The Mayor’s Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods will manage the Trauma Resilient Community Initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in partnership with UofL’s Kent School of Social Work and Centerstone Kentucky.

“We’re thrilled to work on this project because it so closely parallels our mission to create a just and better world,” Kent Dean David Jenkins said. “Our role in the Trauma Resilient Community Initiative is evidence of our unwavering commitment to ensure that every community member has equitable access to services that work, services that help people recover and services that help communities heal.”

The initiative will use a community-based approach to build a “trauma-informed” system of care and services to children and families exposed to violence. The effort is meant to increase the knowledge and skills of people who respond to, make referrals for and provide services to youth and families.

“Louisville is a compassionate city, and compassion requires that we work to remove barriers and create opportunities so that every citizen has the ability to reach their full human potential,” Fischer said. “This initiative is another tool we can use to dismantle the very real barriers of violence, trauma and racial inequity.”

The partners aim to provide trauma treatment to 400 children and their families in west and south Louisville, where data show that youth and families are disproportionately affected by trauma, violence and inequities. The initiative also involves training 200 clinicians in trauma interventions and 200 first responders, volunteers and community service providers in a special youth mental health first-aid model.

Another 40 service providers, public school officials and leaders will be trained in a trauma-resilient approach through the initiative, which will also share the trauma-care information with 50 community agencies serving youth and families and develop a leadership advisory board to increase awareness of trauma and its effects. The initiative includes evaluation of its consumer impact.

“To help people traumatized by violence, it’s so important to use an approach that fully takes into account their circumstances,” said Jennifer Middleton, associate professor of social work. “The Kent School of Social Work’s researchers are pleased to be partners in this federally funded effort to aid people in ways that are sensitive to their needs and based on proven methods – and to help train members of our community to continue that care.”

Middleton, Crystal Collins-Camargo and Bibhuti Sar are the Kent faculty working on the implementation, while Shantel Crosby and Heather Storer are on the research and evaluation team. Kent students also will be involved in ways that include conducting community needs assessments and providing trauma-focused therapy interventions. The Kent group will be looking at specific measures of functioning and well-being for the children and families, Crosby said.

“Our city has made significant gains towards deepening our understanding and ability to make progress against complex challenges like violence and racial inequity. This opportunity allows us to elevate a system that does not just focus on the individual, but organizations, systems and community as part of the healing process,” said Rashaad Abdur-Rahman, director of the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods.

“At Centerstone Kentucky, we are proud to partner with SAMHSA, the Mayor’s Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods and the UofL Kent School of Social Work to provide evidence-based trauma-informed care, creating stronger neighborhoods across our community,” said Anthony Zipple, president and CEO, Centerstone Kentucky.

Besides the local ones, initiative partners include the Center for Trauma Resilient Communities, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Treatment and Services Adaptation Center for Resilience.

Highlights from Monday’s press release are below. 

 The UofL portion is $2.1 million for the evaluation part of the grant, which is expected to total $15 million for the consortium of five universities and three national child welfare consultants. The group has launched the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development through the grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration’s Children’s Bureau.

Battling a high turnover rate, child welfare agencies report difficulty in retaining qualified employees in jobs that can be high-stress, low-paying and complex. Workers tasked with protecting vulnerable children and with strengthening families face emotionally draining situations and challenges that can lead to secondary trauma and burnout.

During this morning’s press conference announcing the work, UofL interim president Greg Postel said finding ways to prevent burnout in this field is a real opportunity. 

Eight agencies chosen as study sites represent a mix of urban and rural communities and a variety of types of organizations, including centralized state systems, county-administered systems, a large urban county and a Native American tribe.

“The center will work in partnership with the eight jurisdictions to execute rigorous evaluations on a variety of workforce interventions so that the field will have more evidence-based options for improving difficult workforce challenges,” said Anita Barbee, UofL distinguished university scholar in social work, who will be the project’s lead evaluator. “The lessons we learn through this project will be applicable to our own state down the line.”

Other partners in the center, based at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, are University of Colorado-Denver, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, UCLA, C.F. Parry Associates, CLH Strategies and Solutions and Great Eastern Consulting.

Other Kent School researchers working on the grant are faculty members Becky Antle and Martin Hall, research managers Katy Henry and Jenny Taylor and doctoral student Lisa Purdy.

Check out highlights from this morning’s press conference below: 

He had also been a professor at TCU since 1991. Prior, Jenkins earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from LSU and his PhD from Florida State. His migration north to Louisville started because , who encouraged him to apply for the open position following Singer’s retirement. 

He was especially attracted to UofL’s Couples and Family Therapy program, as well as the city of Louisville and its southern charm. 

UofL News recently had the chance to talk to him about macro trends in social work, as well as what differentiates the Kent School from other programs in the country. 

UofL News: How will social work education/priorities change in the coming years?

Dean Jenkins: We are in the middle of strategic planning as we speak. We are hoping to have a final product completed this summer. This plan will guide our priorities for the next several years.

UofL News: What are the biggest challenges facing the social work industry right now?

Dean Jenkins: I believe funding is probably one of our most constant concerns in social work. We regularly have to prove the worth of our programs and services to stakeholders. For example, elected officials often need a great deal of education about how social work, as a profession, works to improve our communities, our state, the country, and larger society.

UofL News: What programs or coursework, etc., differentiates the Kent School from other institutions?

Dean Jenkins: There a couple of programs and offerings that differentiate the Kent School from other institutions:

• We are the only program in the country that houses a Couples and Family Therapy Program in the School of Social Work
• We are the only program in the country that offers a specialization in psychosocial oncology
• We offer seven different specializations in the graduate program with face-to-face and online options for students
• Our undergraduate program offers a new concentration in Substance Abuse to better prepare our students for this type of work after graduation. 

UofL News: What has kept you personally involved in social work throughout your career?

Dean Jenkins: I personally care about social justice. Since there are always areas that need attention on the topic of social justice, there is always work to be done. Additionally, social work is an ever evolving field with a continually changing field of practice (humans and society). So, it remains a challenging field as we adapt to these changes. 

UofL News: How do you unwind when you’re not working?

Dean Jenkins: Tennis and working out are two of my favorite activities for escaping the concerns of work (and life). I also enjoy movies and travel. 

Tune into UofL Today with Mark Hebert on Wednesday, April 26, to listen to a full interview with Dean Jenkins. .