National Child Traumatic Stress Network  
Category II Treatment and Services Adaptation Center 

The Building Resilience through Residential Communities (BRTRC) project is a SAMHSA funded NCTSN Category II Treatment and Services Adaptation Center. Newly funded in 2021, the BRTRC’s central aim is to develop, adapt, and disseminate trauma-informed care (TIC) approaches and evidence-based practices (EBPs) for residential treatment centers (RTCs) nationwide that serve high risk, trauma-impacted youth and their families. The BRTRC’s mission is to address key gaps in available strategies for implementation of TIC in RTCs, increase access to effective EBPs for youth in residential care, and bolster workforce development in RTCs. Through these activities, the BRTRC will raise the standard of care, increase resiliency of programs, staff and clients, and improve client clinical outcomes. The primary goals of the BRTRC project are: (1) wide scale dissemination, implementation and sustainability of Building Communities of Care (BCC), a trauma and evidenced informed, strengths based model designed to address the unique needs of RTCs, through training and TA with all staff (front line, clinical, educational, medical, administrative); (2) to increase access to EBPs for trauma in RTCs serving trauma-impacted youth through intensive training and technical assistance in EBPs that have demonstrated effectiveness with YRC, including Attachment, Regulation, and Competency (ARC), Trauma Focused CBT (TF-CBT), and Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS); and (3) to build a trauma-informed workforce in RTCs through education, training and technical assistance via both intensive RTC partnerships and national dissemination activities. The BRTRC expert staff provide intensive training and technical assistance to RTCs across the nation. Our staff will also engage in national dissemination through creation of a publicly available webinar series for residential providers, establish a resource center for RTCs, develop products for professionals working in RTCs, and engage in collaborative activities with the NCTSN to promote the uptake of trauma-informed care in RTCs. 

Principal Investigator: Hilary Hodgdon, Ph.D. 

Project Director: Kristine Kinniburgh, LICSW 

Associate Director: Gabe Corens, LICSW 

Lead Evaluator: Lia Martin, Ph.D.