There’s a lot going on with ACL’s Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) program lately, and I wanted to share a few of the highlights.
We recently awarded 24 three-year cooperative agreements under two new funding opportunities for ACL’s Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) State Partnership Program. [This program is funded under the Traumatic Brain Injury Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-196), which also saw the transfer of this program to the Administration for Community Living.]
The goal is to create and strengthen a system of services and supports that maximizes the independence, well-being, and health of people with traumatic brain injuries across the lifespan, their family members, and their support networks. ACL funded two tiers of grantees through this program: Partner State Grants and Mentor State Grants. Grantees from both tiers will work together, with support from the TBI Coordinating Center, to maximize the program’s impact nationally.
ACL awarded Mentor State Grants to more established states that will maintain and expand their TBI infrastructure, while also mentoring Partner State Grantees, and working together with ACL to create a national, culturally competent, person-centered professional development training infrastructure for TBI service professionals. With this tiered approach, ACL was able to award grants to eleven states that did not previously have this funding during the last four-year period!
All grantees will support a state TBI advisory board made up significantly of individuals with TBIs; create an annual TBI state plan based on stakeholders’ unmet needs; and connect people with TBIs and their families to comprehensive services and supports across relevant systems.
Along with the announcement of the new grant recipients, ACL is thrilled to announce the launch of our new TBI website, https://tbi.acl.gov, a resource available to all TBI stakeholders, including survivors and self-advocates, family members, state agencies, researchers, and practitioners. We’ve only just made it “live” and will be adding much more content in the coming months. Take a look and let us know what you think. Make sure to check back regularly to watch it grow!
In addition to funding the 24 state grants this year, the TBI program will also focus our efforts on increasing capacity around data collection, person-centered planning, and combating the opioid crisis. Ending opioid addiction and the overdose crisis in America is one of the four primary focus areas Secretary Azar identified for HHS and is particularly relevant to the TBI community. Substance misuse is both a risk factor for TBI and prevalent among TBI survivors.
The 2018 TBI State Partnership Program Grant recipients are:
Mentor State Grantees
- Colorado Department of Human Services
- Iowa Department of Public Health
- Indiana State Department of Health
- Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission
- Nebraska Department of Education
- Pennsylvania Department of Health
- Tennessee Department of Health
- University of Oregon
- Virginia Department for Aging & Rehabilitative Services
- West Virginia University Research Corporation
Partner State Grantees
- California State Department of Rehabilitation
- Georgia Department of Public Health
- Idaho State University
- Kansas Department on Aging and Disability Services
- Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services
- Maryland Department of Health - BHA
- Minnesota Department of Human Services
- Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
- NC DHHS. Division of MH/DD/SA Services
- Rhode Island Department of Health
- State of Vermont, Agency of Human Services
- University of Alaska Anchorage
- University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
- Utah Department of Health
For additional information, please contact tbi@acl.gov.