Issue Brief 72: Are We Trauma-Informed?
Interest in trauma-informed approaches across childserving systems has surged in the past two decades. This interest has largely been in response to research showing that most children experience at least one potentially traumatic event by the age of 17 years, together with the strong relation between childhood trauma exposure and problems with health, mental health, and other concerns across the life span. Trauma-informed approaches integrate understanding of trauma throughout a program, organization, or system to enhance the quality and scope of services for those affected by trauma.
However, there is a lack of research on how to measure and evaluate a trauma-informed approach. How do staff measure the extent to which a program, school, or organization is trauma-informed? How do managers/leaders know whether the trauma-informed efforts of their programs, schools, or organizations are effective in promoting thriving among children, families, and staff?
This issue brief seeks to present answers to these questions based on a systematic review of 49 surveys regarding trauma-informed approaches, and makes recommendations for organizations, programs, or systems that are also interested in assessing the extent to which they are trauma-informed.
This Issue Brief was prepared by Robey B. Champine, PhD, MS, MPH, former Postdoctoral Fellow at CHDI and current Assistant Professor of Public Health at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine; Ashley M. Nelson, Senior Data Analyst II at CHDI; and Jason M. Lang, PhD, Chief Program Officer at CHDI.