Expanding the Trauma-Informed Care Measurement Toolkit: An Evaluation of the Attitudes Related to Trauma-Informed Care (ARTIC-45) Scale with SUD Workers in PIMH.

Human service organizations (HSO) have increasingly recognized the value of employing trauma-informed care (TIC) in a variety of practice settings. Evidence suggests that effectively adopting TIC has shown client improvements. Organizational barriers to TIC implementation, however, exist. To improve TIC practice, the attitudes related to trauma-informed care (ARTIC) scale was developed to measure staff attitudes and beliefs towards TIC. The ARTIC has been widely adopted by researchers without evaluating its psychometric performance in diverse practice settings. The purpose of this study was to independently validate the ARTIC scale drawn from a sample of staff (n = 373) who provide services to substance-using parents. Psychometric tests were conducted to evaluate how the ARTIC performs with our HSO population. Results from a confirmatory factor analysis showed poor fit (X2 = 2761.62, df = 2.96; RMSEA = 0.07 [0.07, 0.08]; CFI = 0.72). An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to analyze how the data fit with our specific population, yielding 10 factors. Finally, a qualitative inter-item analysis of these factors was conducted, resulting in nine factors. Our findings suggest that measuring TIC attitudes and beliefs may vary according to field of practice and ethno-racially diverse workers. Further refinement of the ARTIC may be necessary for various services domains.

Frontline Staff Characteristics and Capacity for Trauma-Informed Care: Implications for the Child Welfare Workforce.

BACKGROUND: Improved understanding of the lasting ways trauma can impact self-regulatory and relational capacities have increased calls for Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) for child welfare-involved families. Little is known, however, about how the attitudes and characteristics of frontline workers impact the implementation of TIC and job retention. This work fills an important gap in knowledge regarding the relationship between staff relational capacities, the implementation of TIC and staff retention. OBJECTIVE: To understand the relationship between staff characteristics, endorsement of TIC and intent to turnover. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Three child and family serving agencies surveyed 271 staff from a populous Northeastern state. METHODS: Regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between staff characteristics, Attitudes Related to Trauma Informed Care (ARTIC) score, and intent to turnover. RESULTS: Higher levels of staff rejection sensitivity was associated with lower endorsement of Principles of Trauma-Informed Care (p < .05). Lower staff alignment with principles of TIC was associated with higher levels of intention to turnover and leave their organization (p < .05). CONCLUSION: Staff histories of relational loss and trauma may impact both workforce buy-in and readiness to implement TIC. Therefore, identifying staff sensitivity to rejection in the hiring process or after hire, and providing specific supports, such as reflective supervision, may enhance both service delivery and staff experiences' of their work. Additionally, using the ARTIC scale in the hiring process may also reduce staff turnover and burnout. Attending to staff relational characteristics is a critical component of promoting worker resilience.

Innovations in Child Welfare Interventions for Caregivers with Substance Use Disorders and Their Children.

Families who enter the Child Welfare System (CWS) as a result of a caregiver's substance use fare worse at every stage from investigation to removal to reunification (Marsh et. al 2007). Intervening with caregivers with Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) and their children poses unique challenges related to the structure and focus of the current CWS. Research demonstrates that caregivers with SUDs are at a greater risk for maladaptive parenting practices, including patterns of insecure attachment and difficulties with attunement and responsiveness (Suchman, 2006). Caregivers with SUDs have also often experienced early adversity and trauma. However, traditional addiction services generally offer limited opportunities to focus on parenting or trauma, and traditional parenting programs rarely address the special needs of parents with SUDs. This article details four innovative interventions that integrate trauma-informed addiction treatments with parenting for families involved in the child welfare system. Common mechanisms for change across programs are identified as critical components for intervention. This work suggests the need for a paradigm shift in how cases involving caregivers with substance use disorders are approached in the child welfare system.