, Marleen Wong, Esther Deblinger and Judy Cohen, have conducted trainings in schools in the Gulf region, educating teachers, administrators and therapists about
children who are experiencing traumatic stress reactions. In addition, Russell Jones, a consultant
to the NCTSN, provided direct services to families
in the Gulf region, and now serves as an advisor on these issues to the U.S. Department of Education.

Since the hurricanes, over 100 news stories nationwide have included interviews or quotes from NCTSN members. Many stories reported on the multiple experiences of trauma that these children and families had experienced, even before the hurricanes struck their communities. Researchers associated with NCTSN sites in New York City reported similar findings after the 9/11 attacks.

Unfortunately, the experience of multiple traumas
is very common. Epidemiological research has
shown that about 25 percent of children
experience a significant trauma by age 16, and
that youth with multiple traumas are especially ulnerable to experiencing post-trauma problems in recovery. (Continued)

Family Intervention for Trauma Expands Projects with Military

The “Family Intervention for Trauma” program, featured in an All-Network Meeting plenary presentation by Bill Saltzman and Patricia Lester in April 2006, is being expanded and piloted with military and medical populations.

To date, this brief family-based program for children and families affected by trauma or loss has been used with Marine Corps families at Camp Pendleton and families encountering various forms of medical trauma at UCLA Medical Center. 

To date, this brief family-based program for children and families affected by trauma or loss has been used at Camp Pendleton with Marine Corps families and at UCLA Medical Center with families who have encountered various forms of medical trauma. Recent developments related to the development and adaptation of the “Family Intervention for Trauma” protocol include:

• An award of a UniHealth grant to the Miller Child Abuse Violence Intervention Center (an NCTSN member to further adapt and conduct a field trial of the “Family Intervention” program at Miller Children’s Hospital. The eight-session program will be used with families referred from the pediatric intensive care unit, emergency department, and pediatric rehabilitation unit; 

• Network-wide consultation with sites starting programs for military children, includes education about this intervention;

• Ongoing consultation at Camp Pendleton for services provided to Marine Corps families and development of a program guide for large-scale implementation of this program;

• Ongoing collaboration with Colonel Stephen Cozza, MD, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, to conduct an intervention trial of the “Family Intervention for Trauma”;

• Coordination with the Department of Defense regarding an innovative program funded by the National Football League to provide long-distance therapeutic contact between family members when a parent is wounded in combat.

This program was included as part of a grant awarded by the National Institute of Children’s Health and Human Development (NICHD) to assess family impact of wartime deployment on children and families.