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32 CW360 o Trauma-Informed Child Welfare Practice • Winter 2013Training New Child Welfare WorkersRebecca Wilcox, MSW, LGSW and Kristi Petersen, MSWPerspectivesThe Minnesota Child Welfare TrainingSystem is committed to providing quality,evidence-based, and relevant training to newand experienced child protection workers inMinnesota’s 87 counties and 11 tribes. Partof our commitment includes ensuring thatworkers receive training and information oncurrent best practices that enhance safety,permanency and well-being for childrenand families. In August 2011, we had theopportunity to join the Ambit Network,an NCTSN Category III Community andTreatment Services Center, in Oklahoma Cityfor a two-day Trauma Training of Trainers(TOT). The TOT gave us a foundation fordefining child traumatic stress and methods tohelp child protection workers identify traumain children and families on their caseload.Further, the TOT provided practical strategiesthat workers could use to mitigate behaviorsoften associated with trauma in children.Perhaps the most beneficial aspect of theTOT was identification and conceptualizationof the Nine Essential Elements of Trauma-Informed Child Welfare Practice into ourtraining for new child welfare workers. Astrainers, we have taken these elements backto the classroom and presented them throughlecture and activities to child protectionworkers. Workers define the importance ofeach element and, subsequently, identifyways to implement the essential elementsin the field. For example, when workersarticulate that it is important to assist childrenin reducing overwhelming emotion, theysimultaneously engage in identifying potentialstrategies for children to ease emotionalresponses. Practice strategies for this essentialelement may include assuring that comfortitems are present, remembering ways thatthe fear response presents itself and usingappropriate de-escalation techniques, andnaming feelings. This activity helps workersrealize that they are already doing the work,and it allows opportunities for them to learnwhat others are doing around the state. Afterthe training, trainers compile the notes andsend them out to participants so they canretain the knowledge and refer back to it ifthey need additional ideas.We incorporated the DVD “HealingNeen,” which is the story of Tonier Cain, intoChild Welfare Foundation Training (CWFT).Ms. Cain’s story is referred to throughout allthree modules of the training. Her traumaresponses and subsequent journey of healinghelp us engage in critical conversationsabout parent responses to trauma and childwelfare interactions. When parents appear tobe resistant, workers can reframe resistancethrough a trauma lens and ask, “Whathappened to you?” This type of conversationcan provide key insights into parent behaviorsand open doors for possible solutions thatincrease child safety, permanency and wellbeing.CWFT trainers received a knowledgegift from a Leech Lake Band of Ojibwechild welfare worker when she taught us that“Neen” means “me” or “mine” in Ojibwe.The TOT also brought home a greaterappreciation of the need to address secondarytraumatic stress (STS) for workers duringtraining events. We dedicate time in eachtraining to engage in critical conversationsabout the impact of the work and the traumaexperiences of children and families onindividual workers. We spend time identifyingself-care techniques, and we incorporateself-care into each action plan to help workerstake time to value themselves.Knowledge of trauma is necessary forchild welfare workers because research iscontinuously demonstrating that childmaltreatment is an adverse experience forchildren, and we can help children andfamilies overcome the potential harm throughappropriate interventions. A trauma lenshelps workers be compassionate when askingquestions and seeking services. If we recognizethat trauma occurred for not only the childbut most likely for the alleged offender (theparent or caregiver), then we, as practitioners,can locate services that can provide newmeanings and positive replacementexperiences for the trauma.The TOT materials have changedour approach to training by helping usThe Trauma Training of Trainers gave us a foundation for defining childtraumatic stress and methods to help child protection workers identifytrauma in children and families on their caseload.incorporate understanding of traumathroughout the entire new worker trainingseries. We challenge workers to ask questionsaround trauma and to seek out additionalresources when necessary. We encourageworkers to always view children and familiesthrough trauma-informed lenses. Traumainformedpractice is a continuous strengthsbasedframework that, when incorporatedthroughout the life of the case, can helpchildren and families journey towards healingand increased competence.Rebecca Wilcox, MSW, LGSW and KristiPetersen, MSW are Social ServiceProgram Consultants at the MNDepartment of Human Services. Theycan be reached at Rebecca.wilcox@state.mn.us and Kristi.l.petersen@state.mn.us.
