On September 26, thanks to grant funding from Loudoun Non-Profit grants, the first Trauma-Informed Community Network (TICN) meeting was called to order at HealthWorks for Northern Virginia in Loudoun County and facilitated by SCAN. The Loudoun community has been making great strides in integrating trauma-informed care in the community and SCAN is excited to help steward […]
Earlier this month, SCAN held an all-day workshop focused on parental trauma, mental health challenges, and substance use and their impact on children and families. With support from the Northern Virginia Health Foundation, we hosted nearly 100 professionals and advocates to learn more about how trauma relates to mental health, alcohol and substance use and […]
As a leader in the prevention of child abuse and neglect in Northern Virginia, SCAN is dedicated to educating the community about the scope, nature, and consequences of child abuse and neglect. The separation of immigrant parents from their children after they have crossed the U.S. border “is a form of child abuse,” said Dr. […]
Have you explored our trauma informed care resources for parents? You’ve heard us talk about this topic from a direct child services perspective (see our blog post here), as well as an advocacy perspective (such as this blog we re-posted from Voices for Virginia’s Children) as it relates to legislation. But how do we change whole organizations to better […]
It’s “crossover” week in the General Assembly — a time of transition when the Senate and House of Delegates exchange bills for review in the opposite house. Voices for Virginia’s Children has shared a few great updates, and we’re passing them along to our readers: • Trauma-Informed Care Action Alert This year Voices’ legislative agenda targets investments in […]
This week, I had the honor of co-presenting a day-long workshop entitled The Cost of Caring. It is a workshop designed by the Trauma-Informed Community Network in Fairfax County. The workshop focuses on human service providers and not just to provide resources and guidance, but to give them a chance to leave work behind and do kind […]
Vicarious trauma. Compassion fatigue. Secondary traumatic stress. Burnout. These are all things that those of us working in helping professions experience. There are some similarities between the four but there are also many differences. Recently, over 80 “helpers” shared a day together, learning about everything from the basics of trauma to how to cope with the effects […]
In recent weeks, children and parents across the country have faced hurricanes and wildfires. Families in some cities have seen racially-motivated violence on their streets. Just this week, a school in Washington state was the site of another mass shooting. When a child is affected by events like these, what can we do to help? Knowing how to define […]
Last month, Voices for Virginia’s Children published an important blog post about state-wide collaboration and its impact on children who have experienced trauma. They shared three states we can watch for best practices and policy, and we’re re-posting their thoughts today as we continue the discussion about Trauma Informed Care (listen to our recent radio show on […]
On October 5, SCAN—with support from LAWS (Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter) and its Loudoun Child Advocacy Center—brought together 129 local human service providers to hear Dr. Chris Wilson talk about The Neurobiology of Trauma. This relatively new approach allows those of us who work with children (including law enforcement, school staff, social workers and foster parents) to […]