Trauma-Informed Care

Trauma-Informed Care , children who are exposed to traumatic life events are at significant risk for developing serious and long-lasting problems across multiple areas of development. However, children are far more likely to exhibit resilience to childhood trauma when child-serving programs, institutions, and service systems understand the impact of childhood trauma, share common ways to talk and think about trauma, and thoroughly integrate effective practices and policies to address it—an approach often referred to as trauma-informed care (TIC). The context in which children live, learn, and grow shapes both their immediate and long-term well-being. Accordingly, children who experience trauma are more likely to exhibit resilience when their environments are responsive to their specific needs. Families, schools, community- based programs and services, and the individuals caring for children can increase the chances of resilience following childhood trauma when they become aware of the impact of childhood trauma, provide a sense of safety and predictability, protect children from further adversity,

and offer pathways for their recovery. In other words, children benefit when these entities provide them with trauma-informed care (TIC). Despite its focus on trauma, TIC is inherently a strengths-based perspective that emphasizes resilience instead of pathology. TIC has been defined and implemented in a number of ways, but the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has identified four

Applying TIC to real-world settings begins with a child’s first contact with a program, institution, or service system. It requires a comprehensive and multi-pronged effort involving the many adults in children’s lives. For example, in a school or afterschool program, TIC means increasing trauma-related knowledge and skills among program facilitators, school administrators, bus drivers, food service workers, classroom assistants, administrative staff, volunteers, teachers, leadership, special education professionals, school social workers and psychologists, families, and anyone else who comes into contact with children. However, increasing trauma knowledge is only one aspect of TIC, which also means that the individuals who care for children must be able to:

1. Realize the widespread nature of childhood trauma and how it impacts the child’s emotional, social, behavioral, cognitive, brain, and physical development, as well as their mental health. In addition, adults must be aware of the influence of trauma on family members, first responders, service providers, and others who may experience secondary stress (trauma-related reactions to exposure to another person’s traumatic experience). In some instances, adults endure the same traumatic events or circumstances as the child (e.g., a natural disaster, community violence, death of a community member) and may benefit from similar supports.