According to the American Psychological Association, approximately half the children in the United States experience some type of trauma during their childhood. Yet many who work with young children lack the necessary knowledge, skills, or tools to effectively serve this population, and few resources on trauma-informed practices exist to support them.

WestEd’s Trauma-Informed Practices in Early Childhood Education (TIP-ECE) service is designed to address this challenge by helping educators:

  • Become informed about and sensitive to trauma and its effects on brain development and behavior
  • Gain the knowledge and skills needed to promote caring and responsive programs for children impacted by trauma

“The unique aspect of our work is that we have designed professional development modules for the field of early childhood education,” says Julie Nicholson, Deputy Program Director of WestEd’s Center for Child & Family Studies. “Resources exist related to trauma for young children, but they have been developed and implemented primarily within a clinical model by clinicians. Our approach is unique as we have developed TIP strategies and a TIP approach specifically for early childhood educators.”

The professional development includes several modules covering topics such as compassion fatigue and self-care for the early childhood education workforce, the impact of trauma on children’s brain development and behavior, key trauma-sensitive strategies for programs serving young children, and building trauma-sensitive and healing organizations.

The service is designed to benefit a wide range of individuals working in early childhood education, including teachers/providers, administrators, policymakers, advocates, and infrastructure staff.

Learn more about Trauma-Informed Practices in Early Childhood Education.