Projects

Core to our mission is advocating for school, local, state and national policies that prioritize children's mental health and wellness.

We believe youth mental health experts should be at the table when it comes to what’s good for kids and communities. Our team regularly shares expertise to help decision makers form plans that prioritize child and community wellness and equity–supporting Illinois as an emerging national best practice leader for healing-centered and mental health-promoting strategies and supports.

Illinois Healing-Centered Task Force (HCTF)

Illinois has a twenty-year history of advocates, policy makers, and providers from diverse human service and healthcare sectors working to increase awareness of the impact of trauma across the lifespan. In 2021, a Senate resolution was adopted calling for Illinois to move beyond trauma responsive efforts to embark on adopting healing-centered approaches. Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton charged her Office of Justice, Equity and Opportunity with launching an informal work group to promote statewide coordination and alignment of policy and practice efforts to meet this goal. This working group conducted a landscape analysis of the efforts in Illinois and advocated for creation and passage of Senate Bill 646 which was signed into law on August 11, 2023, creating the Task Force for a Healing-Centered Illinois.  The Task Force launched in January 2024 with the charge of creating a set of recommendations to align trauma-informed and healing-centered activities within public and private systems. The CCR team provided leadership and invested critical resources in the working group; and Drs. Mashana Smith and Colleen Cicchetti have been appointed to the Task Force. Learn more.

School Health Access Collaborative (SHAC)

The School Health Access Collaborative (SHAC) is co-managed by the Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC) and the Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago (PHIMC). SHAC has over 40 member organizations (including health and education providers, advocates and philanthropic partners) who work in partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) to enhance the health and wellness of all students through an equitable and coordinated school health system. Through committee work and collaborative projects, SHAC members analyze critical barriers and invest in innovative solutions to address critical health needs. Lurie Children’s has a long history of engagement with SHAC and many members of the CCR team have participated in various committees and leadership roles, including Dr. Colleen Cicchetti serving as as Steering Committee Chair (from 2017 to 2022) and Dr. Tali Raviv serving in this role currently.  Learn more.

Illinois Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative (CBHTI)

Governor Pritzker launched the Illinois Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative in March 2022 to respond to the escalating nationwide youth mental health crisis. The aim of this initiative is for every young person experiencing mental or behavioral health concerns in Illinois to access effective care. The initial phase included a systematic review of barriers with experts, advocates, families and six child-serving state agencies, and resulted in a Blueprint for Transformation with 12 specific strategies. The strategies aim to streamline and centralize processes, build workforce capacity, and enhance early identification and intervention efforts to prevent acute crises. Interagency collaboration and tracking progress across different work groups is central to the implementation of this plan. CCR team members work closely with this effort to align our advocacy and capacity building efforts. Specifically, this includes engagement with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to develop plans to promote mental health and trauma awareness for educators and to expand universal mental and behavioral health screenings for students in Illinois; and with Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to fortify youth voice and community networks with parent and peer leaders. 

Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership 

The Illinois Children's Mental Health Partnership (ICMHP) is a public private partnership created under Illinois Public Act 93-0495 to advise State agencies on how to address children's mental health needs across the full continuum of care. The continuum includes social determinants of health, prevention, early identification, and treatment. ICMHP is committed to creating new recommendations, goals, and strategies to ensure that Illinois continues to prioritize mental health and wellness including youth engagement. ICMHP Youth Voice Adjunct Council is charged with making recommendations to ICMHP regarding youth mental health matters. CCR's Dr. Tara Gill serves as the lead of the ICMHP Youth Council. Dr. Colleen Cicchetti is a Governor Appointed member of the ICMHP.

CCR is an active member in many advocacy organizations and advisory boards including: 

• Chicago Council for Mental Health Equity
• Chicago is With You Task Force
• Children's Health Caucus
• Coalition for Immigrant Mental Health
• Communities United
• Healing-Centered Illinois Taskforce
• Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership
• Midwest Human Rights Consortium
• National Child Traumatic Stress Network
• One Chicago
• Partnership for Resilience Steering Committee
• Pediatric Pandemic Network
• Project Aware Task Force
• Promoting Access Towards Hope and Healing (PATHH)Collaborative
• School Health Access Collaborative
• University of Chicago Consortium on School Research Steering Committee

Birth to age five are the most important years of development, and early exposure to adverse experiences can put children at risk for poorer outcomes in psychological health, physical health, cognitive functioning and academic achievement. Our team provides training and technical assistance to early childhood educators, consultants and administrators to create trauma-attuned, early learning environments that center racial equity.  We collaborate with early learning systems and community organizations to create healing-centered early learning environments.

