On September 20, 2022, Pathways to Resilience hosted a State Policy Roundtable (Roundtable) in Denver, Colorado with leaders from nearly 20 states. The Roundtable convened 35 leaders in health, justice, early childhood, education, and social services to discuss cross-sector approaches for preventing and addressing trauma and promoting healing. In addition to sharing lessons learned, participants identified gaps in policy and infrastructure and opportunities for innovation. The discussion centered on:

  • Foundational principles for promoting trauma-responsiveness;
  • Approaches for navigating political climates and changes in leadership;
  • Strategies for establishing baseline understanding of trauma and resilience for individuals new to the field with a strength-based perspective; and
  • Training the workforce in trauma-responsive healing while recognizing their needs for support, based on their own lived experience and potential vicarious trauma.

Key Takeaways

The following key takeaways and themes emerged during the meeting:

Communities/individuals with lived experience should be included in state policymaking efforts: Communities and people with lived experience must be at the center of healing-focused work to effectively address the structures, policies, and practices that may otherwise perpetuate inequities and racism. Because each community’s demographics, geography, history, and experience of trauma vary, policymakers should fund and scale approaches that are tailored to the communities they serve. Communities know their own strengths and needs; therefore, involving community members in the policymaking process is essential ensuring that the results are responsive to the people being served. Policymakers must also recognize that existing systems can perpetuate trauma and reinforce historic inequities and should work to remedy those harms by meaningfully engaging with affected individuals and communities. Further, community leaders are trusted sources for information and can serve as liaisons or intermediaries between policymakers and the community.

To move towards resilience and healing, education on trauma and toxic stress is needed: Different audiences have varying levels of knowledge about trauma and adversity. Before promoting healing-focused policies and programs, stakeholders must first understand how trauma and adversity affects health and well-being throughout the life course. Roundtable participants highlighted the need for flexible strategies that can be adapted to address community needs, garner support from leaders in the state and community, and recognize the appropriate starting point for education.

True systems change requires cross-sector collaboration: To meaningfully address trauma and adversity, policymakers must break down silos and take a cross-sector approach that engages champions from multiple branches of government, backgrounds, and areas of expertise. Even if they are trauma-informed, programs and initiatives that are difficult to access or are poorly aligned or in conflict with other efforts can impede broader progress toward healing-centered goals. Although funding and statutory or regulatory requirements may have sector-specific and/or narrow objectives, increasing the sustainability and impact of trauma-responsive policies and programs will require leaders to collaborate in creative ways across sectors.

Investment in workforce training and supports is critical: Even the most well-crafted policies and programs will falter if there is insufficient workforce capacity to implement them. Successful strategies require investment in continuous training with practical application to a given work environment to develop a more trauma-responsive workforce. States should also recognize that systems, providers, and staff each come with their own life experiences, which may include personal trauma as well as secondary trauma in the workplace. It is important to provide resources that address employee needs, prevent burnout, and reinforce the principles the organization promotes as both an employer and government agency.

Next Steps

The State Policy Roundtable facilitated connections and conversation among participants and will serve as a springboard for the ongoing sharing of best practices and lessons learned among state leaders. Pathways to Resilience plans to use insights and feedback from the Roundtable to inform a compendium of trauma-responsive policies and programs that will serve as a resource for states and be released later this year. In the meantime, several resources discussed during the Roundtable are now available in the Pathways to Resilience Resource Library.