Team members Dr. Robert Macy, Dr. Matthew Vasquez, Frank Grijalva MSPH, MSCC along with MTSN affiliate member Dr. Robert Paulsen recently completed a 2-year project to assist the State of California in changing the ways in which Foster and Adopted children transition through the system of care.  Currently across the United States foster and adoptive youth experience long waits in shelter environments that often do not provide mental health services. Additionally, these children are under resourced in ways that have a lasting impact on their ability to trust and attach in a healthy way. The International Trauma Center and MTSN worked with Sonoma county shelter “Valley of the Moon” to design a 10-day shelter model that could meet the expectations of the State as they work towards swift and permanent resolutions for children in need. June 30, 2018 saw the end of that collaboration which resulted in the State of California recommending that the other shelters in the state use the "Valley of the Moon model" for their transition to 10 day shelters.

     Currently there are more than 400,000 foster children in the system across the United States. State programs are only able to adequately take care of about half of these children. More needs or be done for our most vulnerable children and MTSN is a part of that change in multiple states.