Ready to Learn Through Relationships Program (RLR-Program)

Center for Childhood Resilience partnered with the Child-Parent Centers in Chicago Public Schools’ Office of Early Childhood Education to develop the Ready-To-Learn-Through Relationships Program (RLR-Program). The RLR-Program consists of two manuals: 1) a framework that provides education regarding early childhood trauma, its impact, and a relationship-based path to social and emotional well-being, and 2) a toolkit which provides “plug-and-play” strategies for improving social-emotional learning and early relational health in the preschool classroom. The toolkit includes four modules: creating a safe environment, provider self-care, building relationships and connectedness, and supporting and teaching emotion regulation. The program is designed to be implemented by preschool teachers, with implementation support provided by site-based coaches in early child learning centers.

National Center for Health, Behavioral Health and Safety

CCR works in collaboration with a consortium of national experts as part of the National Center on Health, Behavioral Health, and Safety (NCHBHS), administered by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Office of Head Start (OHS). NCHBHS is one of five OHS National Centers focusing on providing high quality comprehensive services to children and families. As part of this National Center, CCR provides evidence-informed resources and delivers innovative training and technical assistance to build the capacity of Head Start teachers and administrators at the local, state, and national levels. 

Schreiber Family Center for Early Childhood Health and Wellness

The Schreiber Family Center for Early Childhood Health and Wellness was established in 2022 with a $25 million gift from philanthropists Kathleen and John Schreiber, and focuses on the most important stage of development, birth to age five. As part of Schreiber Family Center, CCR has expanded its footprint in early care and education, adapting and expanding our RLR-Program and expanding our training and technical assistance initiatives. Future directions that will be supported by this transformational gift include developing an RLR-Program supplemental guide for parents and caregivers, leveraging technology to create ease of access to our materials, and investigating the extent to which our training program positively impacts child social-emotional and school readiness outcomes. 

CCR’s research and evaluation lab uses data and local community expertise to build models that work, continually evaluating data to make sure we are meeting the needs of a particular population or program. Our goals are to bring effective programs to scale and build organizational capacity for long-term sustainability.

Investigation and innovation are core components of the work we do across all CCR projects and programs. View our current and past research projects and studies.

As youth learn to navigate in the world, we teach skills, aid adults in creating youth-friendly environments, and build supportive networks so they can thrive. This includes mental health workforce development, such as the H.E.A.L. (Health and Emotional Awareness Lab) Program. Our team aims to elevate youth and caregiver perspectives in schools and community spaces, identifying ways to help partners strengthen their support of children and adults from within. 

We work to identify and amplify the mental health needs of communities in which there has been marginalization and disinvestment through an array of in- and out-of-school strategies to promote youth wellness, trauma-responsive and healing-centered practices.

Newcomers - Migrant Behavioral Health in Shelters

CCR partnered with University of Chicago’s Crown School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice and the Coalition for Immigrant Mental Health (CIMH) to co-develop a capacity-building, community-level training intervention integrating universal mental health promotion and crisis prevention strategies to the city/state’s response to the migrant crisis. Since December 2022, this intervention has equipped frontline staff working with new arrivals (shelter staff, case managers, community navigators) with the skills to relieve adjustment stressors while avoiding additional stress on the currently overtaxed mental health system. Additionally, the project focuses on training integration and sustaining front-line workers by using licensed mental health providers from CIMH to provide ongoing consultation and reflective support. Finally, program evaluation activities are built into the initiative providing useful information on the mental health needs of migrants and the impact of the capacity-building efforts.

Health and Emotional Awareness Lab (HEAL) Program

CCR is committed to elevating youth perspectives in order to empower those who have not often been centered in mental health dialogues. Youth voice and workforce development are essential areas for CCR in skill-building and developing the capacity for a pathway toward healthcare and other careers. By including youth in discussions and centering adult-led governance to youth perspectives, we are reducing stigma of mental health and bringing equity to our work in educational, community, and healthcare spaces. CCR is working with advocacy groups, civic youth organizations, and community organizers to promote wellness and healing-centered frameworks throughout the state. Through youth engagement, CCR developed the Health Education and Awareness Lab (HEAL) curriculum for elementary, high school, and undergraduate students. The HEAL program focuses on mental health awareness, health equity, career development, and trauma education. In partnership with the Lurie Children’s Magoon Institute, CCR offers the HEAL program in schools, community organizations and healthcare careers training. 

Youth spend the majority of their time in school, surrounded by adults whose job it is to ensure their well-being and success. Schools and school staff are critical to supporting youth mental health. Our team collaborates with school teams to  identify innovative solutions to challenges schools are facing, and helps implement sustainable programs, practices and strategies that are healing-centered, strengths-based and culturally-responsive. We are shaping systems change at school, district, city, state and national levels to create healthy school climates for all.

