Children’s Research Triangle

Children’s Research Triangle (CRT) is a Chicago behavioral health nonprofit whose mission is to provide equitable access to research-driven behavioral health services and training to support the development and well-being of underserved children and youth, partnering with their families and communities to help them reach their full potential. Incorporated in 1998, CRT has served more than 26,000 children and their families, providing free, evidence-based, trauma-informed care to young people impacted by complex developmental, psychological, and environmental trauma, including abuse, community and domestic violence, neglect, caregiver separation, housing instability, and prenatal substance exposure.

CRT delivers an integrated continuum of services in English and Spanish to more than 1,000 children and families each year, including trauma screening and assessment; individual, family, and group therapy; comprehensive developmental, psychological, and medical evaluations; and training for parents, caregivers, and child-serving professionals. To reduce barriers related to cost, insurance, transportation, and stigma, CRT embeds clinicians at community partner sites, including schools, shelters, veteran centers, and social service agencies, primarily on Chicago’s South and West sides, meeting children where they already learn and seek support. Ninety-seven percent of services are provided at no cost to clients. CRT’s model has a strong track record of producing measurable, lasting change for clients: decreasing youth trauma symptoms, improving adaptive, behavioral, and emotional functioning, and reducing parent and caregiver stress and risk for child maltreatment. But CRT’s ultimate impact is measured not only in data, but in transformation: children who heal, families who stabilize, and communities where access to mental health care becomes more equitable. For the young people who walk through CRT’s doors carrying the weight of trauma, this work changes the trajectory of their lives.