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TBI SOS 4 Kids Project Update!

In January 2024, CBIRT was pleased to announce that we were awarded a grant from Toyota's Way Forward Fund to develop the Traumatic Brain Injury System of Support for Kids (TBI SOS 4 Kids) Model. We’re excited to share news on our progress to date. 

The TBI SOS 4 Kids project aims to boost TBI awareness and support among school staff and communities in Texas. The model has four hubs: 

  1. School: establish brain injury education support teams
  2. Community: brain injury education, community outreach and early childhood
  3. Digital: develop a digital platform tool for sharing information and accessing resources
  4. Policy: identify and implement relevant policy changes

The project will implement and evaluate the effects of the TBI SOS 4 Kids model.

Each component of the TBI SOS model is designed with long-term sustainability and scalability in mind. We hope this project will serve as a blueprint for similar initiatives in other school districts across the country.

TBI SOS is a collaborative project and includes key personnel from partnering institutions in Texas. In addition to bringing a diverse range of knowledge and expertise, our partners in Texas bring cultural insight that serves to enhance the project’s relevance and effectiveness within the local community. 

Key personnel in Texas include: 

Berenice de la Cruz, PhD, Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, brings over two decades of experience working with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities across various settings, including schools, homes, clinics, and communities. On the TBI SOS project Dr. de la Cruz, works with the University of Oregon Principal Investigators on project aspects related to research design, recruitment, and data collection.

Stephany Brown, LMSW, is a Research Program Coordinator at UT Austin's Texas Center for Disability Studies (TCDS). On the TBI SOS project Stephany assists with the Parent Intervention  pilot, implementation, and data collection activities.

Cara Magrane, LCCA & LCPAA, has over 20 years of non-profit management experience. They assist with recruitment activities in Texas on the TBI SOS project. 

Please join us in welcoming the Texas team.  We will provide updates when new partners are added to the project. 

Other project activities include the launch of the TBI SOS blog. 

The blog is a place for the TBI SOS team and partners to connect, share, and advocate. The blog aims to foster community engagement and emphasize the need for policy reforms that support a successful return to school and everyday life for children impacted by brain injury. 

Project team members have attended and presented at multiple conferences and summits throughout the region, including: the CEC 2024 Convention & Expo in San Antonio, Texas, Toyota’s Way Forward Fund Summer Summit, hosted at Toyota North America HQ in Plano, Texas, and the Kinetic Kids Resource Fair, in San Antonio. 

TBI SOS team members continue to forge strong connections with key partners, promoting brain injury awareness throughout the community and raising awareness about the project and its goals. Through both in-person and virtual training sessions, we continue to engage diverse audiences and expand our outreach efforts. 

In July 2024, team members Melissa McCart and Berenice de la Cruz trained over 300 school nurses at the Education Service Center, Region 20 (R-20) School Nurses’ Workshop in San Antonio and in September, Magrane and de la Cruz presented to  Region 20 (R-20), nurse coordinators. R-20 is one of 20 regional education service agencies within Texas and serves 58 school districts. Starting in October 2024, Eugene-based team member Melaney Grenz will host regular training sessions for R-20 school nurses via both live and recorded Zoom sessions.

Follow us on social media and through the TBI SOS blog.

We hope you will join us on this journey as we share resources and experiences that we learn along the way!

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