The USA-based National Child Traumatic Stress Network has recently released a second edition of the Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit, which is part of the Child Welfare Trauma Training course. The course assists those in the field of child welfare who wish to learn more about child welfare and trauma. The Toolkit describes traumatic stress and its impact on children, offers assessment tools that can help identify children affected by traumatic stress, and provides ways that child welfare workers can manage professional stress. The training also teaches basic knowledge, skills, and values about working with children who have experienced traumatic stress and who are in the child welfare system. The toolkit guides practitioners and others in supporting children’s safety, permanency, and well-being through case analysis and corresponding interventions tailored to them and to their biological and resource families. This comprehensive training curriculum is twice the size of the first edition and includes a Trainer’s Guide, Appendices, Slidekit, Participant Manual, Supplemental Handouts, recommended reading and resources, Comprehensive Guide, and an accompanying CD-Rom.
While designed for a US audience, this toolkit provides valuable information and resources to practitioners and professionals in the field of child welfare that may be relevant in many different settings and regions of the world. The Toolkit is designed to be facilitated by someone who is familiar with the field of child welfare, but not necessarily with the specific area of child traumatic stress. The Toolkit takes advantage of what is already known about children by child welfare workers, and builds upon this. The trainer encourages the trainees to draw examples from the real world, as well as participate in role plays and small group exercises. Individuals may access the toolkit and training materials for free by registering with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and submitting a questionnaire on their website.
©funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)