Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) State Partnership Grant Program
What is a TBI?
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can happen when an external force causes severe damage to the brain. Common causes of TBI include falls, automobile accidents, and sports injuries. There are many different names for TBI such as concussion, Shaken Baby Syndrome, head injury, or anoxia (loss of oxygen) due to trauma. Data from NIDILRR-supported research finds 1.56 million TBIs are sustained in one year.
TBI can affect many parts of a person's life. People living with TBI and their families often require a range of services and supports. Individual needs are different and can change over time, so it is important that systems provide person-centered services and supports.
TBI Technical Assistance and Resource Center (TBI TARC)
ACL’s TBI Technical Assistance and Resource Center helps TBI State Partnership Program grantees promote access to integrated, coordinated services and supports for people who have sustained a TBI, their families, and their caregivers. The Center also provides a variety of resources to non-grantee states, people affected by brain injury, policymakers, and providers.
TBI TARC is committed to integrating the voice of people with lived experience of TBI into its products, resources, and technical assistance approach. The Center’s activities are overseen and guided by people with lived experience and other subject matter experts.
Have a question about TBI or ACL’s TBI Programs? The TBI TARC team is here to help. Send your inquiry or request to TBI@acl.hhs.gov to receive help.
Other Resources:
- Beyond Checking the Box: Full Engagement Strategies for Improving Participation of Persons with Lived Experience
This resource of the ACL's Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical Assistance and Resource Center’s (TARC) Beyond Checking the Box: Full Engagement Strategies for Improving Participation of Persons with Lived Experience highlights strategies for engaging participation of individuals with lived experience on state advisory boards/councils. The TBI TARC, with support from two members of the TBI Advisory Leadership Group (TAL-Group) (Kelly Lang and Martin Kerrigan), hosted meetings with state program managers and staff members and with individuals with lived experience from eight states (California, Colorado, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Dakota, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) to discuss challenges for engagement of individuals with lived experience on advisory boards/councils. Based on the discussions, a set of strategies for full participation were developed, which are discussed in the document. - Strong Infrastructure Components for Brain Injury (BI): State Self-Assessment Tool
Building a strong state infrastructure takes time, effort, and planning from many individuals and organizations. There are several key components necessary to create a comprehensive state system of services, partners, funding, and policy. Infrastructure building is a process and requires routine assessment, regardless of the level achieved. This tool, Strong Infrastructure Components for Brain Injury (BI): State Self-Assessment Tool, produced by ACL's Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical Assistance and Resource Center (TARC) was created to assist BI partners and collaborators in determining which level best describes their state’s progress, and to give some guidance to what a more comprehensive system could include. It is designed to be a guide, and states should consider re-assessing routinely, or at various points to assist in state planning efforts, such as conducting a new needs assessment, developing, or updating a state plan, or applying for a grant opportunity. - Modifying Psychopharmacologic Interventions for Traumatic Brain Injury
This brief, Modifying Psychopharmacologic Interventions for Traumatic Brain Injury, produced by ACL's Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical Assistance and Resource Center (TARC) provides clinicians with information and an array of accessible approaches for modifying psychopharmacologic interventions for TBI. This brief is also geared towards assisting brain injury personnel partner better with their behavioral health providers on best practices for TBI related interventions. Content for this brief was drawn from Section VI. Psychopharmacologic Interventions for TBI, of the Administration for Community Living 2022 Behavioral Health Guide: Considerations for Best Practices for Children, Youth, and Adults with TBI. The section was written by Michael Chiou, MD, and Lindsey Gurin, MD, NYU Langone Health. - Brief on Modifying Clinical Interventions for TBI
This brief of the ACL's Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical Assistance and Resource Center’s (TARC) Modifying Clinical Interventions for TBI highlights considerations and best practices for the diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders in people with TBI. The brief also includes challenges related to brain injury and provides recommendations and strategies for clinical intervention. Content for the brief was drawn from “Section V. Modifying Clinical Interventions for TBI”, of the ACL Behavioral Health Guide: Considerations for Best Practices for Children, Youth, and Adults with TBI (acl.gov), released in 2022. The section was written by Theo Tsaousides, PhD, ABPP, clinical assistant professor, and Maria Kajankova, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. - Behavioral Health Guide: Considerations for Best Practices for Children, Youth, and Adults with TBI
