National Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth, and Family Mental Health
Project Director:
EDC Staff:
Funded by:
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Partners:
University of Connecticut (UConn), Innovations Institute
Focus Area:
Child Health & SafetyMental Health & WellbeingSuicide, Addictions, & Violence Prevention
Services:
Design & DevelopmentImplementationPolicy
Region:
United States
Duration:
2025-Present
Challenge
Children, youth, and families experiencing mental health challenges often encounter fragmented systems that lack coordination and are not able to provide swift access to effective care. There is a significant opportunity to strengthen systems, including crisis systems, to provide families with the support they need.
As a partner in the National Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth, and Family Mental Health (NTTAC), EDC helps address these challenges by strengthening systems of care through national technical assistance, capacity building, and cross-sector collaboration to improve outcomes for children, youth, and families.
Key Activities
The project is carrying out the following activities:
- Provide tailored technical assistance and coaching to states, tribes, and communities to strengthen systems of care and integrate suicide prevention and crisis response strategies.
- Convene communities of practice and collaborative learning networks to support peer exchange, shared problem-solving, and cross-system collaboration among grantees and partners.
- Develop and disseminate toolkits, briefs, and multimedia resources to support implementation of evidence-informed, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive behavioral health practices.
- Support family- and youth-driven approaches by strengthening partnerships with family-run organizations and elevating lived experience in system design and service delivery.
- Contribute subject matter expertise to national outreach and communications efforts to ensure resources are relevant, accessible, and aligned with field needs.
Our Impact
The project will:
- Strengthen capacity of states, tribes, and communities to implement coordinated, effective systems of care for children, youth, and families.
- Advance integration of suicide prevention and crisis response across behavioral health, education, and community-based systems.
- Increase collaboration across sectors, improving access to effective, culturally responsive mental health services.
- Build sustainable infrastructure and workforce capacity to support long-term improvements in youth behavioral health outcomes.
