Trauma is one of the key leverage points that can underlie serious behavioral health problems and contribute to problematic behaviors, life circumstances, and community consequences for many children. Early identification of trauma resulting from Adverse Childhood Experiences is critically important. School‐age afterschool programs, equipped with the knowledge of how to be trauma informed and responsive can play a vital role in not only identifying a need for trauma related intervention and also provide engaging experiences that build positive adaptive skills and social and emotional skills for kids who at the end of their school day may have exhausted their self‐regulation capacity.

Participants will understand the wide spectrum of adverse childhood experiences and the impact these have on the development and behavior of children in afterschool care as well as understand brain development in early childhood through adolescence and the impact of trauma.  Strategies and resources available to afterschool providers will be explored that can be immediately and effectively implemented within the context of the afterschool program.  How to create an afterschool environment and begin to examine individual capacity that builds supportive relationships with children and youth in order for them to acquire self‐regulation and sensory processing skills to manage their life situations will also be covered.

The training provides 15 hours of continuing education and is a Tier 3 training opportunity and supports the YoungStar Curriculum and Learning Environment criteria.

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