These resources are specific to individual professional fields, such as child welfare, education, or the judicial system. Please explore the links below and let us know if you have any suggestions for additional resources.
If you have any suggestions or comments, you can contact us at: CCWT@mass.gov
Professionals working with children can use Michigan’s guide to assess the degree to which their organization incorporates trauma-informed principles into its practices and/or develop a plan for becoming a TIR organization.
This guide is foundational for any professional working in a child-serving organization or agency. SAMHSA’s concept paper lays out the three “E’s” of trauma (Event, Experience of Event, and Effect), 6 key principles of a trauma-informed approach guidance for implementing a TIR approach in 10 different domains.
Connecticut designed this toolkit for those seeking to reduce racial injustice and health disparities within organizations, services, and communities. Although the title references “health equity,” the document can be used by any professional interested in how cultural competency can transform their practice.
Child-serving professionals from all sectors can use this resource to learn more about the prevalence of trauma among LGBTQ youth and the benefits of adopting a TIR approach in schools and youth-serving organizations.
Professionals from all sectors will find this series from NCTSN’s Learning Center useful for concrete strategies and recommendations for working with LGBTQ youth who have experienced trauma, including how to increase access to services, create a safe environment for care, and work with families and schools.
Child-serving professionals wanting to ensure their organization’s physical environment and staff interactions are TIR will find this checklist very useful. The document also includes a specific checklist for residential settings.
For those wanting more resources, this webpage contains a wide array of guides, toolkits, presentations, podcasts, and videos that address TIR care in various sectors and for different cohorts of youth. The resource list is updated periodically by ACEs Connection staff.
This report provides a broad overview of trauma and protective factors among youth in contact with child welfare systems. Organizations who wish to become TIR can use this guide for more information on screening and assessment, workforce development, training & support, data collection/systems, EBTs, funding, and more.
Organizations working with youth in foster care can use this guide to understand what TIR practices in foster care involve and how they can be implemented to promote positive development for adolescents.
Based on the collaborative work of teachers, administrators, parents, and child trauma experts, this comprehensive toolkit covers ways to create TIR spaces for children to thrive as well as provides concrete examples of challenges and successes organizations face when becoming TIR.
Educators will find this guide helpful to understand the psychological and behavioral impact of trauma for students at different developmental stages (preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school) and tips for educators to cope with compassion fatigue (secondary traumatic stress).
Child welfare professionals that work with immigrant or refugee families can use this guide to assess and address traumatic stressors. When working with immigrant families, use this guide to build concrete strategies to integrate TIR care within existing policies/procedures, incorporate cultural competence in community partnerships, etc.
Caseworkers, supervisors, and all other professionals of the child welfare workforce can use this training toolkit to implement TIR knowledge and skills in their daily interactions, professional services, and organizational culture. This toolkit includes training of varied lengths adapted to specific roles/positions.
This 5-page organizational assessment tool will help professionals in youth residential settings assess, plan, prepare, implement and utilize technology to make their organization TIR.
This guide discusses interventions and programs that can be integrated into the classroom to support children and families who have experienced trauma; therapeutic programs adapted to the early care and education context; models to increase partnership between EEC and community service providers.
This video series provides the perspectives of parents, Head Start staff, health care professionals, and others on the issues of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), toxic stress, and resilience. The series includes two videos: one for a general audience (21 min) and one for Head Start staff (7 min).
Early childhood mental health consultants, in addition to Early Head Start and Head Start staff, will find this tutorial helpful to understand childhood trauma, recognize the developmental context of trauma in early childhood, and extend their knowledge for intervention through consultation.
In addition to information about trauma in school-age children, this guide provides examples of what a TIR classroom looks like—with examples of “traditional” approaches to a student’s behavior and TIR approaches. Educators and administrators will also find this guide helpful to revise school discipline.
Educators can use this resource to understand the interplay of race and trauma and how it affects their students. In addition to tips about what educators can do, this guide provides helpful information on the effects of racial trauma by age groups.
School leaders can use this four-phase training package to help their school become TIR. Each phase includes tools and resources for implementation, such as online modules, action guides, activity packets, or PowerPoint presentations.
This resource from the Trauma and Learning Policy Institute provides an in-depth approach to TIR classrooms, including an overview of the educational consequences of exposure to family violence and ways to support traumatized children in schools. Of note, this guide describes the “Flexible Framework” used in MA schools.
Behavioral health providers and administrators can learn about TIR approaches to program delivery, staff development, organizational policies & procedures, administrative practices, and organizational structure. The guide also discusses the ethics of TIR care, the implementation of TIR supervising, and vicarious trauma.
