Trauma-informed organizational readiness assessment

Abstract

Within the complex context of child welfare policies and practice, child welfare agencies are pushed to adopt and sustain new evidence-based trauma-informed practices. Their readiness to do so effectively, however, needs to be measured and used to inform the implementation processes. Focusing on six not-for-profit agencies that sponsored programs or services under contract with the local child welfare agency, the chapter describes the development and implementation of a trauma-sensitive organizational readiness tool designed to measure agency readiness for trauma-informed practice. The implications of this project include the importance of understanding organizational readiness, the usefulness of trauma-informed measures of organizational readiness for effective implementation of evidence-based models of practice, and the enhanced capacity for field instruction through effective partnerships with schools of social work. Developing the evidence to support organizational change, build organizational capacity, and adopt trauma-informed practices contributes to addressing the many challenges faced by the child welfare system.