Collaboration for Long-Term Care of Pediatric Victims of Trauma and Abuse

About the Program

Category: Children and Youth

Year: 2023

In February 2022, the Resiliency Institute for Childhood Adversity (RICA), opened its doors to San Bernardino County children who were victims of trauma and abuse. RICA is designed to be a leading provider in a coordinated system of care for children who have experienced a disproportionate burden of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, and severe neglect.

RICA was launched in an effort to close the gap between needed and available long-term trauma-focused care observed by both San Bernardino County Children and Family Services (CFS) and the Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital (LLUCH). By removing barriers and providing a holistic approach to the needs of impacted children, RICA aims to ensure each child receives the services needed to promote resiliency and recovery from trauma. RICA also provides long-term, creative, cross-disciplinary medical and mental health services as well as trauma-informed educational programming, mentoring, and scholarship for its patient population. Similar models of coordinated medical and mental health care exist; however, RICA is unique and groundbreaking in its coordination of multi-disciplinary, expert sub-specialty medical care delivered in a primary care setting with coordinated mental health services, research and training opportunities for professionals, and co-located educational advocacy for patients.