In 2001, The Donald J. Cohen National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative was established "to improve access to care, treatment, and services for children and adolescents exposed to traumatic events and to encourage and promote collaboration between service providers in the field."[3] The Stress Initiative was a bill by Senator Joe Lieberman and approved by both houses of US Congress to amend the Public Health Service Act to recognize Cohen's contributions to victims of violence-related stress.[8]