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1 How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses SAMHSA s GAINS Center | Policy Research Associates, Inc. Participant Materials 1 Participant Materials This section contains the Participant Materials for the training program. These Materials should be printed from the available electronic files to maintain the correct formatting. Additional information regarding accessing electronic files can be found on page three (3) in this Participant Materials section. It can be helpful to organize Participant Materials in a folder. Trainers may choose to supplement these Materials with other information relating to trauma-informed responses; for example, information about local trauma-informed programs or Materials on behavioral health and recovery. Trainers should encourage service providers to distribute relevant Materials about local resources. Be sure to develop and include a Trainer Biography in the Participant folder.

2 Trainers may choose to print Certificates of Completion with the names of participants and other information inserted. Electronic Resources .. 2 Folder Contents .. 3 Agenda .. 4 Learning Objectives/Program Description .. 5 Participant Handouts .. 6 Activity 14 How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses 2 Participant Materials SAMHSA s GAINS Center | Policy Research Associates, Inc. Electronic Resources Some of the tools that support this training are best accessed electronically, such as the resources outlined in the table below. Review these resources for items that can be added to the Participant Folder Content listed on the following page. Online Resources Center for Mental Health Services Center for Substance Abuse Prevention Center for Substance Abuse Treatment Council of State Governments Consensus Project National Alliance on Mental Illness National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information National Criminal Justice Reference Service National Institute of Corrections National Institute on Drug Abuse Office of Justice Programs Partners for Recovery National Center for Trauma-Informed Care National Center for PTSD Community Connections After the Crisis: Healing from Trauma Following Disasters Seeking Safety National Coordinating Center to Reduce and Eliminate the Use of Seclusion and Restraint How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses SAMHSA s GAINS Center | Policy Research Associates, Inc.

3 Participant Materials 3 Folder Contents Clipped to folder Name tag Right pocket Agenda Trainer biography Participant list (optional) Learning objectives/program description Training feedback/evaluation form (on easily identifiable color paper) Certificate of completion Left pocket Activity Packet Module summaries Trauma definitions Electronic resources Select Participant Folder Materials are available electronically for download from SAMHSA s GAINS Center website. These Materials are accessible to certificate holding trainers who have completed the train-the-trainer process. To access these Materials on the GAINS website: Visit Locate the Trauma Training for Professionals box Select the log-in link Enter user name: gains1training Enter password: Trauma_Informed1! How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses 4 Participant Materials SAMHSA s GAINS Center | Policy Research Associates, Inc.

4 Agenda Location Date Start Time Opening Why Learn About Trauma? What Is Trauma? Trauma s Effects Individual Differences Trauma-Informed Responses Trauma-Informed Systems Closing End Time Adjourn There will be a 10-minute break (mid-program) How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses SAMHSA s GAINS Center | Policy Research Associates, Inc. Participant Materials 5 Learning Objectives/Program Description How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses 6 Participant Materials SAMHSA s GAINS Center | Policy Research Associates, Inc. Training Description SAMHSA s GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation, operated by Policy Research Associates, Inc. (PRA), is known nationally for its work in regard to people with behavioral health needs involved in the criminal justice system. Overview Although prevalence estimates vary, there is consensus that high percentages of justice-involved women and men have experienced serious trauma throughout their lifetime.

5 The reverberating effects of trauma experiences can challenge a person s capacity for recovery and pose significant barriers to accessing services, often resulting in an increased risk of coming into contact with the criminal justice system. Objectives How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses is a training program for criminal justice professionals to: Increase understanding of trauma Create an awareness of the impact of trauma on behavior Develop trauma-informed responses Trauma-informed criminal justice responses can help to avoid re-traumatizing individuals, and thereby increase safety for all, decrease recidivism, and promote and support recovery of justice-involved women and men with serious mental illness. Partnerships across systems can also help to link individuals to trauma-informed services and treatment for trauma. Program Participants This highly interactive training is specifically tailored to community-based criminal justice professionals including: Community corrections (probation, parole, and pre-trial services officers) Court personnel Police Other human service providers Learning Objectives Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to: 1.

