Citation

Connell CM, Swanson AS, Genovese M, Lang JM. J. Trauma. Stress 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/jts.23001

PMID

38193592

Abstract

Despite the prevalence of exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) among children involved with the child welfare system (CWS), trauma screening is not yet a common practice. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of embedding a formal trauma screening process in statewide multidisciplinary evaluations for CWS-involved youth. A retrospective record review was conducted with two random samples of cases reflecting both pre- and postimplementation of formal screening procedures (n = 70 preimplementation, n = 100 postimplementation).

FINDINGS from the record review indicate statistically significant improvements in the documentation of general, χ(2) (1, N = 170) = 18.8, p <.001, and specific, χ(2) (1, N = 170) = 10.7, p =.001, details of children's reactions associated with PTE exposure, as well as increases in providers' recommendations, χ(2) (1, N = 170) = 18.1, p <.001, and referrals, χ(2) (1, N = 170) = 4.5, p =.034, for trauma-focused services. The early identification of trauma-related symptoms may help connect children more promptly to trauma-informed evidence-based interventions, which may avert or mitigate the long-term sequelae of child maltreatment and CWS involvement.

Language: en