Mental health providers will find this 1h30 webinar helpful to understand the ways mental health providers can work with pediatric medical providers to ensure traumatized children receive care. Primary care providers are essential allies in efforts to identify and respond to young children affected by trauma.
Health care professionals wanting to create safe environments for staff and patients will find this one-pager useful for improving the physical, social, and emotional safety of primary care facilities.
Boston Medical Center’s guide gives recommendations for implementing TIR measures with all patients, regardless of whether the practitioner is aware of a specific trauma history. It discusses changes to make to build environments, workforce training, patient empowerment, and staff awareness.
Professionals can use this brief as a method for overcoming many of the challenges inherent to measuring and evaluating the implementation of TIR care. In particular, it discusses workforce training and wellness, facility environment, practice delivery and patient engagement/satisfaction, and health outcomes.
Health care professionals wanting to create safe environments for staff and patients will find this one-pager useful for improving the physical, social, and emotional safety of primary care facilities.
This compendium of tools guides medical professionals in effectively assessing and treating medically traumatic stress (emotional & physical) in children and families. It is anchored by the D-E-F Protocol for trauma-informed care to respond to Distress, offer Emotional support, and ensure Family-centered TIR care.
These short videos developed by the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) shed light on why health care providers across the nation are embracing a trauma-informed approach to care. They are ideal for use in meetings, employee training, and presentations. Available in English and Spanish.
Child welfare attorneys can use this guide to learn more about how trauma impacts the youth they work with and resources for incorporating TIR practices into legal representation, such as tips on how to avoid triggering clients with prior trauma or how to advocate for them during placement decisions & transitions.
Juvenile defense attorneys can use this guide to learn about TIR legal advocacy, the effects of trauma on the attorney-client relationship, how to increase clients’ physical & psychological safety, help reduce potential reactions to triggers, or understand how trauma assessments are in the best interest of the client.
Any juvenile justice professional can use this guide to implement a TIR approach into the day-to-day operations of the juvenile justice system. This guide provides concrete steps to implement a TIR approach in four phases: exploration, preparation, implementation, and sustainment.
Juvenile court judges will find this two-page “bench card” helpful to understand the possible traumatic experiences immigrant youth face before, during, and after migration. Specifically, this two-pager includes ways judges can ask questions to make culturally sensitive decisions & support youth with adequate services.
Judges wanting to make their courtroom TIR will find this opinion piece helpful to understand the benefits of creating a trauma-informed court, as well as a few practical measures on how to do so. It emphasizes the importance of the environment of the courtroom itself as something that must be TIR.
This brief demonstrates the effectiveness of partnerships between law enforcement and communities to integrate a TIR approach to police interactions within the community. It showcases examples of successful community policing programs adopted throughout the United States.
This short and clear PowerPoint presentation discusses different types of trauma, how trauma can manifest itself, and tips for how law enforcement can support people who have experienced trauma. It also addresses how officers can cope with repeated exposure to traumatized individuals and traumatic incidents.
This 21-minute training video is helpful for police officers responding to domestic violence disputes where children are present. After watching it, officers will be equipped to help children feel safer regardless of how they react to the DV incident and subsequent police intervention.
Though originally written for public housing professionals, this report provides a TIR approach to community building. It explains how community trauma hinders community-building efforts, how to overcome these challenges, and offers strategies for TIR community building.
Professionals working in youth development programs (e.g., mentoring programs, sports) will find this report helpful to understand the importance of applying a trauma-informed approach to the design and operation of youth development programs. This report identifies three key components for implementing a TIR approach.
Sports coaches working with youth will find this 5-page document helpful to recognize and support youth who have experienced trauma. The tip sheet provides coaches with concrete practices to adopt, a TIR coaching plan, examples of “strength-based” (rather than “deficit-based”) comments when outside help is needed.
This systematic review provides an overview of the use of trauma-informed treatment in juvenile justice settings and provides recommendations for practice and future research.
Surgeon General Advisory: This U.S. Surgeon General Advisory offers recommendations for supporting the mental health of children, adolescents, and young adults. Included in this Advisory are actionable strategies for young people and their families, schools and health care systems, technology and media companies, employers, community organizations, and governments alike.
This report outlines a pilot project that trained early childhood teachers in Massachusetts in techniques for recognizing trauma and racial inequity, coached them in behaviors and classroom structures that supported children, and empowered them to create change in early childhood education to build childhood resilience and advance racial equity.
This report outlines a pilot project that trained early childhood teachers in Massachusetts in techniques for recognizing trauma and racial inequity, coached them in behaviors and classroom structures that supported children, and empowered them to create change in early childhood education to build childhood resilience and advance racial equity.
