DCF: Awarded $1.8 million to expand mental health resources

Contact:
Joe Scialfa or Gina Paige ― 608-266-9000

(MADISON) – The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) was recently awarded a $1.8 million federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), allowing Wisconsin to continue to be a national leader in helping people overcome the effects of trauma and assist them in healing.

Over the next five years DCF will be working closely with the Office of Children’s Mental Health, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, and the Institute for Child and Family Well-Being, to train mental health clinicians, and implement and evaluate three evidence-based treatments: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) and Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). Implementation of these treatment approaches will be focused on enhancing this service array in the Milwaukee and Racine county communities.

“Trauma can have a dramatic impact on children, affecting their development both emotionally and physically, that can last long into adulthood,” said DCF Secretary Eloise Anderson. “This grant will allow Wisconsin to strengthen families and communities by expanding trauma-informed services to children and their parents.”

Wisconsin has been a pioneer in implementing trauma-informed care practices thanks to the passion and support of Governor Walker and First Lady Tonette Walker. In 2011, First Lady Tonette Walker started the Fostering Futures initiative with an overarching goal of improving health and well-being through statewide trauma-informed care transformation. In 2016, Governor Walker directed all state agencies to implement trauma-informed principles into work environments with the goal of Wisconsin becoming the first trauma-informed state.

“Fostering Futures has provided us an opportunity to share a common vision of preventing and reducing childhood trauma,” said First Lady Tonette Walker. “Though Fostering Futures is not centered around trauma-focused therapies, we celebrate more clinical service availability for children and families. Working together, health and healing become the common denominator.”