Trauma Informed Care Training Requirements for Juvenile Probation and Supervision Officers

The Juvenile Justice Training Academy (JJTA) has moved forward with the final steps of implementing Human Resources Code Section 221.006, created via Senate Bill 1356, which was passed during the 83rd Texas Legislative Session (2013). The statute requires all juvenile probation and supervision officers to have Trauma Informed Care training prior to certification or renewal (for existing officers).Currently, this course is required for officers to take only once.  In July 2015, the JJTA sent an email to all departments advising staff that effective September 1, 2015, all new certification requests or renewals submitted would be required to identify the Trauma Informed Care training as part of the application process.  Since Trauma Informed Care has not yet been added to the mandatory topics identified in ICIS, this training will need to be manually entered in on the Trainings Page of the Application and Diane Laffoon, Certification Officer, will be reviewing them.  If you need assistance with this, you may contact her directly at 512.490.7782 or Diane.Laffoon@tjjd.texas.gov.

TJJD’s JJTA continues to assist departments with meeting the requirements of Section 221.006 and provide adequate opportunities for departments across the state to get their staff trained.

• If your department is utilizing the curriculum developed by TJJD, the trainer should have attended one of the Trauma Informed Care Training for Trainers offered.  We want to ensure that staff training this material are adequately trained.  TJJD has hosted a number of Trauma Informed Care Training for Trainers over the last couple of years in an effort to train as many people as possible.
• If your department needs to get trainers qualified to teach this curriculum, TJJD has scheduled another Trauma Informed Care Training for Trainers for December 7-8, 2015.  Additional information can be found here.
• Your department can submit a Training Technical Assistance Request or assist in coordinating a Regional Training effort in which either can contain the Trauma Informed Care Training.  To date, all of the regional trainings across the state have offered the TIC training.

How To Go About Receiving Approval For Utilizing Existing Trauma Informed Care Curriculum

Some departments have advised us that you are being approached by various companies offering their services in regards to Section 221.006 or that you were already using some form of existing curriculum. Many of these companies are offering training courses targeting verbal interventions which, while important, do not meet the intent of this bill. To clarify, the intent of Section 221.006 is to improve our approach with traumatized youth, which comprises a significant majority of the population we serve. When we approach traumatized youth with traditional or generalized approaches, we often contribute to the “trauma-incarceration-trauma cycle”. The difference is not just knowing how to de-escalate a youth in general, but recognizing the impetus of a behavior or response as trauma related. This spurs a more individualized approach. So, while one may use some of the skills learned in a verbal interventions course, staff must also  be able to acknowledge when these strategies are not appropriate and distinguish the unique relation between the behavior and the traumatic experiences and impact those experiences have had for a particular child. In addition to staff learning to recognize trauma related behaviors, a trauma informed care approach also involves helping youth recognize his/her trauma triggers and reactions and assisting them in finding alternative approaches.

The topics required by Section 221.006include:

• The impact of trauma on childhood development;
• The relationship between trauma and behavioral problems, including delinquency;
• How to recognize the effects of trauma in a youth’s behavior;
• How to respond appropriately to a traumatized youth’s reactions; and
• How to manage stress caused by working with a traumatized population (sometimes referred to as vicarious trauma.)

In addition, the nine essential elements of Trauma Informed Care to be established in the curriculum include:

1. Maximize the child’s sense of safety.
2. Assist children in reducing overwhelming emotion.
3. Help children make new meaning of their trauma history and current experiences.
4. Address the impact of trauma and subsequent changes in the child’s behavior, development, and relationships.
5. Coordinate services with other agencies.
6. Utilize comprehensive assessment of the child’s trauma experiences and their impact on the child’s development and behavior to guide services.
7. Support and promote positive and stable relationships in the life of the child.
8. Provide support and guidance to the child’s family and caregivers.
9. Manage professional and personal stress.

The curriculum developed by TJJD contains all of the specific elements described above, however, if your department is already training staff using another curriculum, we will need to approve the curriculum (prior to its use) to ensure that the curriculum covered will be adequate in order to meet the Section 221.006 mandate as outlined above.  Any courses not meeting information outlined above will not be approved.  If you would like to submit the curriculum for approval, please forward the request to Kristy Almager at Kristy.Almager@tjjd.texas.gov and include all related training materials for review.

Please contact Kristy Almager at 512.490.7125 or Chris Ellison at 512.490.7245 if you have any questions or would like to discuss this legislative mandate.