As reality television has shown us in recent years, life with all its twists and turns is in essence a "real world" laboratory. Triumphs and tragedies cause various positive and negative reactions that ripple through family circles, as well as communities. When life is simple, the impact people have on each other can be a blessing. But when 
tragedy and suffering strike, it is not uncommon for some to take anger out on the most innocent and weak among us – children.
The challenges of doing research and science-informed clinical work with children and their families are daunting. Scientific inquiry is often thwarted by the complex problems and conditions that children and families face. In fact, according to the National Research Council’s Institute of Medicine, scientists and professionals "…have barely begun to use our growing research capabilities to help children and families negotiate the changing demands and possibilities of life in the 21st century.”
Faculty members at the University of Kentucky Center for the Study of Violence Against Children (CSVAC) are responding to this challenge by following a scientific agenda that is translational and multidisciplinary in focus. By calling upon researchers from many different backgrounds, the Center is developing treatments that can truly help children where they live and go to school. Due to CSVAC’s focus on utilizing and applying the latest advancements in brain development and innovative social science research, CSVAC has become an invaluable resource to the scientific and clinical community.
CSVAC is a translational research center that uses clinical practice, research and training on child and family trauma in an effort to address the detrimental effect of violence against children in the Commonwealth, as well as the nation. Their primary mission is to understand, treat, and eliminate violence against children.
Since 2000, UK's College of Social Work and Department of Psychiatry in the College of Medicine have provided the staff to implement CSVAC's innovative care and clinical practice to children and families in the state's most challenging child welfare cases. With every child and family entering the clinic, whether it is a biological or a foster/adoptive family, the staff works tirelessly to attain their goal of finding the best ways to reduce the effects of violence on children.
CSVAC was a recent recipient of one of 10 Community Treatment and Services Center grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The grant, which is designed to promote and evaluate effective treatment systems in community and youth-oriented settings, provided the new center with $1.6 million over a four-year period to promote CSVAC's enhanced network systems for clinical, methodological, policy, financing and training issues. Likewise, the grant officially establishes CSVAC as a member of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
As a grant recipient, CSVAC used this federal funding to establish the Child and Adolescent Trauma Treatment Institute, which provides clinical training and information on 'best practices' to child welfare programs throughout Kentucky to help children and their families recover from psychological trauma.
Story and image courtesy of UK public relations.
"Someone to Watch over Me"
An enchanted night of dinner & entertainment at CastlePost on Versailles Road to benefit abused and neglected children served by The Center for the Study of Violence Against Children
Emcee: Mr. Nick Clooney
Honorees: Ms. Ashley Judd, Children's Humanitarian Award
Ms. Nancy Rawlings, Friend of the Children Award
Location & Date: CastlePost (Versailles Rd & Pisgah Pike)
Saturday, August 22, 2009 7:00 — 10:00 p.m.
Over 3 million children are reported to be mistreated or abused each year. Each child, whether they experience neglect, injury, or violence, is profoundly altered as a result. Emotional, physical, social and behavioral problems are all likely for the maltreated child. No child deserves this. In our collective hands, we hold the promise of change. We invite you to join us and be part of the solution.
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE
Tickets are sold out at this time.
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The University of Kentucky is a tax exempt organization and gifts to
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Media Contact: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-1754, x229
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 18, 2009) − A researcher at the University of Kentucky College of Social Work has received a federal grant to develop best practice recommendations to manage the needs of children affected by pandemic containment in the Commonwealth.
The UK funding of nearly $1 million is part of a federal grant from the Department of Homeland Security through its agreement with the National Institute for Hometown Security. UK partnered with the University of Louisville on the grant which could total $4.6 million over a 3-year period. UofL was awarded an initial $2.3 million research grant for a period of 18 months with the option of an 18-month continuation grant for an additional $2.3 million. Overall, the grant funds the research at UK and four other research projects at UofL. This research collaboration is aimed at detection, preparedness, protection, response and recovery involving future pandemic outbreaks.
Researchers at the two universities will seek ways to more quickly detect a pandemic and share information with community leaders, such as state and city planners and leaders, emergency medical service providers, mental health professionals and school superintendents.
Specifically, the research at UK will systematically investigate biopsychosocial effects of quarantine and isolation to develop best practice approaches to understanding and managing the needs of children and families affected by pandemic disease containment strategies. Ginny Sprang, the Buckhorn Professor of Child Welfare and Children’s Mental Health and the executive director of the Center for the Study of Violence Against Children (CSVAC), is the principal investigator on UK's portion of the research.
"Several decades of disaster research tells us that the most serious and persistent negative effects of any disaster are the secondary losses – disruptions of social and familial support networks, stigmatization and blame, loss of employment and financial stability," commented Sprang. "It is injudicious to design strategies to contain disease without considering the unintended consequences of these policies, the secondary losses that threaten to destabilize families and communities. Our project will help disaster planners in Kentucky and across the nation develop response strategies that reduce the secondary trauma and loss associated with a pandemic disaster."
Other UK CSVAC researchers involved in the project include: Jim Clark, co-principal investigator; Miriam Silman; Charmaine Mohipp; and Phyllis Leigh.
