By Whitney Marris, Trauma Therapist and Director of Trauma-Informed Practice & System Transformation
NOTE: The enclosed is sample legislation from CTIPP’s 2022 Trauma-Informed Policy Development Highlights. It is meant to be educational and aspirational for trauma-informed advocacy.
Sample Legislation: Louisiana House Bill 921
CTIPP Policy Dimension: Support healthy, resilient, and thriving families (30% of trauma-informed bills ITTIC analyzed were aligned with this dimension)
Summary: This Republican-led measure, which became law in June of 2022, creates and outlines implementation guidelines for pilot programs that integrate education on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) into outreach to parents, legal guardians, and other relevant caregivers of children who engage with early childhood centers.
Such outreach includes information, education, and resources about ACEs, the effect such experiences can have across the lifespan, and the intergenerational nature of trauma and ACEs in families. The bill notes the significance of building family-level awareness and resiliency in efforts to mitigate cycles of trauma and adversity and also tasks the Department of Education to explore how to integrate ACEs and related sciences into schools to promote a whole-school, whole-family, and whole-child approach given that school is so often a connection point for families to engage with supports and resources that could enhance wellbeing.
Some key definitions and conceptualizations include a school-wide approach to education and a classroom-based approach to student learning that recognizes the signs and symptoms of ACEs in students, families, and staff and responds by integrating knowledge about trauma-informed ACEs policies, professional learning, procedures, and practices to address the long-term effects of ACEs on a student's cognitive functioning and their physical, social, emotional, and mental well-being.
Explore CTIPP’s 2022 Trauma-Informed Policy Development Highlights
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