Trauma Informed Care

Healing After Adversity is Possible with the Right Approach

What happens to us matters greatly to our physical and emotional stability, as well as our ability to thrive. Wellpoint Care Network is at the forefront of a healing practice called Trauma Informed Care, which is based on brain science and delivered here by caring and highly-trained staff.

Among those we serve – children, adults and families of all types – there is one common denominator: trauma. Whether it be childhood neglect or abuse; living in poverty or other adversities; historical trauma or racial injustices that still occur today, trauma creates powerful barriers to thriving in our day-to-day lives.

Since trauma is at the core of so many hurdles for so many people, we have made Trauma Informed Care central to our work. We started adopting trauma informed care practices well over a decade ago in child welfare services. Soon, trauma informed care became much more than a practice area: it is an organizational philosophy infused across our continuum of care.

The Proven Power of Being Trauma Informed

At Wellpoint Care, our adherence to the Trauma Informed Care philosophy and practice has been proven to lead to better outcomes in many caregiving and community environments. With this success comes responsibility to share the tenets and teach the methodologies to others who work closely with children, adults, families and communities. When we put those with the most significant barriers to well-being at the center of our efforts, a healing community gathers round. That’s why we train faith leaders, educators, coaches, social workers and human service leaders, police officers and judges and others to apply trauma-informed principles into practices wherever we seek to promote healing and well-being. To date, our trainers, coaches and consultants have trained over 75,000 individuals.

These are just a few of the examples of how Trauma Informed Care drives better outcomes for children, youth, adults, families and communities:

• Child and Family and Well-Being. A three-year research project funded by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, supports our trauma-responsive case management protocol. The study, published in the Journal of Child Custody, found Trauma Informed Care can positively influence outcomes for child-welfare involved children. Read the Research in Brief, “Trauma Informed Care Positively Impacts Child Welfare Outcomes.”

The Importance of a Trauma-informed Approach

Study Shows How Trauma Informed Care Positively Impacts Child Welfare Outcomes

From 2013-2016, researchers followed about 600 children in Milwaukee County’s child welfare system. This study provided quantitative evidence of Trauma Informed Care’s ability to impact the child welfare system. Practicing in a trauma-responsive manner improved placement stability and permanence, and led to better overall staff satisfaction.

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• County Human Services and Law Enforcement. In Racine County, Wisconsin, there had been an upward trend in child welfare cases due to extensive trauma histories experienced by children and families. Wellpoint Care helped embed Trauma Informed Care practices into a variety of county services and programs, including schools, law enforcement and the court system. The desire to address adversity from all angles contributed to a 50% drop in children being removed from their homes.
• Schools. Roughly half of the students at the Vel R. Phillips School have learning or behavioral disabilities, and all have experienced significant adversity in their young lives. All of these factors contributed to a high number of classroom disruptions, including altercations. Wellpoint Care’s Trauma Sensitive Schools training and consultation gave teachers the tools to help regulate students navigating the juvenile justice system and achieved a 75% reduction in classroom altercations.

Training the Trainer

Transforming the Vel R. Philips School

In the two years since their first Train the Trainer session, Vel R. Phillips School has witnessed clear and positive outcomes.

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• Mental Health Services. In Milwaukee County, crisis services are the most common types of mental health care being delivered. At the same time, the greatest need for mental health services is for ongoing, high-intensity care. At Wellpoint Care, our trauma informed approach to mental health helps fill the gaps in Milwaukee and 24 other counties. Our therapists infuse the Neurosequential Model™ (NM), which is a set of tools based on neuroscience, into outpatient therapy, school-based mental health and community-based partnerships.

Task Shifting: The Next Important Evolution of Trauma Informed Care

We are at a pivotal moment in time in the fight against trauma. At Wellpoint Care Network, we believe every person can benefit from being trauma-informed and our experienced group of trainers are here to guide you.  We invite you to learn more about the importance of task shifting in our latest white paper.

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The Science of Healing

Brain science has shown us the importance of our earliest experiences on our overall development. Feeling cared for, being held and hugged are all important foundational building blocks. When children have these building blocks, they are able to thrive and develop to their fullest potential

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Seven Essential Ingredients of Trauma Informed Care

Wellpoint Care developed its own model of Trauma Informed Care, which we call the Seven Essential Ingredients (7ei) of Trauma Informed Care. These ingredients inform everything we do across all of our services.

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