Supporting children during moments of crisis requires a compassionate, trauma-informed approach that equips educators with practical de-escalation strategies. Creating a safe and supportive learning environment begins with proactive measures such as building strong relationships, teaching emotional literacy, maintaining consistent routines, and embedding coping skills into daily instruction. Recognizing early warning signs, like changes in behavior, communication, or mood, allows staff to intervene before a situation escalates.

During a crisis, remaining calm, practicing active listening, and using respectful tone and body language are essential. Offering choices and adjusting the environment can help children regain a sense of control. It’s equally important to avoid escalation tactics and reserve physical intervention for situations involving immediate safety risks, following proper protocols.

After a crisis, staff should allow time for self-regulation, engage in brief check-ins to understand triggers, and collaborate with the child on future coping strategies. Accurate documentation and personal reflection help improve responses over time. Finally, fostering a supportive school community through access to internal resources, peer debriefing, and ongoing professional development ensures that staff feel confident and prepared to respond effectively, promoting resilience and emotional safety for all students.

• This asynchronous course on  De-escalation Training for Teachers and Schools utilizes industry-leading methods, which have been successfully taught and applied to participants in more than 60 industries around North America.
• This resource provides de-escalation strategies:  Attachment-Informed De-Escalation Techniques
• CPI training makes a positive impact on all staff and their students by supporting social, emotional, and cognitive well-being, fostering a positive school culture and climate, and creating a safer learning space for everyone:  Training for Schools
• This  Tip Sheet provides information to understand the cycle of behavior and shares strategies that can de-escalate the situation

For more crisis support resources, submit a CTA request using the form below.

When working with refugees and migrants, it is important to distinguish among the applicable terminology to ensure that your team is communicating in concert when discussing a case and developing a care plan. Additionally, as policies change and there is a shift to be more culturally humble, the terms and their definitions may adjust. It is therefore important to stay up to date on the most current information.

• RMTAC’s online learning module – Introduction to Migration For Behavioral Health Providers – provide information about the importance of using culturally sensitive language when working with refugee and migrant communities, and acquaint yourself with common migration-related terminology.
• The US Citizenship and Immigration Services maintains an updated online dictionary to quickly look up a definition or explanation for a topic.  USCIS Glossary
• The US Citizenship and Immigration Services provides a number of humanitarian programs and protection to assist individuals in need of shelter or aid from disasters, oppression, emergency medical issues and other urgent circumstances. This page details temporary protected statuses, humanitarian parole, refugee, and asylum.  USCIS Humanitarian
• The US Citizenship and Immigration Services describes the various work statuses that can apply to lawful nonimmigrants. There is information on temporary and permanent workers, entrepreneur pathways, and students.  USCIS Working in US
• The Office of Refugee Resettlement supplies the legal definitions, benefits, and services for selected populations including asylees, special entrants, refugees, survivors of torture, victims of trafficking, and unaccompanied refugee minors.  ORR Fact Sheets

For more resources and support related to cultural humility, submit a CTA request using the form below.

RMTAC does not directly provide grants. However, there are several external resources where providers can search for and apply to grant opportunities that support services for migrants. Use the resource below to explore and apply for grant funding opportunities that align with your program’s goals.

1. Grants.gov: This is the official U.S. government website for finding and applying for federal grants.
   How to use: Go to grants.gov, use the search bar and enter keywords like “Medical Funding for newcomers” and review eligibility and application requirements for each listing.

If you need assistance searching for federal grants, or if you’d like to learn more about other funding sources, submit a CTA request using the form below.

Absolutely! All of RMTAC’s services are completely free of charge, thanks to funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). With SAMHSA’s support, RMTAC is able to build provider capacity across the country and offer Trainings and Technical Assistance to behavioral and health care professionals who work with refugees and migrants. 

If you have any questions, submit a CTA request using the form below.