ACL's Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical Assistance and Resource Center’s (TARC) Behavioral Health Guide: Considerations for Best Practices for Children, Youth, and Adults with TBI was designed to provide state brain injury professionals with the tools to effectively partner with their state behavioral health entities and improve outcomes for this population. - Engagement Strategies for Survivors
This guide is a resource for individuals with brain injury to be fully participating board members. It was developed by the TBI Advisory and Leadership (TAL) group to serve as a companion document to the Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Board Toolkit. - Building Up TBI Systems: Tools for Successful TBI State Programs
Since 1997, grantees have worked to increase access to brain injury services and to bolster the systems that advocate on behalf of people seeking services. The considerations and strategies laid out here are based on these grantees’ experiences. Broken out by program stage, they are useful for states at all levels of program and system development—from those that are just beginning to develop infrastructure to those with developed infrastructure in place. - Brain Injury and COVID-19: Tips for Successful Navigation
The introduction of COVID-19 to the human population around December 2019 has resulted in a pandemic that continues to affect the entire world. Little attention has been placed on the effects of the fallout caused by COVID-19 on individuals who are living with brain injury. Highlighted in this document are the effects of COVID-19 on five members of the TBI TARC’s TBI Advisory and Leadership (TAL) group and strategies for coping that have worked for them. - Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center: Traumatic Brain Injury (funded by NIDILRR)
- National Data and Statistical Center for TBI
Webinars:
- Thursday, August 29, 2024: Cultivating and Sustaining Partnerships to Create Successful Change
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ACL's Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical Assistance and Resource Center’s (TARC) held a webinar on Cultivating and Sustaining Partnerships to Create Successful Change. Collaborative and equitable partnerships can play a pivotal role in the success of change initiatives. However, describing how people are partnering and how to build trusting relationships is often a challenge. This session focused on practical aspects of cultivating partnerships and sustaining strong relationships. We introduced an approach that brain injury programs can use to reflect the types and depth of a prospective collaboration using the collaboration spectrum. Then we discussed the science of building trust and navigating power, including actions teams can use in the partnership-building process. Lastly, we introduced Cultiv8, a free practical tool designed to help teams identify appropriate actions that can be immediately implemented for building the collaborative relationships you need during your partnership-building efforts.
The webinar presenter is Dr. Julia E. Moore, Executive Director of The Center for Implementation, a social enterprise that trains, supports, and empowers individuals and organizations in applying theory and evidence-informed change methods to improve outcomes.
The webinar was live-captioned and ASL-interpreted. If you have any questions about the webinar, please do not hesitate to contact the TBI TARC at tbitarc@hsri.org.
- Thursday, June 6, 2024: Cognitive Impairment in Substance Use Disorder Treatment: Neurologic Informed Care
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The Administration for Community Living (ACL) Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical Assistance and Resource Center’s (TARC) held a webinar on Cognitive Impairment in Substance Use Disorder Treatment: Neurologic Informed Care. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) is the leading professional medical society representing physicians, clinicians and associated professionals in addiction medicine. ASAM is dedicated to increasing access and improving the quality of addiction treatment, educating physicians and the public, supporting research and prevention, and promoting the appropriate role of physicians in the care of patients with addiction. The ASAM Criteria for the substance use disorder treatment is the most widely used and comprehensive set of standards for placement, continued service, and transfer of patients with addiction and co-occurring conditions. Most states use the ASAM Criteria as the foundation of their requirements for addiction treatment. The 4th Edition of the ASAM Criteria for adults was released in December 2023. For the first time it includes a chapter addressing treatment for individuals with cognitive impairment.
John D. Corrigan, PhD, ABPP, was a member of the writing group for this chapter. In this webinar he introduced the new ASAM expectations for the treatment of persons with cognitive impairment, including "Neurologic Informed Care” as described in the new criteria. Implications for the identification of people in treatment who have a history of brain injury, as well as the use of accommodations to make treatment more accessible, were discussed.
