Cheryl Williams-Hecksel (she/her) is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Michigan. She has been on the faculty of the School of Social Work at Michigan State University since 2006. Prior to joining the faculty at MSU, she has spent more than 25 years in clinical and administrative roles in public and private child welfare and mental health agencies. She is the team leader for MSU’s work with the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute where she serves as coordinator of the University Partnerships team. She developed the School's Evidence Based Trauma Treatment Certificate for MSW students. This certificate experience includes course work that uses the NCTSN Core Curriculum in Child Trauma (CCCT), training and clinical consultation in an evidence based trauma treatment (TF-CBT or CPT) and a concurrent advanced clinical field placement. Cheryl was originally certified in the CCCT in 2010, she attended a CCCT re-certification in 2020 and was certified as an Advanced Facilitator of the curriculum in 2023. In the fall of 2023 with colleagues, Connie Black-Pond and Karen VanDeuson and with support from CCCT faculty Leslie Ross, Laura Katz and Allison Hrovat launched a Michigan CCCT College for 10 colleagues committed to teaching and training about trauma and trauma informed work.

Led by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, the Trauma and Recovery Project Collaboration will increase the availability, accessibility and coordination of trauma-specific treatment in Milwaukee and Racine Counties for families in the child welfare system or that are at risk of entering the system. Together with the Institute for Child and Family Well-being (ICFW), Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services, and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UW-M), the project will significantly increase availability of effective mental health services in Milwaukee and Racine Counties by training mental health clinicians in three trauma-specific treatment approaches: Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Child-Parent Psychotherapy, and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. The project will also increase the availability of multidisciplinary professional training in trauma and mental health for CPS and non-CPS child-serving professionals. Additionally, in collaboration with the Office of Children’s Mental Health, the project will strengthen and coordinate multiple systems and agencies that support the provision of trauma-specific treatment services. This will be accomplished through increasing consumer participation in systems change efforts, increasing public exposure to mental health awareness message, and increasing agency partners’ readiness to integrate trauma-specific treatment into their policies and practices.

The Yale Center for Traumatic Stress and Recovery (YCTSR) will provide national expertise and training on trauma-focused and acute/early/brief interventions, including supporting adoption and adaptation of early evidence-based treatments (EBT) to collaboratively overcome challenges to advance delivery. YCTSR will: (1) Provide training and technical assistance for national dissemination and implementation of EBT and service approaches including the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) and CFTSI Treatment Applications, Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), and Fathers for Change. CFTSI is currently the only evidence-based brief, early mental health treatment designed specifically for children 7-18 who have been impacted by a recent traumatic event or recently disclosed abuse. This will be expanded to young children (ages 3-6), children in foster care, children in hospital settings, organizations serving tribal and rural communities, and military families; (2) Serve as a resource for training and consultation focused on acute, brief approaches and EBTs in response to mass casualty events and disasters, as well as training and consulting on Trauma-Informed Policing approaches specifically designed to build officers' skills in early identification and trauma-informed response to children and families; (3) Expand implementation of early trauma interventions to new populations and service systems through five national Learning Communities (LC) focused on implementation of CFTSI with young children, children in hospital settings, Child Advocacy Centers, organizations serving rural and tribal communities, and those serving military families.

Youth & Family Services Youth Trauma Center has been providing trauma-focused services since 2012. Its purpose is to increase identification of youth and families who have been exposed to traumatic stress and shorten the time to get them into effective treatment programs. It provides trauma-focused assessments and offers a variety of treatments including Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Child Parent Psychotherapy, Problematic Sexual Behavior-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Integrated Treatment for Complex Trauma, Project Making Medicine-Mending The Circle (culturally adapted TF-CBT), Natural Lifemanship (Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Psychotherapy), Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing, and Seeking Safety. Populations of focus include Native Americans, Military Families and LGBTQIA+.