During her initial week as a newly promoted faculty member, Isis Martel, M.S., an Instructor in the Research and Evaluation Division (RED) of the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, was awarded a five year, $2 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The grant was awarded for a new project known as Parents and Children Together (PACT).
PACT will enhance services for clients through case management and connection to clinical and community resources. This collaborative effort between UAMS, County Drug Courts, Ozark Guidance, Inc., and community agencies will link children to evidence-based treatments to treat past trauma and prevent future trauma. The target population is children of parents who have a substance use disorder (SUD), or co-occurring SUD/mental illness (COD), have experienced trauma, and who are at high risk for trauma continued inter-generational trauma. PACT will enroll participants in Benton, Washington, and Madison Counties in Northwest Arkansas (NWA). PACT will serve 335 children and their families throughout the lifetime of the project. Goals of the project are to: 1) Increase access and engagement of services among the target population; 2) Improve system capacity and infrastructure to provide effective, evidence-based, culturally appropriate trauma services; and 3) Improve child/family outcomes in NWA and reduce health disparities among historically disadvantaged populations. UAMS will facilitate infrastructure development to expand and enhance access to a comprehensive and trauma-informed continuum of care and connection to resources for our population of focus.
For additional information about this new grant and about PACT, click here: