Identifying children who need help
The Child Trauma Screen (CTS) is a brief, standardized, validated measure used across child-serving settings to identify children who may have experienced trauma and need more comprehensive assessment or treatment.
Why screen children for trauma?
Screening is a way to identify children who are experiencing high levels of distress and may need additional support to overcome trauma exposure. While childhood trauma exposure is common, it often goes unidentified.
Screening is also important to facilitate discussions with youth and caregivers about trauma, to provide factual information about traumatic stress, and to offer a range of resources to families, including evidence-based treatment, when indicated.
A brief, no-cost measure to encourage widespread trauma screening
CHDI joined with the Connecticut Department of Children and Families and Yale to develop a brief trauma screening measure for children called the Child Trauma Screen (CTS; formerly called the Connecticut Trauma Screen).
The CTS reduces barriers to screening such as cost, time, and expertise. It is used to identify children and adolescents who may have been exposed to trauma and/or are experiencing traumatic stress reactions and need more comprehensive assessment or treatment.
About the Child Trauma Screen
The CTS is used by intake staff, clinicians, child welfare workers, juvenile probation officers, pediatric providers, school personnel, case managers, care coordinators, and other professionals working with children and youth. The CTS is:
- Brief - only 10 items
- For use with children ages 6-17 (an early childhood version is in development)
- Free to use
- Based on empirical research and evidence
- Available in 5 languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and Dutch
- For use by clinical and non-clinical staff
- Flexible - can be administered as a self-report form, in-person interview, or phone interview
The CTS is NOT a comprehensive screening or clinical assessment tool and does not screen for all types of trauma exposure or all traumatic stress reactions. Those using it should be trained in child trauma and screening, including managing disclosures and requirements for mandated reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect.
Download the Child Trauma Screen
Complete the download form to access the CTS.
Looking for More Information?
Download the Child Trauma Screen FAQs for quick reference
Learn How to Screen Children for Trauma
Take one of our free online Trauma ScreenTIME courses.
Validation of the Child Trauma Screen
The Child Trauma Screen is supported by three peer-reviewed studies that indicate that it is reliable, feasible, and has good to excellent psychometric properties as a brief screen. Cut points maximizing sensitivity and specificity are available. Explore the peer-reviewed research below:
- Validating the Child Trauma Screen Among a Cross-Sectional Sample of Youth and Caregivers in Pediatric Primary Care. Clinical Pediatrics, 60(4–5), 252–258. Lang, J. M., Connell, C. M., & Macary, S. (2021)
- The Child Trauma Screen: A Follow-up Validation. Journal of Traumatic Stress. Lang, J. M., & Connell, C. M. (2018)
- The Feasibility and utility of trauma screening for children involved in the juvenile justice system. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 1–12. Lang, J. M., Lange, B. C. L., Connell, C. M., & Duran, T. (2023)
- Effects of child trauma screening on trauma-informed multidisciplinary evaluation and service planning in the child welfare system. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 00, 1–7. Connell, C. M., Swanson, A. S., Genovese, M., & Lang, J. M. (2024)
- Development and Validation of a Brief Trauma Screening Measure for Children: The Child Trauma Screen. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 9(3), 390-398. Lang, J. M., & Connell, C. M. (2017)
CTS development was funded in part through the Department of Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau, Grant #90CO1069.