Have you read the recently released Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) results? (Check out our coverage of the results for sexual minority students.) Many of the results we see could be mitigated through trauma-informed communities and practices in schools. And as many of our readers might know (oftentimes due to direct participation), in Washington State and notably in King County there has been widespread effort to improve these practices in our schools.
From crisis planning to training on Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and RULER among others, this is a priority in our field and in our community. This summer, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) released materials to help us and our colleagues with these efforts.
Resources from NCTSN include:
- Psychological First Aid for Schools, which can help bolster existing school crisis plans and improve professional development in this area
- Tools to address bullying (including cyberbullying), which is more common among our sexual minority youth as well as youth with disabilities and students of ethnic and/or religious minorities
- Information on evidence-based treatments for trauma and grief
- Tips on how to identify and address signs of staff stress (and for schools to support their staff to do so)
KING COUNTY SCHOOL HEALTH 