In 2023, the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA) - funded by the Moody Endowment - led a Delphi Consensus process with national brain injury leaders, resulting in Brain Injury Resource Facilitation: A Consensus on Best Practices (the “Consensus” report). In 2024, Moody Endowment provided additional funding to NASHIA to establish the Moody Center for Brain Injury Best Practices. The first two-year cohort used the Consensus findings to develop this implementation guide.

Building a strong state infrastructure takes time, effort, and planning from many individuals and organizations. This tool, Strong Infrastructure Components for Brain Injury (BI): State Self-Assessment Tool, produced by ACL's Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical Assistance and Resource Center (TARC) was created to assist BI partners and collaborators in determining which level best describes their state’s progress, and to give some guidance to what a more comprehensive system could include.

This map shows state-level rates of traumatic brain injury (TBI)-related deaths in 2023. NASHIA members can use these data to raise awareness of the burden of TBI in their state, inform prevention and service planning, strengthen funding proposals, and compare outcomes across states. Understanding where TBI deaths are highest helps guide strategies to improve brain injury prevention, care, and supports for survivors and families.

Also included are ways for NASHIA members and the brain injury community to action these data.

NASHIA is proud to have been part of the collaboration that brought about this new, important resource for communicating about brain injury. This joint message from national leaders in the brain injury community offers guidance on how to be clear when talking about brain injury.

Thank you to everyone involved for working to increase care and support for brain injury survivors!

Congratulations to NASHIA Innovation Center Director Jill Daugherty on publication of this article related to work she completed during her tenure at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention!

Previous research suggests that some racial/ethnic groups are at increased risk for poor health outcomes following a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Less is known about the extent to which TBI prevalence and incidence vary by race/ethnicity. This paper presents results of a systematic search and review of TBI prevalence and incidence among US racial and ethnic groups.

Congratulations to NASHIA Innovation Center Director Jill Daugherty on publication of this article related to work she completed during her tenure at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention!

An important take-away: depending on the definition of TBI used and data source referenced, between 1-3 million TBI-related visits to American emergency department occur on an annual basis.

This resource outlines how individuals returning to work after brain injury can better prepare, and find support through resources and reasonable accommodations from their employer. Through careful self-assessment of current challenges and dialogue with their employer to navigate the accommodations process when needed, people with brain injury can retain employment.

Authored by NASHIA’s own Maria Crowley, Director of Professional Development, with support from the Administration for Community Living Disability Employment TA Center.

Full Participation involves supporting individuals with brain injury by providing tools, resources, and supports so that they are equal, contributing members with a sense of belonging. The original Full Participation Guide was created in 2008 to help states meet this level of support. The updated document is intended as a guide for best practices and can be used readily and frequently by states and partners across all states and settings. The tips and tools provided contribute to the full and meaningful participation of everyone in meetings, work groups and conferences.

Brain injuries (BIs) often remain undetected, particularly among vulnerable populations such as those involved in the criminal legal system, individuals experiencing homelessness, and Medicaid recipients. Early detection is crucial, as timely screening and coordinated care can significantly improve outcomes and support recovery. Managed care organizations, like UnitedHealthcare Community & State, play a pivotal role in expanding screening efforts, connecting individuals to appropriate rehabilitation services, and enhancing cross-system collaboration. Co-authored by NASHIA staff, this article delves into the importance of early BI detection and highlights success stories that underscore the transformative impact of proactive identification and comprehensive support.

Through a partnership with the Disability Employment Technical Assistance Center (DETAC) brief, NASHIA compiled long-term support considerations for supported employment into a two-page resource. Creative approaches tapping into Social Security Administration work incentives, as an example, are highlighted.

Members of the Service Access Subgroup of the 2023 Moody Galveston Brain Injury Conference (MGBIC) collaborated on a white paper featuring an overview of the current status of brain injury resource facilitation (RF) along with an analysis on the challenges and opportunities in brain injury RF for acquired brain injury. The paper includes practical policy recommendations for its implementation to the potential funders of brain injury RF programs at the national, state, and community levels. Funding for the MGBIC was provided by the Moody Endowment. 

NASHIA was tasked with identifying intake tools currently used across states for resource facilitation and recommending best practices for state assessment tools.

A survey was created to collect information from all state government and partner programs currently providing some level of community-based supports.

