WELCOME TO THE WEBINAR WE WILL BEGIN AT
WELCOME TO THE WEBINAR WE WILL BEGIN AT 2 PM EASTERN TIME NATIONAL CENTER FOR HOMELESS EDUCATION - THE SERVE CENTER – UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINAGREENSBORO 1
Supporting Young Children Experiencing Homelessness Series SESSION THREE: EARLY CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AND HOMELESSNESS NATIONAL CENTER FOR HOMELESS EDUCATION (NCHE) https: //nche. ed. gov/ homeless@serve. org
Meet Your Facilitator and Presenter Jan Moore Deputy Director - Technical Assistance National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE) Allison Lowe-Fotos Policy Manager, Illinois Policy Team Ounce of Prevention Fund National Center for Homeless Education - The SERVE Center – University of North Carolina-Greensboro
About the National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE) NCHE operates the U. S. Department of Education’s technical assistance center for the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program. Website: https: //nche. ed. gov/ Helpline: 800 -308 -2145 or homeless@serve. org Products, Webinars, and Listserv: https: //nche. ed. gov/resources/ Social media: https: //nche. ed. gov/contact/ NATIONAL CENTER FOR HOMELESS EDUCATION - THE SERVE CENTER – UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINAGREENSBORO 4
About the Ounce of Prevention Fund The Ounce of Prevention Fund, based in Chicago, gives children in poverty the best chance for success in school and in life by advocating for and providing the highest-quality care and education from birth to age five. Programs Research Policy and Advocacy Training and Professional Development National Center for Homeless Education - The SERVE Center – University of North Carolina-Greensboro 5
JUNE 23, 2020 Early Childhood Trauma and Homelessness Presentation for the National Center for Homeless Education Allison Lowe-Fotos Policy Manager, Illinois Policy Team The Ounce of Prevention Fund
Getting to Know You 7
The Ounce of Prevention Fund The Ounce gives children in poverty the best chance for success in school and in life by advocating for and providing the highest-quality care and education from birth to age five. 8
What We Do Programs Policy & Advocacy Professional Development Research 9
Goals • Gain an understanding of trauma and its relationship to homelessness • Gain an understanding of trauma-informed practice and identify ways to apply this to your work • Learn about best practices, interventions, and resources to address trauma 10
What is Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health? Not this! 11
I/ECMH is…. The developing capacity of the infant and toddler to: – Form close and secure adult and peer relationships – Experience, manage, and express a full range of emotions – Explore the environment and learn …all in the context of family, community, and culture. 12
The Importance of Brain Science 13
I/ECMH Basic Concepts • A child’s development begins and continues within the context of an emotional relationship • Social-emotional skills provide a foundation for all other domains of development • Relationships matter, but so do environments 14
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) The ACES study is the largest of its kind that looks at the health and social effects of ACES over a lifespan. 15
Childhood Trauma • “The three Es”: The experience of an event by a child that is emotionally painful or distressful, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects • 3 levels of Stress Response: – Positive – Tolerable – Toxic • Historical trauma/intergenerational trauma: passed down by generations 16
Toxic Stress Derails Healthy Development 17
What does it look like in young children? • Changes in feeding, toileting, and sleeping habits • Excessive externalizing behavior problems, like crying, biting, tantrums, and aggression • Internalizing behavior problems, like social withdrawal and fearfulness • Regressions to earlier stages of development 18
What does it look like in young children? • S = Sudden changes in sleep habits • C = Crying • A = Afraid of things not feared before • R = Refuses activities s/he once enjoyed • E = Easily startled • D = Displays disruptive, violent, bullying or aggressive behaviors 19
Childhood Trauma and Homelessness • More than one-fifth of homeless preschoolers have emotional problems serious enough to require professional care, but less than one-third receive any treatment. • Homeless children have four times the rate of developmental delays and three times the rate of emotional and behavioral problems of non-homeless children. • By the time homeless children are eight years old, one in three has a major mental disorder. • More likely to experience a traumatic event. • Compromised brain development. 20
Impact of Trauma on Parents and Guardians • Similar difficulties to youth • Difficulty trusting and building relationships with school staff • Increased risk for a number of challenges • Trouble managing stress related to their child’s difficult behaviors • Feelings of embarrassment, shame, fear, or guilt about their own or their child’s behaviors or needs 21
Intersectional nature of homelessness • The child welfare system • Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education • Suspension and expulsion • Families impacted by chronic health conditions • Families impacted by substance use disorders • Children in mixed-immigration status families/undocumented families • Families impacted by incarceration 22