Behavioral Health Teams

CCR partnered with Chicago Public Schools to co-develop the Behavioral Health Team (BHT) model. A BHT is a teaming structure that ensures students receive appropriate and consistent behavioral and mental health services across the multi-tiered classification of need. It includes data-driven protocols to identify, assess, and match students to appropriate interventions available in school or in the community.

The primary goals of the Behavioral Health Team are to:

1. Maximize resources and collaboration within the school and community;

2. Support early identification of students with behavioral health needs;

3. Match and connect students to the right interventions using data-informed decision-making; and

4. Monitor student progress over time and adjust interventions as needed.

School Mental Health Intervention Training and Technical Assistance

A critical part of a comprehensive school mental health system is the availability of interventions for students exhibiting early signs of mental or behavioral health concerns. These Tier 2 interventions are often provided in small groups and are focused on skill-building in addition to symptom reduction. CCR currently provides training in seven evidence-based group interventions delivered by school counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists: Anger Coping, Think First, Bounce Back, Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS), Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS), and Strengthening Transition Resilience of Newcomer Groups (STRONG). In addition to training on these interventions, CCR provides customized technical assistance to support high-quality implementation. Technical assistance sessions provide a collaborative space to share best practices, problem-solve common challenges, review core components of the interventions, and receive consultation from our team of intervention trainers on how to implement and sustain these interventions in schools.

Resilience Education to Advance Community Healing (REACH)

National Center for Safe and Supportive Schools 

In collaboration with the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Alliance for Inclusion and Prevention in Boston, MA, CCR is part of a $3 million federal grant from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to expand trauma-informed policies and practices in school communities nationwide. This five-year initiative establishes the National Center for Safe and Supportive Schools (NCS3) as part of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. NCS3 focuses on culturally responsive, multi-tiered programming to build state and school district capacity, training and implementation of school-based trauma interventions, and pre-service educator and mental health provider preparation. NCS3 works collaboratively to address existing gaps in the national implementation of trauma-informed schools (TIS). 

Each community, school, and child is unique. Our team provides customized education, supports, and designs trainings to help schools implement programs, practices and strategies that support child and staff wellness. We are shaping systems at school, district, city, state and national levels to help create healthy school climates for students, staff and communities.

Infographic Call Out: Research suggests that schools may function as the de facto mental health system for children and adolescents.

CCR offers pre-professional learning opportunities for psychology, psychiatry and social work students and fellows across all areas of CCR’s work. We also train graduate students enrolled in Northwestern University’s Clinical Psychology PhD program.

CCR’s Training Lab offers first-hand experience with training, consultation, program development, evaluation, and research as part of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. This multi-disciplinary approach extends the pipeline of mental health professionals into communities in need, while diversifying the workforce along the way.

Pre-Service Education. CCR works to build the capacity of pre-service educators to recognize and support students exposed to trauma and adversity. CCR is engaged in a multi-year strategic partnership with the Golden Apple Foundation, and leads the pre-service education component of National Center for Safe Supportive Schools (NCS3).

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH). CCR has ongoing strategic partnerships with CPS and CDPH.  CCR led a joint CPS-CDPH strategic planning project to increase student access to mental health services in school and in the community including work to break down barriers and identify innovative strategies to link more young people to care and available city resources.

Stress and Coping Toolkit. In collaboration with Chicago Public Schools, CCR has developed a toolkit and training program to help educators recognize and respond to student mental health challenges. The toolkit focuses on mental health awareness, reducing mental health stigma and promoting positive coping for students in middle school classrooms. It is currently being investigated for its impact on student mental health and well-being and access to mental healthcare.

Adult Social and Emotional Learning. CCR partners with schools and districts to enhance the social and emotional skills of educators that are critical to creating and sustaining school climates that facilitate healing for students who have experienced trauma and adversity. 

Trauma, Racism and Equity. Through trainings and professional learning communities, CCR partners with schools and districts to understand the intersection of trauma, racism and equity and address the significant impacts of the three on student safety, well-being and success in school. 

Trauma-Informed Community Organizations. CCR has partnered with community organizations including the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana and Chicago Park District to enhance the resiliency of youth served by those organizations, and build the organizations’ capacity to sustain the work. 

Community Engaged Research Partner. CCR worked as a community engaged research partner to build the research readiness of Youth Guidance’s Working on Womanhood (WOW) intervention, a promising, multi-faceted school-based group behavioral health intervention that works to meet the needs of low-income, ethnic minoritized adolescents. This community-academic partnership worked collaboratively to enhance the efficacy of the curriculum through a community-engaged refinement project.