Advancing an Integrated Trauma Care Continuum for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth - The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Child Resilience Center (DHHCRC) at Gallaudet University will improve access to trauma prevention, early identification, and evidence-based treatment for deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind youth nationwide. The proposed project will develop and implement an integrated trauma care continuum that equips schools, families, and behavioral health providers with tools, training, and interventions to recognize, respond to, and treat childhood trauma. DHHCRC proposes Advancing an Integrated Trauma Care Continuum for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth, a National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI) Category II Treatment and Service Adaptation Center. The project will serve deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind (DHH) children and adolescents from birth through age 21, their families, educators, school mental health personnel, behavioral health clinicians, and other child-serving professionals across the United States through training, consultation, technical assistance, implementation support, and dissemination. The project will implement the Deaf Youth Trauma Access and Care Continuum Model, a multi-tiered framework integrating trauma prevention, early identification, referral, school-based intervention, and outpatient treatment. Major strategies include: (1) disseminating trauma-informed prevention and resilience resources for families and schools; (2) implementing English and ASL-accessible trauma screening and referral pathways; (3) adapting, implementing, and/or evaluating Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment (SMART), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) for DHH youth; (4) expanding workforce capacity through the Core Curriculum on Childhood Trauma (CCCT), Psychological First Aid (PFA), consultation, and implementation support; and (5) disseminating resources nationally through the DHH Resource Hub and Learning Collaborative. Project goals are to: (1) improve prevention, early identification, and access to trauma supports through school, family, and community systems; (2) adapt, implement, and evaluate evidence-informed and evidence-based trauma interventions for DHH youth and families; and (3) strengthen the capacity of schools, behavioral health providers, and families to recognize, respond to, and address childhood trauma. Measurable objectives include piloting the trauma care continuum model in partner schools; implementing English/ASL-accessible screening and referral protocols; developing and piloting DHH-specific CBITS adaptations; expanding training and consultation in adapted trauma interventions (e.g., TF-CBT, PCIT, SMART, CCCT, & PFA); establishing a national resource hub and implementation exchange; and evaluating implementation, fidelity, feasibility, acceptability, service access, and sustainability. The project will produce a scalable national model that expands access to high-quality trauma services and strengthens child-serving systems for DHH youth nationwide.
