Family Service of Rhode Island is the recent recipient of a $1.6 million federal grant awarded to reduce the impact of trauma on the state’s children.

The grant will fund a four-year project that aims to transform the state’s child welfare system into a “trauma-informed” system, providing training on trauma-informed practices for 400 professionals and delivering increased child trauma treatment throughout Rhode Island.

Funding is from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration through the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

“This award by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network puts Rhode Island in the forefront of the development of best practices in trauma care and enables access to and training from the premier centers across the country,” said Susan Erstling, who heads Family Service of Rhode Island’s child trauma center. “We hope to bring this research, knowledge and their products to all practitioners in the state who serve families affected by trauma from abuse, violence and disasters.” •