The families that we serve come from diverse backgrounds, with unique histories and experiences. An important part of our work is being thoughtful about the way that we connect with children and families who have experienced trauma. Unfortunately, many ECE professionals do not feel well-equipped to identify signs and symptoms of trauma, or lack the knowledge they need to address the needs of children who have been victims of trauma.
To help you learn foundational skills in trauma-informed care, we are sharing a tutorial from The Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, Recognizing and Addressing Trauma in Infants, Young Children, and their Families. The tutorial was developed by Kathy Seitzinger Hepburn for the Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, an Innovation and Improvement Project funded by the Office of Head Start. It was created to support childhood mental health consultants and Early Head Start and Head Start staff, but the information is beneficial for anyone who works with young children. The information in the tutorials below will help you understand what is meant by trauma and recognize the developmental context of trauma in early childhood.
Click the links below to view the tutorial and take the trainings:
Module 2: The Impact of Trauma on Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children
Module 3: Trauma Signs and Symptoms in Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children
San Mateo recently launched a county-wide initiative to tackle ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and build resilience. First 5 of San Mateo participated in that initiative through their informational event, “A Culture of Care: Trauma-informed Practices for Family-serving Systems”.
Laurie Udesky, of ACES Connection, wrote an article about the event and shared that it ”began with surveying leaders in San Mateo County from across the sectors of preschool through high school, social services, child welfare, behavioral health, health care, and probation to see what they wanted to do to support early child mental health…the long-term goal of the effort is to embed trauma and resiliency-informed policies and practices at every level of the system.”
For more information about next steps, contact First5 San Mateo or join the San Mateo Community ACEs Connection.
