Northern Rivers Family of Services [1]
Parsons Child and Family Center’s Sidney Albert Training and Research Institute (SATRI) has provided training, consultation, and research as a NCTSN Community Practice Site since 2002, including national and regional leadership in developing and disseminating evidence-supported trauma and resiliency-focused services for children and families with traumatic stress. The HEROES Project, a SAMHSA-funded NCTSN grant, provided integrated trauma-informed training for six programs at Parsons, the Albany County Children’s Mental Health Clinic, and the Albany County Department of Children, Youth and Families from 2009-2012. The Project trained therapists, foster parents, residential counselors, child protective services workers, and educators, and evaluated of the efficacy of Real Life Heroes (RLH), a trauma and resiliency-focused treatment, to help children and families who had experienced multiple and interpersonal traumas such as emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, domestic violence, losses, or community violence. Results of HEROES Project research are being published in a journal of the American Psychological Association and include statistically significant decreases in child behavior problems and trauma symptoms. The study supported the efficacy of implementing trauma and resiliency-focused treatment in a wide range of child welfare and children’s mental health programs. Following Parsons’ affiliation with the Northeast Parent and Child Society in 2012, the scope of SATRI training and consultation has more than doubled. The combined agencies currently serve more than 12,000 children and family members each year in 46 counties of New York State with 60 programs and over 1,200 staff. Primary service areas include: early childhood, education, training and research, behavioral health, family foster care, residential care, case management, prevention and family preservation, and career development. As a NCTSN affiliate organizations, the two agencies have continued Parsons’ commitment to “‘learning, adapting, creating, and delivering the most effective services for children and families.”’ Training programs, research, and publications continue Parsons’ commitment over the last 12 years to collaborative work with other NCTSN colleagues on disseminating evidence-supported trauma treatment. This has included participation in the NCTSN Affiliate Advisory Group, the Complex Trauma and Integrated Health Care committees, and co-leadership of the NCTSN Resource Parent Workgroup, which developed a highly regarded trauma-informed training used by foster, kinship, and adoptive parents across the United States. Training in Real Life Heroes, the Resource Parent Curriculum, and consultation on implementation of trauma-informed treatment in child welfare and children’s behavioral health programs are available through the Parsons SATRI.