The Center for Childhood Resilience

02/27/2026

At CCR, we work every day to help ensure every child in Illinois is safe, supported, resilient, and thriving — and we do it in partnership with incredible organizations across Chicago.

In 2025, we expanded our early childhood work through professional development opportunities with the Chicago Public Schools Office of Early Childhood Education, Family Focus, YMCA, The Collaboration for Early Childhood, and a network of home-based childcare providers in the Austin community.

Together, we’re building coordinated, community-responsive approaches to early childhood mental health and relational well-being.

Learn more about our early childhood programming below or reach out with any questions:

A Lurie Children's Collaboration.

02/20/2026

Reminder: the new Healing Centered Engagement course is available on the Learning & Resource Hub today!

Those who complete the course will receive:

🌟Healing Centered Engagement Certification
🌟1 hour of IL CE certificate for social workers, counselors and psychologists with option for ISBE professional development
🌟A special discounted rate for full access to the course through Flourish Agenda!

Visit http://www.learningwithccr.org to get started and explore all the free resources!

Since 2020, the Center for Childhood Resilience’s Learning & Resource Hub has provided valuable learning to more than 10,000 adults serving children and youth in Illinois and beyond.

02/16/2026

Don’t forget: register for the February 18th panel with Dr. Shawn Ginwright and Dr. Colleen Cicchetti about Healing Centered Engagement!

A conversation highlighting the CCR and Flourish Agenda partnership, the Healing Centered Engagement (HCE) approach “state of healing in IL”, and how the course supports educators and practitioners.

02/13/2026

In 2022, as thousands of migrants arrived in Chicago, emergency shelter systems were stretched—and so was the need for trauma-informed, culturally responsive mental health support.
CCR’s Dr. Rebecca Ford-Paz, alongside Dr. Aimee Hilado of the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, were invited by the Chicago Department of Public Health and Illinois Department of Human Services to help meet the moment by co-leading Reimagining Mental Health Supports for Migrant Arrivals. The initiative trained nearly 900 Spanish-speaking, non-clinical frontline workers to provide practical, trauma-informed support inside emergency shelters.

A key part of the work introduced Café y Comunidad, small-group psychoeducational and community-building spaces that allowed shelter residents to connect through enjoyable activities while learning about mental health promotion and emotion regulation strategies in a non-stigmatizing, culturally appropriate format.

Now, materials from this project—including training guides, handouts, and posters—have been acquired by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History

🔎 Check out the Smithsonian collection:
https://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=%22coalition+for+immigrant+mental+health%22

📄 Learn more about the research:
https://doi.org/10.1080/10852352.2025.2532939

02/04/2026

Join Dr. Shawn Ginwright from Flourish Agenda and the Center for Childhood Resilience for a panel discussion about Healing Centered Engagement, the state of healing in Illinois, and the new course available on the Learning & Resource Hub on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, at 2:00pm (CST).

Register here! https://luriechildrens-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/wXoDtJrkRBaQo9i_1LVrcw

A conversation highlighting the CCR and Flourish Agenda partnership, the Healing Centered Engagement (HCE) approach “state of healing in IL”, and how the course supports educators and practitioners.

12/22/2025

Happy Holidays from the Center for Childhood Resilience!

We hope this holiday season is filled with good times and good people – and we look forward to working hard for the youth of Illinois in 2026!

12/19/2025

In November, CCR team members traveled to Seattle for the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management Fall Research Conference.

During this conference, Dr. Mashana Smith and Dr. Colleen Cicchetti were co-panelists with others who discussed local and state innovations in trauma-informed and healing-centered policy implementation in Illinois.

Dr. Smith was also given time to share the Center’s work on Resilient-Supportive Schools Illinois, a tool to build student resilience across the state.

12/16/2025

The holiday season can be filled with family, fun and snow – but for parents and kids alike, it can also be stressful.

Mental Health America shares 11 ways for parents and adults to support youth this holiday season.

Gatherings can highlight family tensions, and this may amplify the mental health struggles youth are already experiencing.

12/09/2025

The Center for Childhood Resilience team traveled to Orlando for the Advancing School Mental Health Conference. With a conference theme of “Building Resilient Futures: Advancing School Mental Health for Success in School, Life, and Work,” CCR’s work couldn’t be more relevant.

Shout out to the CCR team members and partners who gave multiple presentations on Resilience-Supportive Schools Illinois, sharing how this model is helping promote resilience across Illinois!

11/05/2025

The The Center for Childhood Resilience is hosting Su***de Screening and Risk Assessment for Educators TODAY at 3:30 p.m. This session is designed for educators, school administrators and staff -- all of whom play a key role in noticing when children are experiencing a mental health crisis, such as suicidal ideation. Presenters Mal Hilliard, LCSW, CADC & Maury Prieto, LCSW, will offer a question and answer session after 4:30 p.m.

10/29/2025

Calling all school administrators:

Have you heard of Resilience-Supportive Schools Illinois? This no-cost, voluntary resource uses school-specific data to get schools connected with evidence-informed resources and tools to improve and support the mental health and well-being of their school communities.

Interested in getting started? Visit rss-illinois.net/ to learn how!

Resilience-Supportive Schools Illinois (RSSI) is a free and voluntary support that uses school-specific data to connect educators with evidence-informed tools and resources to improve the mental health and well-being of their school communities.

10/23/2025

This summer, Illinois became the first state to implement universal mental health screenings, starting in the 2027-2028 school year.

The Center for Childhood Resilience is here to be a resource for schools and staff as they implement these screenings.

Join the Illinois State Board of Education and CCR for a virtual training focused on best practices on January 27 or February 11 at 10:00 a.m.

Register today: