The Wisconsin Afterschool Network and Quality Youth Development Consulting is currently wrapping up an 8-city tour of its new 15-hour course about making afterschool trauma-informed. Participants and agency sponsors and advocates are reporting that the course is full of practical ideas and solutions that help not only kids with trauma, but also kids who are experiencing impacts that can be similar to those of trauma, and even those who are not. Graduates say the course has helped them in building their trauma-informed lens with which they can assess their program and their children, and see their role as supporters of improved self-regulation techniques and self-awareness, through modeling, explicit instruction and designing intentional opportunities to practice new social-emotional skills. They report that with this lens, they find themselves listening more to the kids, being more patient and less quick to judgement with them, and are engaging with them in more conversations rather than in solo work.

The Eau Claire community really supported a large number of youth workers who recently took the course, including the local news station which ran this piece.

We have also been running regional Communities of Practice sessions with graduates to support their efforts to continually build trauma-informed practices into their programs with staff. Contact Jennifer Smith, smith.jennifer@marshfieldclinic.org, at the Wisconsin Afterschool Network for more info and to find out if the 2019-2020 tour is coming to a town near you!