The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)
Established by Congress in 2000 as part of the Children’s Health Act to enhance the quality of care and expand access to services for children and families affected by traumatic events, NCTSN network comprises frontline providers, family members, researchers, and national partners dedicated to transforming children’s lives by improving their care and swiftly translating scientific advancements into practice across the United States.
The NCTSN operates under the administration of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and is coordinated by the UCLA-Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress (NCCTS). Since its inception, the NCTSN has expanded significantly, growing from 17 funded centers in 2001 to 208 currently funded centers, along with over 200 Affiliate (formerly funded) centers and individuals. These centers function within hospitals, universities, and community-based programs across 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
To fulfill its mission, NCTSN grantees and Affiliates focus on:
- Providing clinical services
- Developing and distributing new interventions and resource materials
- Offering education and training programs
- Collaborating with established care systems
- Conducting data collection and evaluation
- Influencing public policy and awareness initiatives
The NCTSN’s national impact is significant. Recent estimates from the NCTSN Collaborative Change Project (CoCap) suggest that approximately 50,000 children, adolescents, and their families receive direct benefits from Network services each quarter. Since its founding, the NCTSN has trained over two million professionals in trauma-informed interventions. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of individuals benefit from its community services, online resources, webinars, educational materials, and local programs. The Network has also fostered more than 10,000 local and state partnerships to integrate trauma-informed services into child-serving systems, including child protective services, healthcare, mental health programs, child welfare, education, residential care, juvenile justice, courts, and services for military and veteran families.