START with Kids

START with Kids (Shelter-Based, Trauma-Informed Assessment, Referral, and Treatment) provides trauma-informed, clinically driven care to children and families in emergency shelters in Worcester, MA.

Conducted by The National Center on Family Homelessness, START with Kids is part of the Safe Start Initiative—a federal effort to prevent and reduce the impact of family and community violence on children and their families funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the U.S. Department of Justice. Program components include a comprehensive child assessment and corresponding service plan for use in shelter settings, a multi-family group intervention being implemented in shelters, and training and support to integrate trauma-informed principles and practices.

START with Kids is a partnership between The National Center, Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, and Dr. Laurel Kiser at the University of Maryland's Family-Informed Trauma Treatment Center.