Recent studies show that as many as 702,000youth in care were identified as maltreatmentvictims (USDHHS, 2009) and that formany children in care there is a reciprocalrelationship found between behavior problemsand placement changes (Aarons et al., 2010).These studies suggest a need for more effectiveinterventions targeting children’s behavioralong with better training and support forresource parents (including foster, adoptive,therapeutic, and kinship) in order to managechildren’s emotional and behavioral problemsand to increase placement stability.The Child Welfare workgroup within TheNational Child Traumatic Stress Network(NCTSN; www.nctsn.org) developed andpiloted a new tool to help address the needfor training and support of resource parents.This tool is called Caring for Children WhoHave Experienced Trauma: A Workshopfor Resource Parents, also referred to as theResource Parent Curriculum (RPC). RPC wasdeveloped to help resource parents who maybe parenting children with complex traumahistories and equally complex behaviors andemotions.At the Center for Child and Family Health(CCFH), we began facilitating RPC as partof our proposal to SAMHSA for our NCTSNCommunity Treatment Services Center grant.Our main goals in selecting RPC were to:1. help resource parents understand howexposure to traumatic incidents as wellas placement disruptions can impactchildren’s emotions and behavior,2. provide concrete strategies for parents touse with children in their home,3. help parents try to depersonalize some oftheir child’s reactions to trauma reminders,and4. educate parents to advocate for theirchildren needing trauma-focusedtreatments. Our staff facilitators wereselected based on their extensive experiencein training other professionals toimplement evidence based treatments forchild trauma victims and their families.CW360 o Trauma-Informed Child Welfare Practice • Winter 2013 33Lessons Learned from Implementing the ResourceParenting Curriculum with Foster and Adoptive ParentsGeorge S. Ake III, PhDWhile we understood the value of RPC andbelieved that it was well designed, I am notcertain that any of us really were preparedfor the magnitude of positive changes thatit would soon bring. Here are a few of thelessons we learned from resource parents,child welfare workers, and our trainingfaculty.Resource ParentsOverall, resource parents taught us that theirinvolvement in RPC helped them understandhow approaching problem behaviors witha trauma lens was more effective than theirprevious approaches. They commentedthat they wished they had participatedin RPC earlier and that resource parentsshould be required to complete this trainingas part of their in-service requirementsgiven the number of children in care withtrauma histories and the perceived lack ofinformation about how to address it. Whileparents came in with very different levelsof information and understanding abouttheir children’s history, most of them leftthe group having a greater appreciation forhow children’s experiences could impacttheir current behavior. In addition, parentsgenerally reported that participating in RPChelped to alleviate their feelings of isolationand frustration while helping to empowerthem to advocate for trauma-informedservices for their family.Parents reported seeing positive changesin their day-to-day approach to parenting andmany attributed this change to adjustmentsthey made to accommodate their children’strauma histories. For example, one couplewithdrew their child from water sportsdue to their new understanding of traumatriggers and their child’s history of havingprevious caregivers who used water as partof their abusive discipline. Another couplefelt like they had failed as parents of anadopted adolescent prior to RPC, but felt“enlightened” and more hopeful at the endof the group because they understood howtheir child’s complex trauma history mightbe connected to difficulties establishingrelationships with others. They also reportedthat meeting other parents with similarsituations was encouraging throughout thegroup and, hopefully, following the group.Child Welfare ProfessionalsThe North Carolina Division of SocialServices (DSS) has been a tremendous partnerin making RPC a possibility for resourceparents as part of a larger effort to make NC’schild welfare system more trauma-informed.Many of these groups were held in countyDSS offices, and the workers who werepresent for the groups commented that RPCmade a difference and that they benefittedfrom hearing how to talk with parents abouttrauma.Resource Parent Curriculum was developed to help resource parentswho may be parenting children with complex trauma histories andequally complex behaviors and emotions.Training FacultyAfter implementing this curriculum once inan eight-week group format with a traumainformedmental health clinician and a fosterparent or foster care alumni co-facilitator,we all were positive that this was the bestplatform to serve resource parents. Eachgroup we have done has been more successfulthan the last as we have incorporated qualityimprovement activities and built on lessonslearned. Currently, CCFH has a full timeRPC trainer and through various fundingsources plans on having completed a total of57 groups between 2011 and 2016.George S. Ake III, PhD is an AssistantProfessor in the Department ofPsychiatry and Behavioral Sciences atDuke University Medical Center and theAssistant Training Director at the Centerfor Child and Family Health in Durham,North Carolina. Dr. Ake can be reachedat george.ake@duke.edu.Perspectives
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