Trauma-Informed Care in a School Setting: Occupational Therapy Interventions to Promote Emotional Regulation

PICO Question What trauma-informed occupational therapy interventions improve emotional regulation and participation in school-based tasks for students? Objectives Define trauma and note its prevalence among school-aged children Describe principles of Trauma-Informed Care and its importance in a school setting. Describe current research to determine best practice using a Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) approach in schools for OT practitioner

Policy Essay: Fostering the acceptance and inclusion of LGBTQ youth in the child welfare system: Considerations for advancing trauma informed responses for LGBTQ youth in care

LGBTQ youth are vulnerable to nearly all forms of childhood maltreatment and trauma and are disproportionately overrepresented in the child welfare system. Many LGBTQ youth in the child welfare system encounter a number of obstacles related to discrimination, rejection, placement instability, and further maltreatment. Despite recent insights and advances in the field of trauma informed care the trauma experiences of LGBTQ youth have largely gone unaddressed in major works and frameworks related to trauma informed care. The following article explores the unique trauma and maltreatment experiences of LGBTQ youth and provides considerations for enhancing and improving practice with LGBTQ youth through the implementation of recent insights in the field of trauma informed care

Trauma-informed services and trauma-specific care for Indigenous Australian children

This paper examines how childhood trauma experienced by Indigenous children can be overcome by appropriate interventions.IntroductionWhile many Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian children grow up in safe homes and live in safe communities, there are some who do not. In the case of Indigenous children, some families and communities are unable to, or are still working to, heal the trauma of past events, including displacement from Country, institutionalisation and abuse. The Stolen Generations also represent a significant cause of trauma. In 2008, an estimated 8% of Indigenous people aged 15 and over reported being removed from their natural family and 38% had relatives who had been removed from their natural family. This trauma can pass to children (inter-generational trauma).Indigenous children may also experience a range of distressing life events including illness and accidents, hospitalisation or death of close family members, exposure to violence, family disintegration (with kin networks fragmented due to forced removals, relationship breakdown and possibly incarceration) and financial stress.Experiencing trauma in childhood can have severe and long-lasting effects; effects that can be overcome by appropriate interventions. This resource sheet examines these effects and explores how they can be tackled. It focuses on the design and delivery of trauma-informed and trauma-specific children’s services and care

A Meta-analysis on the Effectiveness of Trauma-informed Practice

This study looked at past research on trauma informed practice to analyze its effectiveness.. There is sufficient research portraying the helpfulness of the trauma-informed approach; however, there is little research on whether it is effective as a theoretical intervention. The study looked at how different trauma-informed interventions have helped in diminishing the effect of trauma on different populations. The populations considered in the analysis include: women that have experienced domestic violence, children, individuals with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and youth that reside in neighborhoods with high levels of crime. Since trauma-informed care is currently considered a broad theoretical framework for practice, with this meta-analysis, we aim to establish it as a concrete evidence-based practice

Academy Expands Medical Forensic Care and Response

The Alaska Comprehensive Forensic Training Academy, the first of its kind in the nation, trains nurses and health care providers to support victims of interpersonal violence in a trauma-informed manner and to preserve potential evidence and information for future prosecutions

Screening For Trauma In the Foster Care Community

Children within the foster care community experience health disparities on a variety of levels, from physical and mental health conditions, developmental delay, and impaired social interactions. Many of these conditions can stem from the experience of trauma or adverse childhood events that color each component of their lives. For healthcare providers to be successful in the assessment and treatment of this community, an understanding of traumatic events and the delivery of trauma-informed care is essential. The complex needs of this community are such that the provision of healthcare must be specialized, multidimensional, and organized. The purpose of this project is to assist in the development of a clinic that specializes in the delivery of primary care to the foster care community, with a focus on screening and assessment for the experience of trauma. Children were screened for child trauma as well as for resiliency behaviors, and a tool for chart review was used to examine current health status and services. With the assistance of stakeholders, meticulous follow up on screening results, referrals and recommendations made ensured that no opportunities were missed to provide the highest quality care for this underserved community

Healing the Hurt: Trauma-Informed Approaches to the Health of Boys and Young Men of Color

From discrimination and poverty to alcoholism and assault, trauma in its varied forms plays a major part in the lives of Latino and African-American boys and young men. This paper outlines the ways in which violence prevention, family support, health care, foster care, and juvenile justice can incorporate a trauma-informed approach to improve the physical and mental health of young men and boys

Trauma-informed school programming: Applications for Mental Health professionals and Educator partnerships

An alarming number of children experience significant trauma or chronic stress throughout childhood, manifesting in cognitive, social, physical, and emotional impairment. These challenges are expressed in the P-12 academic setting through difficulties with behavioral and emotional self-regulation, academic functioning, and physical ailments and illness. Advances in trauma-informed care, as applied to the school environment, have inspired new hope for educators who observe first-hand the learning challenges facing traumatized children. This article defines the nature of the problem along with a guiding framework to assist educators and mental health professionals in transforming to a trauma-informed school culture

The Long View: Has Anything Really Improved for Children and Families Involved with Child Welfare over 3 Decades?

The overall poor health status and outcomes of children and youth in foster care have been documented in multiple studies over the last 3 decades. During this time, knowledge about brain development, positive parenting, resilience, traumatic stress, and epigenetics has exploded, resulting in demands for child welfare to become trauma-informed, child-centered, and developmentally focused. This special issue affords us the opportunity to reflect on: what’s better or not after 30 years; whether legislation and financing are aligned with child welfare’s goals of safety, permanency and well-being; and what remains to be done to improve the outcomes of children and youth in foster care or otherwise involved with child welfare

Improving the Health Care of Foster Children Throughout the US: Texas, a Case Example

Children who have been exposed to the foster care system comprise a high-risk, vulnerable, and potentially medically complex population that has both poor health and poor access to health care. This review with Texas as a case example aims to describe the health and health care issues impacting children in foster care (CFCs), the state and federal level mechanisms to ensure appropriate funding for the health care of CFCs, and recent legislative efforts to improve the health and health care access for CFCs. The review discusses potential solutions in regards to improving the health of CFCs through four main domains: facilitating integration of care through delivery mechanisms such as the medical home; understanding the role of trauma and toxic stress and consequently the impact of trauma-informed care on the health of CFCs; improving mental health screening efforts and tools; and enhancing access to appropriate mental health care services