The other four research projects housed at UofL will:
Paul McKinney, associate dean at UofL's School of Public Health and Information Sciences (SPHIS), and Ruth Carrico, assistant professor at SPHIS, are co-leaders of the research team. Other UofL researchers participating are Robert Esterhay, chair of the Department of Health Management and Systems Sciences; Julio Ramirez, director of the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Training program at the UofL School of Medicine; and David Simpson, Fifth Third Bank Professor of Community Development at UofL’s School of Urban and Public Affairs.
For more information on the UK grant, contact Phyllis Leigh, project director, at (859) 543-0078 ext. 226 or email Phyllis.leigh@uky.edu.
CONTACT: Hannah Drutz or Whitney Hale, (859) 257-1754 ext. 229
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 7, 2008) – Experts from the Center for the Study of Violence Against Children (CSVAC) at the University of Kentucky College of Social Work will present the Sixth Annual Irma Sarett Rosenstein Lecture. The event theme, "In the Best Interest of Children: Contemporary Debates," will bring together several leading thinkers and researchers in issues related to child welfare at the annual program scheduled for 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, at the W.T. Young Library Auditorium.
The Rosenstein lecture will feature two Lincoln-Douglas style debates examining issues of translational science; violence against children; utility of evidence in real world settings; and policy and practice implications of the Adoption and Safe Families Act.
Interactive debate participants in this year's event include:
The debates presented as part of the Rosenstein Lecture will conclude with opportunities for attendee participation, critique and a facilitated discussion of the issues within contemporary practice.
The Center for the Study of Violence Against Children (CSVAC) is dedicated to the enhancement of the health and well-being of children and their families through research, service and dissemination of information about child abuse and trauma.
The Rosenstein Lecture, sponsored by the College of Social Work, is designed to bring nationally known speakers to UK. The lecture topics include child and family welfare issues of significance to our community, state, and society as a whole. The prestigious annual lecture is made possible by a generous gift from Irma and Irving Rosenstein, Lexington business leaders.
Individuals interested in attending the Rosenstein Lecture should reserve space. For more information or to make a reservation to attend the event, contact the College of Social Work via e-mail to khuts2@uky.edu or call (859) 257-6654.
The Center for the Study of Violence Against Children Wins Federal Grant to Use Science to Enhance Services to Children and Families Affected by Violence
NCTSN Welcomes the Center for the Study of Violence Against Children to Child Trauma Network
The University of Kentucky Center for the Study of Violence Against Children (CSVAC) has won a competitive federal grant to join a national network of child trauma centers that provide services and support to children and families who are exposed to a wide range of traumatic experiences including physical and sexual abuse, domestic, school and community violence, natural disasters and terrorism, and life-threatening injury and illness.
With the four-year grant, CSVAC becomes a member of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), whose mission is to improve the quality, effectiveness and availability of services for children and families who experience traumatic events.
With this new funding, CSVAC will establish the Child and Adolescent Trauma Treatment Institute (CATTI) which will provide treatment to child victims of trauma using three specific evidenced-based treatments (Parent Child Interaction Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Abuse-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). Through a collaborative approach, CATTI will also train partners in multiple regions across the state of Kentucky in providing these interventions to children in need using a “train the trainer” approach. Research will be conducted that will advance our understanding of the impact of trauma on the children in our state and the implementation of these services.
“We are honored that CSVAC was chosen as one of the select group of organizations to participate in this national endeavor," said Ginny Sprang, Ph.D., Principal Investigator for the project, Director of CSVAC, and nationally recognized expert in trauma. "This grant will provide us with opportunities to adapt and test best practice approaches to treating traumatic stress in children exposed to violence.”
“We are very excited about the opportunities this grant and involvement in the NCTSN will provide to enhancing the access of Kentucky’s children to effective trauma-related interventions,” said Heather Risk, Psy.D., Project Director of CATTI.
The NCTSN grants are funded through the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Department of Health and Human Services. Congress created the National Child Traumatic Stress Network in 2000 in response to the growing need of children exposed to trauma in the United States. Soon after its launch, the NCTSN mobilized to respond to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Since then, NCTSN members have responded to numerous traumatic events, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Virginia Tech shootings.
Combining knowledge of child development, expertise in child traumatic stress, and attention to cultural perspectives, the NCTSN supports the development and broad adoption of evidenced-based and trauma-informed treatments. The NCTSN is a collaboration of more than 70 academic, clinical and community service centers, including the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and Duke University Medical Center, which co-direct the Network through the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress.
“With each new cohort of Network members, we expand the knowledge base of this relatively new field,” said Robert Pynoos, M.D., co-director of the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress for UCLA. “Children who experience trauma need all of us to work to improve care and increase access.”
NCTSN member centers help children and adolescents exposed to all forms of trauma. National surveys suggest that by their 16 th birthday, 25 percent of American children are exposed to at least one significant traumatic experience.
“The local organizations that comprise the NCTSN are our strength,” noted John Fairbank, Ph.D., co-director of the National Center for Traumatic Stress for Duke University Medical Center. “We are very pleased to be moving forward together to the benefit of children and families across America.”
Last updated on 8-05-2009