What is it?
The National Training & Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth, & Family Mental Health (NTTAC) is an initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to expand access to, improve the effectiveness of, and support the dissemination of evidence-based mental health services for children, youth (birth to age 21), and their families—including those experiencing serious mental illness (SMI) or serious emotional disturbance (SED). It brings together seven partnering organizations with longstanding experience in serving the mental health workforce and advancing systems of care nationwide. The partnership is led by the Center for Applied Research Solutions (CARS), a California-based nonprofit known for its work in mental health, substance use prevention, school-based programming, and trauma-informed crisis response and recovery. The other partners include The Thrive Center for Children, Families, and Communities; Change Matrix; the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP); the Family-Run Executive Director Leadership Association (FREDLA); the Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health at the University of Texas at Austin; and Youth MOVE National. In addition to supporting Children’s Mental Health Initiative (CMHI) grantees, NTTAC offers a wide range of training, technical assistance, and resources to providers, organizations, and agencies across the system of care.
What Change Matrix does
CM is a key partner on the NTTAC team, playing an integral role in leadership and project implementation. CM actively contributes to the center’s strategic direction and decision-making and is represented on the NTTAC leadership team, transformation teams, technical assistance team, the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Council, and the universal products team. CM brings deep subject matter expertise in a range of topics, including behavioral and mental health, crisis response, systems change, equity, school-based mental health, cross-sector collaboration, intimate partner violence, and community engagement.
Why we love this work
CM is deeply committed to the mental health and well-being of children, youth, and families, which makes our partnership with CARS a natural fit. CM and CARS both value collaboration and are dedicated to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and to elevating the voices of those with lived and living experience. CM’s work on NTTAC connects to our other behavioral health projects, such as 988 and ABHE, allowing for meaningful cross-project alignment. CARS values the unique expertise and innovative ideas that the CM team contributes, making the collaboration both impactful and mutually rewarding.
