Trauma Sensitive Practices in Early Childhood

BUILDING A TRAUMA-INFORMED EARLY CHILDHOOD WORKFORCE

Research shows that 1 in 4 children will witness or experience a trauma exposure by the age of four. Given the high prevalence of trauma exposure among young children, early childhood settings are ideal places to implement trauma-informed and healing practices. However, early childhood professionals many not have the training they need to implement these practices.

Trainings in Trauma Sensitive Practices

Trauma Sensitive Practices in Early Childhood is a partnership with the Minnesota Department of Education to develop an online training series for early childhood intervention practitioners. The training series aims to:

• Foster an understanding of how children and their caregivers are impacted by trauma
• Build practitioners’ competencies in identifying signs and symptoms of traumatic stress
• Provide strategies to work with children and families in supportive ways to mitigate the effects of trauma

The series includes foundational modules to help practitioners implement trauma-informed and healing practices in their programs, as well as advanced training modules specific to in-home work, classroom-based work, and leadership. The full training series is expected to be available in June of 2024.

Partners and Experts

CHDI is partnering with the Center for Trauma Training and the Connecticut Association for Infant Mental Health to develop this online training series. Additionally, online training content will be developed with input from family members with lived experience.

Kellie Randall, PhD - Associate Vice President of Quality Improvement krandall@chdi.org 860-679-8098