A growing body of research demonstrated that trauma has major impacts on a community’s overall wellbeing, is widely prevalent, and is associated with poor individual outcomes.  The Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) integrated trauma-informed-principles into its policies, practices, environments, and services to improve the health and wellness of the community and staff. To build on HHSA’s capacity for trauma-informed approaches the Trauma Informed System Integration team (TISI) was formed in 2014.  Since 2014, TISI has influenced internal and external stakeholders and continues to expand their reach.

In 2022, TISI presented to the D&I Executive Council to integrate trauma informed approaches into the County’s efforts in equity, diversity, and inclusion. Although, trauma may happen to anyone, it is experienced differently among populations that have faced generational trauma worsened by systemic bias and racism. Promoting equity through trauma- informed- approaches necessitates acknowledging the systems that have led to trauma and exploring ways to address fundamental systems change. Being trauma informed means we can engage each person from their unique perspective, and this enhances and solidifies our work in equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Successes

The following selected highlights are a result of TISI’s continued outreach and collaborative efforts to train, support, and increase awareness of trauma-informed approaches throughout the County.

Key Accomplishments for fiscal year 21-22:

(TISI officially expanded beyond HHSA in January of 2021, when facilitation of the committee was coordinated between Probation and HHSA.  By July of 2021, the TISI Committee included Parks and Recreation, Human Resources, County Contracts, and Fiscal staff.)

• Mental Health First Aid Training for all HHSA was implemented in 2016, as of June 2022 6,930 staff have completed this course
• Growing Resiliency within a Trauma-Informed Lens a County wide (eLearning), as of May 2022 over 26,000 staff have taken the training since it began in 2018
• Compassionate Leadership through a Trauma informed Lens Tool kit was created by The Knowledge Center to support leaders in engaging their teams
• The TISI team was created in 2014 by HHSA leadership and in 21-22 expanded beyond HHSA to be inclusive of all County Departments

Next Steps:

Fiscal year 2021-2022 was a productive year for trauma informed efforts across the County. With continued investment in strengthening our trauma informed system, TISI plans to build on existing efforts and leveraging relationships with our community partners to further establish a trauma informed culture.

Highlights for this include:

• Sharing Trauma Informed Resources throughout County Departments to inform, support, and train staff on the guiding values to establish a Trauma Informed Organization.
• Incorporating the Trauma Informed Care Code of Conduct principles into actionable items. The Trauma Informed Care Code of Conduct was created by the San Diego Foundation, the Clinton Health Matters Initiative, and the County to incorporate the voice of children, youth, and families who interact with government agencies and community-based organizations. This document assists in providing expectations on how these individuals should be treated when interacting with these entities.