6 Engage in a positive interactive process 2. Feel safe and comfortable in the learning environment 3. Discuss why criminal justice system professionals should learn about trauma 4. List examples of traumatic events 5. Define trauma 6. Discuss how trauma is often ongoing for many individuals involved in the criminal justice system 7. Describe the pervasive impact trauma can have on an individual s life 8. Describe how the impact of trauma can be experienced throughout life and affect various aspects of functioning and behavior 9. Describe how trauma relates to mental health and substance use disorders 10. Describe how certain behaviors may reflect a person s attempt to survive 11. Discuss how a history of trauma may result in problematic behavior, poor relationships, and justice involvement 12. Describe the cycle of violence as a response to childhood physical abuse 13. List examples of individual differences that may lead to resilience or increased vulnerability to trauma 14.

7 List four things people need in their interpersonal interaction with officers: respect, information, safety, and choice 15. List approaches to responding to behavior 16. In response to who is likely, reply with there should be a universal assumption of trauma 17. List and describe ways in which the criminal justice system may re-traumatize 18. Discuss how to improve policies and procedures to make them trauma-informed 19. List three key steps for moving toward trauma-informed policies and procedures How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses SAMHSA s GAINS Center | Policy Research Associates, Inc. Participant Materials 7 Participant Handouts How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses 8 Participant Materials SAMHSA s GAINS Center | Policy Research Associates, Inc. Training Module Summaries Responses to traumatic events vary and, for some, trauma may disrupt their lives.

8 This appears to be the case for justice-involved women and men, who have very high rates of trauma. When justice professionals learn about trauma, they can respond in ways that avoid re-traumatizing, ensure safety of all, reduce recidivism, and promote recovery. Learning about trauma helps to ease management, helps keep people out of the justice system, and helps staff do their jobs. When responding to someone, it is important to keep in mind that how we think about an issue will affect how we react or respond to it. Understanding trauma can shape our responses. Recall: Based on prevalence estimates, it is safe to assume that everyone who comes into contact with the justice system has a history of trauma, so criminal justice professionals should take universal precautions. Individual trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual s functioning and physical, social, emotional or spiritual well-being.

9 Trauma can be precipitated by powerful life events such as physical or sexual abuse, violence, natural disasters, historical trauma or combat. Trauma is an individualized response when an event exceeds the individual s perceived ability to meet its demands. Trauma is pervasive, re-shaping a person s worldview and affecting all aspects of life including health, self-esteem, behavior, and functioning. Recall: Trauma is the combination of Event, Experience, and Effects. The impact of trauma is experienced throughout life and its affects are pervasive, altering various aspects of functioning. People who experience trauma may have overwhelming feelings of fearfulness, powerlessness, anger, or extreme emotional pain. Trauma survivors try to figure out how to best avoid getting hurt again. They cope and survive by adopting behaviors that may be problematic for functioning in the world. They may abuse alcohol and drugs to suppress feelings and memories; they may become aggressive in what they perceive to be self-defense even when there is no real threat; they may isolate themselves because it feels safer to be alone.

10 Even after the abuse stops, it may be difficult to relinquish these survival mechanisms. Survivors often experience poor relationships because they have learned not to trust, to tell lies, and sex has been associated with violence rather than intimacy. The symptoms of trauma and symptoms of other mental health challenges can overlap. Recall: The coping behavior of trauma survivors can be problematic and it is often associated with criminal actions. When criminal justice professionals understand that many behaviors result from trauma, they can respond in a trauma-informed way. Trauma-informed responses can help increase safety for all. Module 2 What Is Trauma? Module 3 Trauma s Effects Module 1 Why Learn About Trauma? How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses SAMHSA s GAINS Center | Policy Research Associates, Inc. Participant Materials 9 Responses to powerful life events may vary based upon individual differences.