The webinar was live-captioned and ASL-interpreted. If you have any questions about the webinar, please do not hesitate to contact the TBI TARC at tbitarc@hsri.org.
- 2024 ACL Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Partners Day
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In observance of Brain Injury Awareness Month 2024, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) hosted a virtual TBI Partners Day on February 29, 2024, from 12:00 to 4:00 pm ET. The event included opening remarks from Alison Barkoff, performing the duties of ACL Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging for ACL.
Three sessions were held, the first was on “Building a Justice System That is Inclusive and Responsive to Brain Injury” and included presentations from Megan Davidson, Program Director of Behavioral Health at the Council on State Governments Justice Center and Traci Barney, the Brain Injury Program Administrator at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. Zaida Ricker, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Policy at the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA) moderated this session.
The second session was on “Aging with Brain Injury” and included presentations from Joseph Lugo, the Director of the Office of Network Advancement at ACL, Monique Pappadis, Vice Chair and Associate Professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and Martin Kerrigan and Ann Zuccardy, both members of the TBI Technical Assistance and Resource Center (TBI TARC), TBI Advisory and Leadership Group (TAL-Group). Shawn Callaway, a Project Officer at ACL, and Maria Crowley from the TBI TARC moderated this session.
The final session was on “Bridging I/DD and Brain Injury with Mental Health Systems: The LINK Center” and included presentations from Mary Sowers, the Executive Director at National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services, Stefani O’Dea, the Director of the Office of Older Adults and Long-Term Services and Supports at the Maryland Behavioral Health Administration, and Eric Washington a TBI Survivor/ Self-Advocate and member of the TAL-Group. ACL funds the LINK Center. Rebeccah Wolfkiel, the Executive Director of NASHIA, moderated the session.
Webinar recording (with captions)
- September 28, 2023: Incorporating Trauma Informed Best Practices into Brain Injury Screening
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The Administration for Community Living (ACL) Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical Assistance and Resource Center’s (TARC) held a webinar on the need for a trauma informed approach and best practice principles for implementing trauma informed screening for brain injury. A trauma informed guide to screening was reviewed and an example of how to implement trauma informed screening was provided using a trauma informed approach with implementing a modified Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Identification Method.
The webinar was live-captioned and ASL-interpreted. If you have any questions about the webinar, please contact the TBI TARC at tbitarc@hsri.org.
Webinar recording (captioned)
- May 31, 2023: Brain Injury and Child Welfare--An Introduction to the Best Practice Guide
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The Administration for Community Living (ACL) Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical Assistance and Resource Center’s (TARC) held a webinar on the intersection of the child welfare system and how brain injury state systems can collaborate to meet the needs of family and children involved with that system. Guide contributors from ACL’s State Partnership Program Child Welfare Workgroup shared elements from the Brain Injury and Child Welfare Best Practice Guide: Information and Tools for State Agencies and discussed a variety of resources and tools to positively impact state welfare systems.
The webinar was live-captioned and ASL-interpreted. If you have any questions about the webinar, please do not hesitate to contact the TBI TARC at tbitarc@hsri.org.
- 2023 ACL Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Partners Day
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In observance of Brain Injury Awareness Month 2023, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) hosted a virtual TBI Partners Day on February 28, 2023 from 12:00 to 4:00 pm ET. The event included opening remarks from Jill Jacobs, Commissioner of ACL’s Administration on Disabilities.
Four sessions were held, the first was on aging and included presentations from Edwin Walker, JD, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aging at ACL and John D. Corrigan, PhD, the Director of the Ohio Brain Injury Program, one of ACL’s funded TBI State Partnership Program (SPP) grantee.
The second session was on employment and highlighted were resources from the ACL Administration on Disabilities funded Disability and Employment Technical Assistance Center (DETAC) and included presentations from Amy Gonzalez, MS, Project Manager at DETAC, Eileen Kelly, TBI Program Manager of the Minnesota Department of Human Services (another ACL funded TBI SPP grantee), and Jill Ferrington, CRC, CBIS, Technical Assistance Advisor at the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators.
