ACL is announcing the launch of the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical Assistance and Resource Center. The aim of the center is to help states promote access to integrated, coordinated services and supports for people who have sustained a TBI, their families, and caregivers. These services and supports will encourage both community inclusion and the personal independence of people with TBI.
The Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) will administer the new center along with its partners from the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA) and a group of subject matter experts, including people with lived experience of TBI. Coordination between state programs is essential and the HSRI/NASHIA team has experience helping states to leverage existing resources.
The Center will provide program support to ACL and technical assistance to ACL’s TBI State Partnership program grantees. It will also develop and compile resources that will be available to the general public. The effort reflects ACL’s commitment to independent living and person-centered planning. A central focus for the new center will be to help grantees develop or enhance their person-centered, consumer-directed service delivery systems. Consumer-direction and consumer leadership will be embedded across all activities and aspects of technical assistance—guiding grantees through the various stages of development, implementation, and quality management.
Through its TBI State Partnership Program, ACL provides funds and assistance to states, tribes, and territories to strengthen and grow their capacity to maintain a system of services and supports that maximize the independence, well-being, and health of people with TBI. Interstate collaboration is a hallmark of the program. Under the current funding cycle, ACL is funding 27 State Partnership Program grantees; with some states serving as “Mentor States” for other grantees. The new TBI Technical Assistance and Resource Center will assist these collaborations and enhance the efforts to maximize the program’s impact nationally.