This new guide, “Practical Education and Advocacy Tools for States, Brain Injury Advisory Council Members, Brain Injury Advocates, and Providers” was created as part of NASHIA’s engagement with the Administration for Community Living's Grassroots Project, managed by the Human Services Research Institute.

In a Disability Employment Technical Assistance Center (DETAC) brief, NASHIA Director of Community Integration Jill Ferrington discusses the benefits of working, despite challenges brought on by brain injury, as well as strategies for success.

This new resource, brought to you by NASHIA and the Brain Injury Association of America, seeks to provide an overview of the practical implications for the new designation of brain injury as a chronic condition by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

In collaboration with the Disability Employment Technical Assistance Center (DETAC), NASHIA Director of Professional Development Maria Crowley authored this blog highlighting the efforts of the Administration for Community Living-funded Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) State Partnership Program Transition and Employment Workgroup to create a “national, culturally competent, person-centered professional development employment training infrastructure for professionals serving the TBI community, known as Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Competencies.”

The National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA), in partnership with the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disability Services, ADvancing States, National Association of Medicaid Directors, and National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors are excited to share a new self-assessment tool to support states in determining their current level of compliance with requirements in the final Access regulation and identifying areas where action steps are needed to achieve compliance.

The Self-Assessment Tool is available in both Word and Excel versions.

This resource provides an overview of Traumatic Brain Injury/Acquired Brain Injury (TBI/ABI) Medicaid Home and Community-Based (HCBS) waiver programs and other State options for long-term services and supports (LTSS) for individuals with brain injury who are Medicaid eligible.

The latest publication supported by the NASHIA team! Judy Dettmer, NASHIA’s Director of Technical Assistance and Special Projects assisted with this resource related to tracking outcomes of individuals released from the justice system with TBI.

All Rise's Justice for Vets has partnered with NASHIA to develop a new toolkit designed to help treatment courts better identify, assess, treat, and support individuals with acquired brain injury in their programs.

Returning to learn following a concussion is the process of managing a student’s recovery during the school day by implementation of academic supports with varying intensity. Due to a lack of consensus or even guidance on Return to Learn, this paper set out to establish cross discipline consensus on some essential elements of Return to Learn using a Delphi method.

This helpful blog article, written by Maria Crowley, NASHIA Director of Professional Development, on behalf of the Disability Employment TA Center, makes the case for job retention after brain injury.

This helpful blog article, written by Jill Ferrington, NASHIA Director of Community Engagement, on behalf of the Disability Employment TA Center, offers tips on assessments for employment planning to support people living with brain injury.

This tip card is a product of a partnership with the Addiction Technology Transfer Centers of Region 7 (Mid-America) and Region 8 (Mountain Plains) and NASHIA. It is meant for use by providers. Included in the tip card is a brief overview of brain injury, symptoms, screening, and the intersection of brain injury and substance use.

This toolkit merges the content on traumatic brain injury (TBI) and substance use disorders (SUD) to expand capacity to address both issues in treatment. The author, Dr. Carolyn Lemsky, is a board-certified neuropsychologist with over 25 years of experience working in rehabilitation settings in the U.S. and Canada. The toolkit provides valuable and practical information for advancing behavioral health providers’ capacity when serving persons who have brain injuries.

With support from the ACL TBI Program’s Waivers and Trust Fund Workgroup, NASHIA developed this primer, handout, PPT and script on funding for state brain injury programs.

With support from the ACL TBI Program’s Criminal and Juvenile Justice Workgroup, NASHIA developed this best practice guide for state brain injury programs related to brain injury and criminal and juvenile justice.

“Individuals with TBI are often ineligible for state intellectual/developmental disability (I/DD), mental health and special health care needs programs.”

A summary of State definitions and guidance for educating students with TBI-related disabilities.

Published in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, and featuring NASHIA Director of Technical Assistance and Special Projects Judy Dettmer as lead author, this white paper presents the group's consensus on the essential components of a statewide educational infrastructure to support students with traumatic brain injury across the spectrum of injury severity.

Substance use/misuse is often a contributing factor to brain injury. A history of abuse/misuse is common among individuals who have sustained a brain injury.

This fact sheet provides an overview of brain injury and opioid overdose, as well as recommendations for prevention and treatment.

Prepared by the Administration for Community Living TBI State Partnership Grant Ad Hoc Workgroup on Child Welfare. Online toolkit includes the complete Best Practices Guide, supporting materials, screening tools, fact sheets, and links to trainings and many additional resources to support implementation and learning.