Hello Baby is a free, voluntary program that provides families with in-home support from a public health nurse soon after the birth of a child. The Racine County Public Health Division and Walworth County Department of Health and Human Services partnered with ICFW to develop this evidence-informed program, which aims to enhance maternal and child...
Health & Mental Health
School-Based Mental Health
The School-Based Mental Health project strives to increase accessibility to mental health care for children in Wisconsin. By placing psychotherapists in schools, we reduce barriers to access to care and build on the undeniable connection between a well child and their ability to succeed in school. In this way not only are healthcare disparities reduced,...
Assessing for Trauma in Home Visiting
Funded by a HRSA Innovation Grant, Assessing for Trauma in Home Visiting aims to improve trauma-responsive practices among three Wisconsin home visiting programs. Home visiting staff receives a full-day training in trauma screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment or T-SBIRT, which was...
Clinical Services Integration (CSI)
Children entering the child welfare system are more vulnerable due to the exposure to one, often multiple, adverse events prior to their placement in foster care. These adverse events can lead to decreased activity in areas of the brain affecting learning, memory, stress regulation and can result in life-long problems in learning, behavior, and physical...
Trauma – SBIRT
Adapted from Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for substance misuse, Trauma SBIRT (T-SBIRT) is a brief protocol designed for healthcare and social service settings. Its purpose is to help service recipients generate insight into their trauma exposure and enhance their motivation to seek mental health or related services....
Racine Elevates All Children’s Health (REACH) Study
October 2018 – December 2022
Racine Elevates All Children’s Health (REACH) is an impact study of Family Connects, a postpartum nurse visiting program that is being implemented by the Central Racine County Health Department in partnership with Ascension All Saints Hospital....
Trauma and Recovery Project (TARP)
October 2017 – September 2022
The Trauma and Recovery Project (TARP) was a 5-year SAMHSA-funded initiative that aimed to increase the availability and accessibility of trauma-responsive treatments for children and families in southeastern Wisconsin by: (a) fortifying and coordinating systems of care, (b) increasing the pool of clinicians...
Families and Children Thriving (FACT) Study
The Families and Children Thriving (FACT) Study is a HRSA-funded, ongoing panel investigation of risk and resilience among nearly 2,000 low-income families that have received home visiting services through Wisconsin’s Family Foundations Home Visiting...
Family Peace Center Model for Addressing Polyvictimization
April 2017-April 2020
Funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, this 3-year project aimed to develop trauma-informed screening, service, and referral processes to address the needs of polyvictimized clients. Through this initiative, a polyvictimization screening tool was developed and administered with clients that receive services from the...
Family Drug Treatment Court (FDTC)
October 2017- September 2022
This 5-year project focused on Milwaukee County’s Family Drug Treatment Court (FDTC), which is a voluntary program that provides substance abuse treatment and family support services to parents or guardians whose substance use disorder is a safety concern that results in the removal of the children from their...
Healthy Workers, Healthy Wisconsin
Healthy Worker, Healthy Wisconsin is a five-year, Milwaukee-area initiative funded by the Wisconsin Partnership Project and facilitated by Community Advocates Public Policy Institute in partnership with the ICFW. This local job enhancement project aims to strengthen employment services by increasing client access to health and mental health care.
The...
Foundations for Adolescent Well-Being (FAWB)
Adolescents in foster care who have experienced maltreatment or chronic adversity face consequences that impact their life course, and are 25% more likely to experience delinquency, mental health problems, low academic achievement, teen pregnancy, and drug use.1 Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin’s approach to adolescent programming...
Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
The health and well-being of children, families, and communities are critical foundations for a prosperous future. Responsive relationships are a key component to the health, well-being, and resilience of children. Parent-Child relationships can inoculate children from the harmful effects of toxic levels of stress that negatively impact brain development....
Brighter Futures: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Youth with good mental health develop skills and capacities that become the basis for strong communities. Toxic levels of stress and trauma negatively impact the architecture of a youth’s developing brain, which has lasting effects into adulthood. Youth in foster care face these challenges and many others, which contribute with significantly...
Project Connect: Adapting PCIT to Foster Care
July 2011 – June 2014
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an empirically validated treatment for externalizing behavior problems in young children. Foster children are at an especially high risk of developing externalizing problems, difficulties that their foster parents are not often trained to manage effectively.
PCIT...