Cohen Announces $400K for UTHSC

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-9) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded the University of Tennessee Health Science Center $400,000 for the Tennessee Network for Trauma-Informed and Evidence-Based Systems (TN-TIES) project. The funds will be distributed through the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS).

“The Tennessee Network for Trauma-Informed and Evidence-Based Systems is a landmark effort to improve services among youth in foster care in the state of Tennessee,” said Congressman Cohen. “Tennessee has a considerable number of children in foster care – close to 4,000 in 2010. Through TN-TIES, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center will help improve the placement stability and well-being of these children by increasing communication between agencies, and by providing more individualized care for our youth in foster care.”

The TN-TIES program seeks to achieve three main goals: first, to develop a coordinated and integrated system of trauma screening, referrals, and communications; next, to disseminate evidence-based treatment models and resources; and finally, to impact policy to include trauma-informed practices.

The Center for Mental Health Services pursues its mission by helping states improve and increase the quality and range of their treatment, rehabilitation, and support services for people with mental illness, their families, and communities. Further, it encourages a range of programs to respond to the increasing number of mental, emotional, and behavioral problems among America’s children. CMHS supports outreach and case management programs for the thousands of Americans with severe mental illness who are homeless, and supports the development and adoption of models for improving services.