Children and Family Futures offers training and technical assistance to help systems implement trauma-informed care at the systems and practice levels for families affected by substance use disorders. We offer resources, webinars, conference presentations, and site visits on this topic, including trauma-informed care walk-through assessments, which assist agencies to measure how trauma-informed they are by identifying trauma triggers and implementing strategies to mitigate them. We have completed these on-site assessments with six family drug court sites nationwide.

Families affected by substance use disorders who are involved in the child welfare system need a system of care that recognizes the impact of trauma on their functioning and recovery. Evidence-based trauma services should be provided within the context of an organizational culture that avoids triggering or unintentional re-traumatization for both parents and children. In a trauma-informed organization, every part of the organization – from management to service delivery – has an understanding of how trauma affects the life of an individual seeking services.