‘We’re Civil Servants’: The Status of Trauma-Informed Care in the Community

ABSTRACT

Trauma-informed care (TIC) in social service organizations means that the organizations operate with the understanding that everyone involved has possibly experienced trauma in their lifetime. This qualitative study examined local service organizations’ usage of the 5 main principles of TIC: safety, trustworthiness, collaboration, empowerment, and choice (as developed by Fallot & Harris, 2006). Ten focus groups (n = 69) and 6 individual interviews (n = 6) with employees from administration through management were interviewed such that almost all facets of each agency were represented. The participants were asked about their agencies’ policies and practices for utilizing the 5 principles of TIC. The results suggest that the vast majority of organizations in this study implemented many of the principles of TIC with clients, though they had not labeled their practices as “trauma-informed.” However, although clients were receiving TIC, some of the principles were neglected as they pertain to staff, such as choice and empowerment. The findings of this study suggest that agencies are unaware of the relevance of TIC as it relates to staff. It is recommended that future research examine whether the use of TIC in agencies prevents “burnout,” high turnover rates, and vicarious traumatization of staff.     

European‐American and African‐American Mothers' Emotion Socialization Practices Relate Differently to Their Children's Academic and Social‐emotional Competence

The current study examines whether the relation between mothers' responses to their children's negative emotions and teachers' reports of children's academic performance and social‐emotional competence are similar or different for European‐American and African‐American families. Two hundred mothers (137 European‐American, 63 African‐American) reported on their responses to their five‐year‐old children's negative emotions and 150 kindergarten teachers reported on these children's current academic standing and skillfulness with peers. Problem‐focused responses to children's negative emotions, which have traditionally been considered a supportive response, were positively associated with children's school competence for European‐American children, but expressive encouragement, another response considered supportive, was negatively associated with children's competence for African‐American children. The findings highlight the need to examine parental socialization practices from a culturally specific lens.     

Serials spoken here: reports of conferences,institutes, and seminars

Abstract

Reports on the Ohio Valley Group of Technical Services Librarians (OVGTSL) Annual Conference, the April 2004 New England Technical Services Librarians (NETSL) Conference, the 2004 Acquisitions Institute at Timberline Lodge, and the 2004 Conference of the North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG).

Reports are from four conferences held in various parts of the United States and cover a wide range of topics. The Ohio Valley Group of Technical Services Librarians program emphasized the relationship between technical and public services. Education, both formal and continuing, was the theme for the New England Technical Services Librarians. Timberline Lodge hosted another Acquisitions Institute featuring sessions on new discoveries. The report on the 2004 North American Serials Group Annual Conference allows Conference Student Grant Award winner Chris Brady to include some personal reflections along with summaries of the sessions he attended.     

Reports of Conferences,Institutes, and Seminars

Abstract

Late winter and early spring of 2009 was a busy conference time for librarians. Some of the conferences held during that time are reported herein: the American Library Association Midwinter Conference, January 23–28; Electronic Resources and Libraries (E&;RL), February 9–12; the North Carolina Serials Conference, March 27; the New England Technical Services Librarians' (NETSL) Spring Conference, April 17; and the Technical, Electronic and Digital Services Interest Group (TEDSIG) Spring Meeting, April 24.     

Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Models,Metaphors and Maps for Applying Theoretical Perspectives to Practice

From Diagnosis to Treatment in Child Psychiatry. Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry. (New York: Jason Aronson, Inc., 1974.)

Psychotherapeutic Approaches to the Resistant Child. Dr. Richard Gardner. (New York: Jason Aronson, 1975.)     

Youth Style: Articulating cultural anxiety

In their everyday efforts to put together how they “look,” adolescents visually capture and articulate complex issues that society finds difficult to express verbally. In this paper we explore these “looks” as one example of youth appearance style and as a reflection of, and an impetus for, cultural anxieties. In doing so we draw on a series of multi‐method field studies conducted over the last ten years. A key feature of these studies has been the involvement of young people themselves as key informants and co‐investigators. Data from these studies can help clarify relationships between youth appearance style and cultural themes of sexuality and violence.