The third session was on peer support and include presentations from three members of the TBI Technical Assistance and Resource Center, TBI Advisory and Leadership Group (TAL-Group): Clifford Hymowitz, Carole Starr, and Maria Martinez.
The final session was on the intersectionality of TBI and other medical and social issues and included presentations from Shawn Callaway, Project Officer at ACL and two TAL-Group members, Eric Washington and Martin Kerrigan.
- August 10, 2022: Getting and Staying Involved in the Brain Injury Community
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This Administration for Community Living (ACL) Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical Assistance and Resource Center’s (TARC) webinar focused on how brain injury survivors can become involved and stay actively engaged in community, state and national brain injury initiatives. TBI survivors discussed how survivors can collaborate on all aspects of board and committee development, management, and engagement, as well as effective advocacy. The audience for the webinar are survivors that are currently engaged in brain injury initiatives, those who would like to be engaged, brain injury program staff, community brain injury providers, and other stakeholders. The presenters were staff of the TBI TARC and members of the TBI Advisory and Leadership Group (TAL-Group).
The webinar was live-captioned and ASL-interpreted. If you have any questions about the webinar, please do not hesitate to contact the TBI TARC at tbitarc@hsri.org.
Presenters:
- Maria Crowley, TBI TARC Technical Assistance Lead
- Judy Dettmer, TBI TARC Technical Assistance Lead
- Carole Starr, TBI Survivor, Speaker, Author, Advocate, and TAL-Group member
- Cheryl Kempf, Brain Trauma and PTSD Survivor, Advocate, Speaker, and TAL-Group member
- Clifford Hymowitz, Brain Injury Survivor, Mental Health Peer Specialist, and TAL-Group member
- Kelly Lang, Survivor, Caregiver, Former Board Member, and TAL-Group member
- June 22, 2022: Introductory Webinar to the Behavioral Health Guide: Considerations for Best Practices for Children, Youth, and Adults with TBI
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Introduced during the webinar was the Administration for Community Living (ACL) Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical Assistance and Resource Center’s (TARC) Behavioral Health Guide designed to provide state brain injury professionals with the tools to effectively partner with their state behavioral health entities and improve outcomes for this population. The guide’s authors provided an overview of the various sections and answered questions about applying some of the tools and strategies identified within a state system. The guide is available for downloading at Behavioral Health Guide.
The webinar was live-captioned and ASL-interpreted. If you have any questions about the webinar, please do not hesitate to contact the TBI TARC at tbitarc@hsri.org.
BH Guide Sections and Presenters:
Section 1: Purpose of the Guide and Overview of Behavioral Health and TBI, Judy Dettmer, BSW, TBI TARC and the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA)
Section 2: Partners and Strategies, Thomasine Heitkamp, LCSW, Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of North Dakota
Section 3: Training Approaches, Maria Crowley, MA, CRC, TBI TARC and NASHIA
Section 4: Screening for Lifetime History of TBI, John D. Corrigan, PhD; ABPP; Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; and Director, Ohio Valley Center for Brain Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation, the Ohio State University
Section 5: Modifying Clinical Interventions for TBI, Theo Tsaousides, PhD, ABPP, Clinical Assistant Professor, and Maria Kajankova, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Section 6: Modifying Psychopharmacologic Interventions for TBI, Lindsey Gurin, MD and Michael Chiou, MD, NYU Langone Health
- 2022 TBI Stakeholder Day
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View the summary, download materials, and watch the video replay.
- 2021 TBI Tuesdays Webinar Series
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In observance of Brain Injury Awareness Month 2021 and in lieu of the Administration for Community Living’s annual in-person Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Stakeholder Day, we hosted virtual TBI Tuesdays (1:00 - 4 pm ET) during the months of March and April. See this webpage for webinar replays and materials.
