Application Deadline: To be completed in partnership with chapter leadership by Monday, November 24th, 2025 at 5:00pm CST. For assistance, please email Alyse Plattos at aplattos@aap.org.

Summary: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is pleased to offer grant funding to AAP chapters within the United States and territories to support efforts to build partnerships with organizations, services, and programs at the state and community level to strengthen support for a trauma-informed pediatric health care system.
Grants of up to $25,000 will be awarded to up to 8 AAP chapters.

Applicant requirements:
  • Must be an AAP chapter located within the United States and territories.
  • Only 1 grant application can be submitted per chapter. Please complete this application in partnership with chapter leadership.

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* 1. Chapter Name:

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* 2. Please provide contact information for the chapter staff managing this application.

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* 3. Please provide an overview of current or prior work addressing trauma-informed care and relational health.

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* 4. Please provide a description of any previous work related to partnerships with state and community organizations and resources.

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* 5. Please provide a description of why this support is necessary for your chapter. Please include information about your chapter’s capacity to lead this work and the potential impact of a collaborative/partnership.

Chapter Grant Scope of Work (December 2025-September 2026)

PART I: Chapter Ambassador

Chapters will identify a board-certified pediatrician (who is a member in good standing with the chapter and AAP national) to serve as a trauma-informed care Chapter Ambassador. Chapters are encouraged to consider early career and/or senior members in their selection of an ambassador.

Previous grantees can list their Ambassadors – they do not have to identify a new one.
  • The Ambassador will provide leadership and promote the integration of principles of trauma-informed care and relational health within chapter activities.
  • The Ambassador will serve as a liaison for the chapter to community and state-public health organizations to foster partnerships and build support for system-level change.
  • The Ambassador must complete:
  • The Ambassador is encouraged to participate in “office-hours” style calls with an AAP expert in trauma-informed care.
    • These calls will be an opportunity for Ambassadors to ask questions about the PediaLink course content, questions related to their community collaboratives, or any other questions about TIC.
    • These calls will be 1-hour and bi-monthly (February, April, June, & August). The exact dates/times are TBD, and will be scheduled based on the needs and preferences of Ambassadors.
  • The Ambassador will be required to participate in a 1-hour informational interview with AAP staff at the conclusion of the grant period.

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* 6. Identified Chapter Ambassador. (If the Ambassador is not identified by time of application, please describe the plan for identifying an ambassador.)

PART II: Strengthening Partnerships with State and Community Resources, Programs, and Services to Support a Trauma-Informed System of Care

While pediatricians play an important role in promoting relational health, identifying symptoms of trauma, and managing trauma-related health concerns, they cannot do this work alone – families need support that extends beyond the pediatrician’s office. Pediatricians need help becoming familiar with the resources and services within their communities that can support families in the prevention of trauma and promotion of relational health, as well as supports to help treat trauma (like mental health professionals, therapies, and other related resources). Grantees will be required to develop or strengthen a partnership or collaborative with community- and state-level organizations, with an overall focus on supporting trauma-informed pediatric health care across all stages of child development (ages 0-21).

The goal of this activity is to convene medical professionals (pediatricians, insurance providers, hospital systems, mental health professionals, National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) grantees, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry regional organizations, other medical associations, etc.) and community organizations and resources (state and local health departments, YMCA/YWCA, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, public health institutions, early childhood collaborations, peer-to-peer groups, etc.) to break down silos between organizations leading to increased access to resources and services for families to promote relational health, prevent trauma, and support healing once trauma has occurred.

Goals:
  1. Develop or expand partnerships with state and community level organizations, resources, and programs that support the health and well-being of children and families (Note: these organizations can include partners that don’t provide direct care).
  2. Advance understanding of trauma-informed care among partner agencies and community organizations to inform the work of each agency and organization.
  3. Increase understanding of the role of each organization across the spectrum of trauma-informed care (primary prevention, secondary response, and tertiary treatment), and how all organizations can work together to improve outcomes for children and families.
  4. Identify strategies to work collaboratively across sectors and programs to increase understanding of and access to available resources and services for children and families.
As a result of this partnership effort, chapters should plan to identify and report on gaps and unmet needs in providing quality care to children, youth and families, and how the collaboration is planning to address them. There will be monthly grantee calls where grantees share updates about project activities, brainstorm with other grantees, and share impact stories. Please keep in mind any proposed activity must be in alignment with AAP policy.

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* 7. Please provide a description of the planned partnership and a list of potential partners (please indicate new vs. existing partnerships).

It is not required that all partners are identified by the time of this submission.

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* 8. Please upload documents if applicable.

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* 9. Please provide a plan and timeline for proposed chapter activities

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* 10. Please upload documents if applicable.

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* 11. A description of how the chapter plans to evaluate proposed activities.
  • Note: Applicants must describe how they plan to evaluate their collaborations and plans for
    sustainability. An AAP staff evaluator will provide standardized questionsthat should be
    used as part of this evaluation. Chapters will be required to share a survey with partners at the
    conclusion of the grant period.
  • Explain the approach your organization will use to understand the role of each organization as
    it relates to the spectrum of trauma-informed care. (Include tools or methods you will use such
    as focus groups, surveys, interviews, or self-assessments.)
  • Describe strategies your organization will use to evaluate progress in increasing understanding
    and/orimplementation of TIC related activities among partners.

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* 12. Please upload documents if applicable.

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Please provide a budget narrative for this work. Click here to download the budget template to assist you in completing the budget narrative.

  • Chapter budget expenses can include (but are not limited to) honoraria for subject matter experts, salary support for chapter staff as needed, and funding support for bi-directional learning.
  • Note: In alignment with AAP policy, funds awarded as part of this chapter grant are not permitted to be used to support, promote, or implement ACEs screening or the collection of an ACE score.

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* 13. Please upload your completed budget narrative here.

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This program is supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through cooperative agreement numbers CDC-RFA-OT18-1802 and DD-23-004. The information and opinions expressed reflect solely the opinions of the authors and are not the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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