Trauma-Informed Care | Trauma-Specific Services

Resources

A Long Journey Home: A Guide for Creating Trauma-Informed Services for Mothers and Children Experiencing Homelessness

This guide from the National Center on Family Homelessness (NCFH) was written as a response to the following trends that have developed in the United States over the past decade: (1) Family homelessness is increasing; (2) Women and children are at risk for becoming a majority of the overall homeless population; (3) Homelessness is traumatic and it makes families sick; and (4) Violence is a critical ingredient in the recipe for homelessness. The Long Journey Home is intended to serve as a guide to agencies looking for practical ideas about how to create trauma-informed environments.
Download A Long Journey Home: A Guide for Creating Trauma-Informed Services for Mothers and Children Experiencing Homelessness.

Child Trauma Toolkit for Educators | Caja de Herramientas Para Educadores Para el Manejo de Trauma Infantil

This toolkit from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) provides school administrators, teachers, staff, and concerned parents with useful information about working with traumatized children in the school system. The toolkit, which also is available in Spanish, includes a variety of materials, including print and multimedia resources, geared towards specific audiences working with children who have experienced trauma.
Access the Child Trauma Toolkit for Educators | Caja de Herramientas Para Educadores Para el Manejo de Trauma Infantil.

Implementing Trauma-Informed Practices in Rural Schools

This research brief from the Comprehensive Center Network (the National Center and Region 6), incorporates research and practice to provide
guidance to school, district, and state leaders to facilitate trauma informed (TI) implementation by considering various strategies, or to strengthen existing TI practices in rural school communities.
Download Implementing Trauma-Informed Practices in Rural Schools.

National Child Traumatic Stress Network

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), works to raise the standard of care and improve access to services for traumatized children, their families, and communities throughout the United States.
The NCTSN also provides specific resources aimed at helping schools respond to the effects of traumatic stress among its students.
Visit the National Child Traumatic Stress Network website.
Visit the NCTSN Resources for School Personnel webpage.

National Native Children's Trauma Center (NNCTC)

As a Category II Treatment and Service Adaptation Center within the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, the NNCTC's focus is on increasing service providers' ability to respond to the trauma-related needs of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) children and youth in culturally appropriate ways. They provide training in evidence-based and promising practices as well as technical assistance in trauma-informed systems change across all tribal child-serving systems, including schools, behavioral health providers, child welfare agencies, and juvenile justice systems. They also assist in the cultural adaptation of evidence-based and promising practices and develop products and practices intended for use in Native communities.
Visit the National Native Children's Trauma Center website.

SAMHSA's Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach

This publication from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides a working concept of trauma and details a trauma-informed approach that can be adapted and used across an array of service systems and stakeholder groups. This approach may be appropriate for such sectors as child welfare, education, criminal and juvenile justice, primary health care, the military, and other settings that have the potential to ease or exacerbate an individual's capacity to cope with traumatic experiences.
Download SAMHSA's Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach.

Trauma-Informed Care and Trauma-Specific Services: A Comprehensive Approach to Trauma Intervention

This brief from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) addresses the need for a comprehensive approach to trauma intervention across service settings. In doing so, the authors define the complementary approaches of trauma-informed care and trauma-specific services, identify core principles and current practice for each, and discuss how both are being integrated across service sectors. Finally, they identify next steps for providers, researchers, and policymakers to ensure that all service systems are prepared to sustain this comprehensive approach to trauma intervention.
Download Trauma-Informed Care and Trauma-Specific Services: A Comprehensive Approach to Trauma Intervention.

Trauma-Informed Organizational Capacity Scale

Defining core aspects of a universal, trauma-informed approach and assessing program-level capacity are key steps for RHY programs dedicated to providing trauma-informed care. National Safe Place Network, as operator of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center (RHYTTAC), has partnered with the American Institutes for Research to provide RHY grantees with access to a tool for assessing program capacity in trauma-informed care. Information and steps for accessing the tool are provided here.

Trauma-Informed Organizational Toolkit for Homeless Services

With support from the Daniels Fund, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, the Homelessness Resource Center, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) has created this toolkit to provide programs with a roadmap for becoming trauma-informed. The toolkit provides homeless service providers with concrete guidelines for how to modify their practices and policies to ensure that they are responding appropriately to the needs of families experiencing homelessness who have experienced traumatic stress.
Download the Trauma-Informed Organizational Toolkit for Homeless Services.

Understanding Trauma and Its Impact

From the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments, the resources included in the Understanding Trauma and Its Impact component of the Training Package are designed to provide all school and district staff with a shared awareness and understanding of the prevalence and impact of trauma and implications for schools. Resources include an interactive e-resource and a companion slide presentation and activity packet for in-person training.
Access Understanding Trauma and Its Impact.

Understanding Traumatic Stress in Children

This guide from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) describes the most common developmental effects of trauma on children and suggests ways for caregivers to help children heal. Strategies covered include establishing safety, creating and maintaining a routine, recognizing triggers, identifying safe people, connecting with the child's support network, and referring to appropriate community agencies for additional support.
Download Understanding Traumatic Stress in Children.