In this study that spanned five-decades, researchers aimed to examine how the cumulative number and clustering patterns of ACEs were related to premature mortality. It was found that about half of the cohort experienced early life adversities that clustered into four distinct pat[1]terns, which were associated with different risk of premature mortality.
Summary: To practically address trauma and promote resilience, pediatric clinicians need tools to assess childhood trauma and adversity experiences as well as practical guidance, resources, and interventions. In this clinical report, you will find practical advice for rendering trauma-informed care across varied medical settings.
The information discussed in this fact sheet is based on the comprehensive review of bullying research presented in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s report entitled Preventing Bullying Through Science, Policy, and Practice.
This training toolkit is made up of two modules that address bullying in classrooms. Specifically, it is designed for trainers to assist teachers in cultivating meaningful relationships with students while creating a positive climate in the classroom.
This tipsheet is meant to be a guide for schools to develop plans that address harm experienced by students and create a safe environment to prevent future incidents.
Provides judges with useful questions and guidelines to help make decisions based on emerging scientific findings in the traumatic stress field. These bench cards assist judges and court-appointed professionals in doing mental health assessments of children.
This issue brief provides information, specific strategies, and resources that many treatment court judges have found beneficial.
This document consists of a trauma-informed self-review checklist. The checklist has been adapted by utilizing the nine key domains of a trauma-informed approach as identified by the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice.
The second article in a two-part series presents strategies for building stronger, more trauma-informed attorney-client relationships with youth.
This guide focuses on the importance of taking trauma into account when interviewing children who have been traumatized. By using this guide, attorneys can more successfully understand their clients’ needs and therefore more ably advocate for them
Child-serving professionals in any sector can use this resource that offers actionable principles that organizations and child-serving systems can implement to move toward the fundamental transformation of becoming anti-racist and trauma-informed.
This webinar is about trauma-informed approaches for treatment courts.
This webinar discusses key concepts on the importance of adopting a trauma-informed approach in drug treatment courts and how to implement trauma-informed practices.
Held on July 30, 2019 and hosted by OJJDP in conjunction with the International Association of Chief’s of Police, this webinar offered key information about typical human development, coupled with information about signs/symptoms of acute traumatic exposure, and strategies for officers to intervene effectively on-scene.
Identifying the signs and symptoms of trauma is the first step for a responding officer in an effective initial interaction with victims of sexual assault. This brief can help build a supportive rapport with the victim which can impact the victim’s recovery and engagement in the investigation and prosecution.
NCTSN created this guide as a resource to help prosecutors take steps to build a more just justice system. Prosecutors are in the unique position of working for the community, charged with pursuing justice while working within a law enforcement system.
The purpose of this presentation is to give prosecutors a basic understanding of trauma and how it affects their cases. The presentation will give you the fundamentals of trauma and how it manifests in the mind and body. With this knowledge, the presentation seeks to connect the effects of trauma and how it affects witnesses, crime survivors, and those accused of crimes. The presentation will provide real-life examples of interactions prosecutors have with individuals throughout their case and how to approach those interactions in a trauma-informed manner.
The APA is offering the Cultural Formulation Interview (including the Informant Version) and the Supplementary Modules to the Core Cultural Formulation Interview for further research and clinical evaluation. They should be used in research and clinical settings as potentially useful tools to enhance clinical understanding and decision-making and not as the sole basis for making a clinical diagnosis.
This 1-page resource provides information on what is intergenerational trauma. It also provides insight into how intergenerational trauma can be identified.
The Family Treatment Court Best Practice Standards (FTC Standards) represent the accumulated knowledge of over 25 years’ practice experience and scholarly research. The Family Treatment Court Best Practice Standards (FTC Standards) have been written to reflect the practice shift toward person-centered, strengths-based, family-focused, and action-oriented practices.
Watch the full Learning Network session, “How Trauma-Informed Courts Can Improve Outcomes for Children and Families,”. The Pathways Learning Network convened on December 15 to hear how courts in Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee have implemented trauma-informed policies and programs to better support children and families.
In this webinar, learn how Metro Nashville Juvenile Court is creating a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and restorative court in which practices are streamlined to match the best available evidence-based community resources for each individual child. Learn how these practices are improving outcomes for children and youth.
These resources from the Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative (TLPI) provide an in-depth approach to understanding the impacts of trauma on children’s learning, behavior and relationships at school (Vol.1), and to creating trauma-sensitive, safe and supportive learning environments that benefit all students (Vol.2).