- December 18, 2020: Telehealth During a Pandemic: Maintaining Accessible Services
About the TBI State Partnership Grant Program
The TBI State Partnership Grant Program provides funding to help states increase access to services and supports for individuals with TBI throughout the lifetime. This grant program is one component of the federal TBI Program, along with Protection & Advocacy, which is expected to:
- Help states expand and improve state and local capability so individuals with TBI and their families have better access to comprehensive and coordinated services.
- Generate support from local and private sources for sustainability of funded projects after federal support terminates. This is done through state legislative, regulatory, or policy changes that promote the integration of TBI-related services into state service delivery systems.
- Encourage systems change activities so that individual states can 1) evaluate their current structures and policies and 2) improve their systems as needed to better meet the needs of individuals with TBI and their families.
Grants to States
Federal TBI Program grants to states have undergone several changes since the TBI Act of 1996 mandated the program. The most recent state grants were awarded in 2014 and require that grant activities increase access to rehabilitation and other services. Specifically, the states must address four barriers to needed services by:
- Screening to identify individuals with TBI
- Building a trained TBI workforce by providing professional training
- Providing information about TBI to families and referrals to appropriate service providers
- Facilitating access to needed services through resource facilitation
State Partnership Grants (SPGs) cannot be used to support primary injury prevention initiatives, research initiatives, or the provision of direct services. Funds may be used, however, to educate the public about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of TBI.
Between 1997 and 2018, 48 states, two territories, and the District of Columbia received at least one state agency grant. For the current funding cycle (FY 2018-2021), 24 states receive funding for State Partnership Program grants. See "Current Grantees" below. A new funding cycle (FY2021-FY2026 for up to 28 states is anticipated to start on July 1, 2021.
- Current Grantees (updated July 2024)
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State
Organization
Current Contact(s)
AK
University of Alaska Anchorage
Sondra LeClair
Lucy Cordwell
AL
Alabama Department of Rehabilitation
April Turner
april.turner@rehab.alabama.gov
David White
AR
IDHI Brain Injury Program at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Danny Bercher
CA
California State Department of Rehabilitation
Regina Cademarti
Tanya Thee
CO
Colorado Department of Human Services
Russha Knauer
FL
University of Florida
Michael Jaffee
Jose Abisambra
Denny Armington
Drew A. Nagele
GA
Georgia Department of Public Health
Kenisha Tait
IA
Iowa Department of Public Health
James Pender
Maggie Ferguson
ID
Idaho State University, Institute of Rural Health
Stefanie Shadduck
IN
Indiana Department of Health
Brian Busching
Wendy Waldman
KS
Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services
Susan Segelquist
KY
Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services
Donald Scott Collins
MA
Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission
Amanda Tower
MD
Maryland Department of Health, Behavioral Health Administration
Stefani O'Dea
Anastasia Edmonston
anastasia.edmonston@maryland.gov
ME
Maine Department of Health and Human Services
Derek Fales
Sarah Jordan
MN
Minnesota Department of Human Services
Eileen Kelly
MO
Missouri Department of Health
Amy Moffett
NC
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Mental Health
Scott Pokorny
ND
North Dakota Department of Human Services
Rebecca Quinn
NE
Nebraska Department of Vocational Rehabilitation
Keri Bennett
Tresa Christensen
tresa.christensen@nebraska.gov
NJ
New Jersey, Department of Human Services
Dr. Margaret Lumia
OH
Ohio Valley Center for Brain Injury Prevention & Rehabilitation, Ohio State University
Brei Miller
OR
University of Oregon, Center for Brain Injury Research and Training
Megan Jones
Doug Gomez
PA
Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of Family Health, Division of Community Systems Development and Outreach
Nikki Adams
Erika Pae
RI
Rhode Island Department of Health
Jolayemi Ahamiojie
Jolayemi.Ahamiojie@health.ri.gov
Carmen Boucher
SC
South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs
Melissa Ritter
TN
Tennessee Department of Health
Ashley Chandler
UT
Utah Department of Health, Violence, and Injury Prevention Program
Traci Barney
Daniel Musto
VA
Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services
Donna Cantrell
WI
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Jerry Hoepner
Audrey Nelson
WV
West Virginia University, Center for Excellence in Disabilities
Amanda Acord-Vira