Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice, Mental Health, and Education Providers’ Conceptualizations of Trauma-Informed Practice

Abstract

This study systematically examined child-service providers' conceptualizations of trauma-informed practice (TIP) across service systems, including child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health, and education. Eleven focus groups and nine individual interviews were conducted, totaling 126 child-service providers. Conventional content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data with interrater reliability analyses indicating near perfect agreement between coders. Qualitative analysis revealed that child-service providers identified traumatic stress as an important common theme among children and families served as well as the interest in TIP in their service systems. At the same time, child-service providers generally felt knowledgeable about what they define TIP to be, although they articulated wide variations in the degree to which they are taught skills and strategies to respond to their traumatized clients. The results of this study suggest a need for a common lexicon and metric with which to advance TIP within and across child-service systems.

Trauma-informed juvenile justice systems: A systematic review of definitions and core components.

“…This is a troubling omission given that work-related traumatic stress symptoms are prevalent and associated with impaired job performance among front-line staff (e.g., attorneys, probation/ correctional officers, law enforcement) in the justice system (Denhof & Spinaris, 2013; Levin et al, 2011; Skogstad et al, 2013). Additionally, several groups of justice system professionals have expressed their desire for greater organizational support around these matters (Donisch et al, 2016; Knowlton, 2015; Severson & Pettus-Davis, 2013). …”

Perceptions of Recidivism Among Incarcerated Youth: The Relationship Between Exposure to Childhood Trauma, Mental Health Status, and the Protective Effect of Mental Health Services in Juvenile Justice Settings

“…The juvenile justice system relative to the education or child welfare systems provides very little mental health resources and support to youth (Farmer, Burns, Phillips, Angold, & Costello, 2003). Research has also qualitatively identified inconsistencies in the delivery of traumainformed mental health care within the juvenile justice settings (Donisch et al, 2016). In fact, the philosophies of treatment for youth involved from the juvenile justice system differ greatly from other systems in that the juvenile justice system is largely focused on culpability and community safety (Maschi et al, 2008).…”

“…Although trauma exposure is associated with juvenile justice involvement (Abram et al, 2004;Ko et al, 2008), the system has historically ignored trauma or mental health symptomatology in service delivery (Donisch, Bray, & Gewirtz, 2016). To effectively address the needs and improve outcomes for youth in juvenile justice systems, it is essential to recognize, assess, and provide treatment for trauma symptoms (Ko et al, 2008).…”

“…To effectively address the needs and improve outcomes for youth in juvenile justice systems, it is essential to recognize, assess, and provide treatment for trauma symptoms (Ko et al, 2008). Recently, there has been noteworthy attention paid towards standardizing trauma-informed care models in various child service settings including juvenile justice (Donisch et al, 2016;Ko et al, 2008).…”

Improving Outcomes for Children Exposed to Violence: Safe Start Promising Approaches

“…In regard to violence exposure, the concept of trauma-informed care within communities and settings at various levels of care is gaining momentum (Hanson and Lang, 2016). Examples include multitiered approaches within schools (Chafouleas et al, 2016), as well as efforts within child welfare, juvenile justice, and mental health systems (Donisch, Bray, and Gewirtz, 2016). However, most of these models have not been evaluated to see whether they do, in fact, produce a more resilient child, family, or community.…”