The Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will provide nearly $2.8 million to seven organizations to support minority and disadvantaged children and youth who have been exposed to childhood trauma.
The grants were made under the Communities Addressing Childhood Trauma (ACT) program, which aims to develop and evaluate new approaches to promoting healthy behaviors among youth who have experienced significant incidents of trauma. The ACT program hopes to address poor health outcomes that may result because of child trauma. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study and other work has linked child trauma to depression and other mental health disorders, substance abuse, high rates of school dropout and chronic absenteeism, post-traumatic stress disorder, incarceration and violence, among other health issues.
The grantees will target youth and families that have experienced traumatic situations such as physical abuse and neglect; sexual abuse; violence, including domestic violence; disasters; and some types of emotionally damaging incidents. By encouraging new approaches that can teach youth between the ages of 5 and 15 coping skills and how to make healthier life choices, the seven organizations funded by the Office of Minority Health hope to prevent long-term physical and mental health consequences.
“The Communities Addressing Childhood Trauma grants will help bring together community-based organizations to develop innovative and collaborative approaches to provide more support for children and their families who are at higher risk for exposure to trauma,” said Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, deputy assistant secretary for minority health and director of the Office of Minority Health.
The following organizations will receive funding from the Office of Minority Health as part of the ACT grant:
- Children’s Hospital Medical Center (Cincinnati, Ohio): $393,900
- Children’s Institute, Inc. (Los Angeles, Calif.): $400,000
- Clayton County Juvenile Justice Fund, Inc. (Jonesboro, Ga.): $400,000
- Memorial Hospital of South Bend (South Bend, Ind.): $398,801
- South Bay Community Services (Chula Vista, Calif.): $400,000
- The Village for Families & Children (Hartford, Conn.): $399,568
- Valle del Sol, Inc. (Phoenix, Ariz.): $400,000
ACT projects are slated to start this month and will end in June 2020. The initial grant awards are for one year.
