Background: As trauma-informed care advances in the service delivery system for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, additional resources are needed to foster staff development. This article describes the development and pilot evaluation of a digital training on trauma-informed care among direct service providers (DSPs) in the disability service industry.Method: Following an AB design, a mixed methods approach was used to analyse the responses of 24 DSPs to an online survey at baseline and at follow-up.
Results:The training was associated with increased staff knowledge in some domains and greater alignment with trauma-informed care. Staff expressed a strong likelihood of using trauma-informed care in practice and identified organisational assets and barriers to implementation. Conclusions: Digital trainings can facilitate staff development and the advancement of trauma-informed care. Although additional efforts are warranted, this study fills a gap in the literature regarding staff training and trauma-informed care.
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are disproportionately impacted by potentially traumatic experiences; however, organizations serving this population have lagged in their integration of trauma-informed care (TIC). Trauma-informed care is a systemwide response to the pervasiveness of trauma that frequently requires an organizational shift rooted in staff training. Using an online statewide survey, the present study examined beliefs and training among IDD service providers. Responses from 288 service providers suggested some alignment among beliefs and staff training content with TIC principles. Although the findings indicate a foundation for TIC, intentional efforts are needed for IDD agencies to fully embrace TIC.
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