There are several trusted organizations that offer free or low-cost legal assistance for newcomers, including help with citizenship applications and more. Below are our recommended resources:

1. RAICES Texas – Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal
   Based in Texas, RAICES provides free and low-cost legal services to immigrants and refugees. Services include citizenship assistance, DACA renewals, asylum representation, and family-based petitions. Offers legal clinics and community education.
2. AI Justice – Americans for Immigrant Justice
   A Florida-based nonprofit offering legal representation to immigrants, especially vulnerable populations like unaccompanied minors and survivors of abuse. Provides citizenship and naturalization support, detention defense, and legal education.
3. Human Rights Initiative of North Texas (HRI)
   Offers free legal services to immigrants who have experienced human rights abuses, including asylum seekers, victims of trafficking, and domestic violence survivors. Includes citizenship and adjustment of status support.
4. Catholic Charities of San Antonio
   Provides immigration legal services, including citizenship, green card renewals, and family petitions. Services are often free or low-cost, depending on eligibility. Offers multilingual support and community outreach.
5. Texas Law Help
   A free online resource offering legal information, forms, and referrals for Texans. Includes guides on citizenship, immigration, family law, and housing. Designed for self-help and low-income individuals.
6. USCIS – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
   Official government site for all immigration-related services. Provides citizenship application forms, fee waiver information, and naturalization resources. Includes a search tool for accredited legal providers and multilingual materials.

For assistance finding legal resources near you, submit a CTA request using the form below.

RMTAC would be glad to add your organization to the Services Directory, as long as the services align with our focus population of refugees, migrants, and newcomers. The Services Directory includes a wide range of public and private organizations, including but not limited to SAMHSA agencies, federal resources, FQHCs, legal services, social services, linguistic support, and education resources. It is a comprehensive and evolving tool designed to support providers working with refugee and migrant communities.

If you would like your organization added to our Services Directory, submit a CTA request using the form below.

While RMTAC does not provide translation resources directly, please see the following resources that do:

1. Charity Translators: Email support@charitytranslators.org (free of charge).  Charity Translators
2. Translators without Borders: Translators without Borders is a free of charge organization that offers translation services in over 280 languages.  Translators without Borders
3. inLingo Interpreters and Translators: It is $20.00 per minute to transcribe, and $0.25 cents per word to translate it. Email: admin@inlingo.com (fee associated with this to translate video and audio)  inLingo
4. Global Language Services: Known for cultural sensitivity and precision. Translation team’s email is translation@helloglobo.com (fee associated with utilizing the translation services).  Global Language Services
5. Google Translate: Google’s service, offered free of charge, instantly translates words, documents, phrases, images, websites, and text.  Google Translate
6. Michigan Translators Resource List: A comprehensive directory provided by the Michigan Department of State to help individuals find translation services.  Michigan Translators Resource List

Need assistance finding a translation service that’s right for you? Submit a CTA Request using the form below.

roviding trauma-specific support for refugees and migrants requires a culturally humble, trauma-informed approach that acknowledges the profound impact of grief and loss. Recognizing and integrating individuals’ cultural values into care not only fosters trust and safety but also enhances engagement with therapeutic interventions. This approach helps reduce disparities in care and improves overall outcomes by creating space for meaningful communication and mutual respect.

The resources below are designed to be culturally responsive and specifically address the emotional and psychological effects of trauma, loss, and grief. Empowering individuals to actively participate in their healing journey – by honoring their voice in treatment planning – supports informed decision-making and promotes resilience in the face of adversity.

Trauma-Specific Interventions for Grief and Loss:

• The  3 Grief/Bereavement Exercises toolkit is designed to assist clients on the personal journey through grief. This exercise tool will guide and contain the bereaved individual grief experience while facilitating emotional catharsis. These exercises aim to identify grieving client’s objects of connection and understand their meaning and function (adaptive/maladaptive) in the grieving process.
• This website has several effective evidence-based practices designed to help children or teens who are grieving or experiencing trauma and grief.  Evidence-Based Practices for Childhood Grief and Trauma
• This course guide includes information about the process of grief and mourning and how this information must be incorporated into a psychoeducational support group for those experiencing complicated grief.  Group Interventions for Bereavement Following Traumatic Events
• In this article, we explore the potential of grief counseling and therapy to manage that journey and offer some tools and techniques to help. The article includes methods that allow professionals to assist their bereaved clients work through the pain of grief and adjust to life without the deceased.  10 Grief Counseling Therapy Techniques & Interventions
• In this training session, Oscar Widales-Benitez, licensed psychologist and senior clinical implementation specialist at the Trauma and Grief Center, provides a multicultural framework to help inform treatments for children and adolescents who have experienced bereavement.  Multicultural Practices in Grief Therapy
• The Trauma and Grief (TAG) Center’s Virtual Learning Library offers free webinars and resources focusing on childhood trauma and grief to professionals working with children and adolescents who have experienced trauma and loss.  Virtual Learning Library

For more trauma-informed care resource recommendations, submit a CTA request using the form below.