These core competencies describe the skills and abilities needed to practice trauma informed care with young children and their families
P1. Develop collaborative relationships with children, parents, caregivers and colleagues which include demonstrating care, respect, cultural competence, developmental sensitivity, employing strengths based approaches, maximizing safety for all and opportunities for client/caregiver choice and control.
P2. Provide trauma-informed screening and assessment including obtaining appropriate client and family histories to determine exposure to trauma/childhood adversity and risk and protective factors associated with trauma/childhood adversity.
P3. Demonstrate sensitivity to children’s parents/caregivers who often have unaddressed trauma issues that can impact their ability to help their children.
P4. Facilitate referrals and access to trauma informed and trauma specific treatment services for children and their families as needed.
P5. Demonstrate ability to teach children and parent/caregivers techniques that help children who have experienced trauma including relaxation calming, soothing, and grounding themselves and/or their children and strategies for implementing CAPPD (being calm, attuned, predictable, present and not escalating)
P6. Create environments that are safe, comfortable, and welcoming for all children, families, and staff
P7. Educate parents/caregivers about risk and protective factors associated with trauma/childhood adversity, healthy child development, and assist them with developing tools/strategies to strengthen development
P8. Assist parents/caregivers of children who have been exposed to trauma and childhood adversity to recognize and address their own risk for secondary/vicarious trauma and possible unresolved trauma in their own lives.
P9. Educate and support all staff about the need to recognize and address their risk of secondary/vicarious trauma and how they may be negatively affected by exposure to detailed histories of trauma and adversity.
