Brief
This webpage provides tips for talking with children about sexual assault. The key is to start these conversations when your kids are young. Conversation starters are provided for talking with younger children and teenagers.
Fact Sheet, Brief
Children and youth who have been abused or neglected need safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments to recover from the trauma they've experienced. If you are parenting a child or youth with a history of abuse or neglect, you might have questions about the impacts and how you can help your child heal. This factsheet is intended to help parents (birth, foster, and adoptive) and other caregivers better understand the challenges of caring for a child or youth who has experienced maltreatment and learn about available resources for support. (Author abstract)
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Training Materials This webinar series covers current issues in family system assessments and family level interventions, including parent-child and inter-generational treatments, as well as important concepts such as family resilience and complex adaptations to trauma, family engagement, family centered care, and shared decision-making in the treatment processes. Experts discuss research focused on adapting trauma evidence based practices for family trauma contexts (i.e. domestic violence, intrafamilial trauma, intergenerational trauma, etc.) and strategies to work with multilingual and partially-acculturated…
Brief
This brief explains the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) is a developmentally sensitive, neurobiology- informed approach to clinical problem solving, NMT is not a specific therapeutic technique or intervention, and NMT is an approach that integrates core principles of neurodevelopment and traumatology to inform work with children, families, and the communities in which they live. The three key components of the Neurosequential Approach are reviewed and include training/capacity building, assessment, and the specific recommendations for the selection and sequencing of therapeutic,…
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Training Materials Real Life Heroes® (RLH) is a treatment program that supports the development of safety and attachment needed for reintegration of traumatic memories experienced by children and their caregivers. RLH has been successfully implemented in a wide range of child and family service, educational, and mental health treatment programs for 15 years and was specifically designed for treatment of children and families with Complex Trauma. RLH provides practitioners with easy-to-use tools, including a life storybook and practitioner’s manual (RLH Toolkit) with multi-sensory creative arts activities and…
Brief
This mixed-method evaluation examined five community-based initiatives in Washington State intended to prevent child maltreatment and exposure to toxic stress, mitigate their effects, and improve child and youth development outcomes. The study had two phases. During the first phase (2013–2014), the research team assessed operational contexts, strategies used to increase community capacity to prevent ACEs, and impact at the county level. In the second phase (2015–2016), the researchers examined the extent to which sites developed capacity to achieve their goals, and the relationship of select…
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Training Materials Public health nurses at Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) developed this toolkit for caregivers of children. Caregivers are defined broadly to include parents, grandparents, child care providers, teachers, and others who care for children daily. Recent advances in the understanding of how early childhood experiences shape the way the brain works over the lifetime reveal just how critically important the job of caring for children is. It turns out that the brain grows and develops differently in response to nurturing versus traumatic environments.This toolkit is intended to support…
Brief
Designed for programs seeking to engage men and fathers, this brief explains the impact exposure to violence can cause on children and the harm that can result unless they receive support to help them cope and heal. The warning signs of exposure to violence are listed for children ages 5 and younger, children ages 6-12 years, and teenagers ages 13-18. The importance of fathers' engagement with their children to prevent and reduce the impact of exposure to violence is stressed, and the following recommendations are made for programs for engaging fathers: develop protocols to response…
Brief
This brief explains families affected by co-occurring intimate partner violence (IPV) and substance use face unique and interconnected needs and identifies promising practices and programs to meet the needs of these women and children. It begins by discussing the prevalence of IPV and substance abuse and the consequences of IPV, including health concerns and mental health concerns. Links between IPV and substance abuse are explored, and the impacts of IPV and parental substance use on children are then described. The following part of the brief outlines best practices for assessing…