Disproportionality and homelessness • People of color are disproportionately impacted by homelessness, especially African Americans and Native Americans. • Deep poverty disproportionally impacts people of color and their networks of support • Discrimination in housing, employment, health care, and education • Discrimination in the criminal justice system housing and employment barriers • Bias and discrimination in social service system • Intentional efforts must be made to address racism and homelessness 23
Advancing Equity 24
Adverse experiences and other trauma in childhood, do not dictate the future of the child! • Protective factors are characteristics associated with a lower likelihood of negative outcomes or that reduce a risk factor’s impact. Protective factors may be seen as positive countering events. • Risk factors are characteristics at the biological, psychological, family, community, or cultural level that precede and are associated with a higher likelihood of negative outcomes. 25
26
Trauma-Informed Practice • Involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma • Emphasizes physical, psychological and emotional safety for both clients and providers, and helps survivors rebuild a sense of control and empowerment • It’s about asking not “what’s wrong with this child” but “what happened to this child? ” 27
What can I do to help? • Create an environment of safety • Provide adult support • Teach children self-soothing techniques • Build on their strengths 28
What can programs do to help? • Maximize choice and control for participants • Avoid provocation and power assertion • Model prosocial behavior and skills • Maintain clear and consistent boundaries • Share power in the running of activities • Deliver services in a nonjudgmental, respectful, and culturally appropriate way 29
Impact of Trauma on Staff The experience of being physically, mentally, or emotionally worn out, or feeling as if you are carrying students’ traumas “too much alone. ” • Direct exposure to trauma • Compassion fatigue • Vicarious trauma 30
Best Practices and Interventions • Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation • Tiered system of supports • Trauma screening • Specific therapies • Access to reflective supervision & reflective practice groups for staff • Organizational assessments and trauma audits • Trauma-informed social policy 31
How can I apply this to my work? • • Identify homeless children and youth • • • Refer homeless families, children, and youths to appropriate services; • • Mediate enrollment disputes Enroll homeless children and youth in school and early education programs Family engagement; Disseminate information of the educational rights of homeless children and youths; Ensure transportation access Access professional development and other support Ensure unaccompanied youths have opportunities to meet the same standards as other children and youth; and are informed of their status as independent students 32
Resources • National Child Traumatic Stress Network: https: //www. nctsn. org • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): https: //www. integration. samhsa. gov/clinical-practice/trauma • Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University: https: //developingchild. harvard. edu/ • Zero to Three: https: //www. zerotothree. org • IL Childhood Trauma Coalition: http: //lookthroughtheireyes. org 33
Resources • Center of Excellence on I/ECMHC: https: //www. iecmhc. org • Pyramid Model Consortium: https: //www. pyramidmodel. org/ • Zero to Three, Reflective Supervision: https: //www. zerotothree. org/resources/412 -three-buildingblocks-of-reflective-supervision 34
Resources • AIR Trauma-Informed Organizational Capacity Scale and Framework for Building Trauma-Informed Organizations and Systems https: //www. air. org/resource/trauma-informed-organizationalcapacity-scale • National Center on Family Homelessness has developed a Trauma-Informed Organizational Toolkit for Homeless Services https: //communityactionpartnership. com/external_resources/traum a-informed-organizational-toolkit-for-homeless-services/ • WA State’s Compassionate Schools Initiative: https: //www. k 12. wa. us/student-success/health-safety/mentalsocial-behavioral-health/compassionate-schools-learning-andteaching-support 35
Questions? 36
Reflection to take with you How do you see this as applying to your work? Are you seeing anything differently? How do you take care of yourself? 37
Contact Us! Visit our Advocacy Action Center at: www. the. Ounce. org/advocacy Allison Lowe-Fotos alowefotos@ounceofprevention. org 312 -453 -1837 38
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US! Live webinar participants will receive a follow-up e-mail shortly – Link to webpage where you can download handouts – Link to a brief, anonymous online evaluation; once your evaluation is completed, you’ll be directed to a webpage to download a certificate of completion, if desired Contact Information – Jan Moore, jmoore@serve. org – Allison Lowe-Fotos, alowefotos@ounceofprevention. org NATIONAL CENTER FOR HOMELESS EDUCATION - THE SERVE CENTER – UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINAGREENSBORO
- Slides: 39