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Attention to the need for a traumainformed systems approach to child well-being has grown in the past decade. Technology has the potential to improve how child welfare agencies implement trauma-informed systems reform. As new technological innovations emerge to support and sustain the implementation of trauma informed practices, broad dissemination is imperative (Breyette, 2014). This paper describes the rationale for and details of technological solutions supporting and sustaining the implementation of trauma-informed interventions in three states.
In the past decade, attention to the need for a trauma-informed approach to child welfare has grown (Kisiel, Fahrenback, Small, & Lyons, 2009). Many of the children served by the child welfare system demonstrate trauma symptomatology requiring clinical intervention (Caseneuva, Ringeisen, Wilson, Smith, & Dolan, 2011). Children in out-of-home care (out-of-home care [OOHC]) often struggle with behavioral health, and functional challenges which may be associated with trauma experienced in their family of origin or the subsequent placement experience (Casanueva, Ringeisen, Wilson, Smith, & Dolan, 2011; Horowitz, Hurlburt, & Zhang, 2010).
Obtaining appropriate behavioral health services for youth and families involved with child welfare can be challenging as need often surpasses capacity, and the service coordination between the child welfare and behavioral health systems is inadequate (Cooper & Vick, 2009; Davis, Jinvanjee, & Koroloff, 2010; McCarthy, Marshall, Irvine, & Jay, 2004). Conradi and colleagues note that public child welfare systems lack effective screening procedures to identify the trauma and behavioral health needs of children in out-of-home care, resulting in delayed referral and treatment (Conradi, Wherry, & Kisiel, 2011). A study of Child and Family Services Reviews and Program Improvement Plans from 32 states found that 97% of states did not meet the standard in providing adequate services to meet the physical and mental well-being of the children under their care (McCarthy et al., 2004).
Trauma-Informed Child Welfare Systems
Initiatives designed to promote trauma-informed care (TIC) in child welfare have grown (Ko et al., 2008). Tools, such as Creating TraumaInformed Child Welfare Systems: A Guide for Administrators (Chadwick Trauma-Informed Systems Project [CTISP], 2013a), Guidelines for Applying a Trauma Lens to Child Welfare Practice Model (CTISP, 2013b) and the Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit (National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 2013), have been created to support this work. The professional literature has followed,...