Strengthening Chicago’s Youth Hospital Based Violence Intervention Program (SCY-HVIP)

Strengthening Chicago’s Youth (SCY), a violence prevention collaborative convened by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago will develop the SCY-Hospital Based Violence Intervention Program (SCY-HVIP) to provide trauma-informed care coordination for children who are exposed to violence. The SCY-HVIP will allow the Emergency Department (ED) to improve the identification and referral of patients who have experienced trauma and violent injury and ensure services support children and families living in underserved areas of Chicago and at highest risk of injury recidivism and system involvement. Over three years, the SCY-HVIP will screen and assess 375 children ages 0-19 who present to the ED with a violent injury and provide six months of care coordination and connection to evidence-based programming to 200 survivors in need of additional care and support after discharge from the hospital.

The goals of the project are three-fold. First, the SCY-HVIP aims to provide holistic and trauma-informed care for victims of violence presenting to the ED, including screening and assessing youth and families to address immediate needs and developing a family care plan for patients needing additional support. Second, the program will improve the physical and mental well-being of children exposed to violence and minimize future exposure to violence and trauma by establishing a multidisciplinary planning team to design and implement a community-clinic collaboration between the ED and victim service providers in high need areas of Chicago West Side. Building from more than a decade of convening violence prevention stakeholders in Chicago, SCY will work with existing and new partners to develop a regional strategy to support victims in underserved areas and identify ongoing training and professional development opportunities to ensure the delivery of holistic, trauma-informed services. Furthermore, the planning team membership will allow for input inclusive of youth and parents who have been exposed to violence, and partners with expertise in mental health, trauma, youth development, victim services, community violence intervention, racial justice, and disability equity. Third, the SCY-HVIP aims to reduce the rate of injury recidivism, repeat hospitalizations and other systems involvement through care coordination and connection to evidence-based services in the community for victims of violence and their families. These services will build protective factors and address their long-term healing and recovery after being discharged from the ED.