It has been clear that we have experienced a post-pandemic mental health crisis in our youth community and in our country. We also have seen federal and state legislatures propose legislation to prevent and address this crisis and create long-term health, equity and resilience with unprecedented levels of support and funding. We are actually beginning to see the needle move towards growth and momentum, creating trauma-informed awareness and responsiveness.
It is encouraging to see this uptick in integrating trauma-informed, resilience-building, healing-centered, and allied concepts into policy and practice. The new level of priority to trauma-informed care and prevention is very apparent and beginning to take root throughout our nation.
In January of this year, the Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care (ITTIC), which operates out of the Buffalo School of Social Work, created a report tracking 2022 public policy initiatives aligned with the goals, values, and principles of a trauma-informed approach. ITTIC has a very exhaustive website on this research. Accessing their website is very informative.
Their report is about all the proposed legislation state-by-state that occurred in 2022. Each state has their own priorities and some legislation was not approved. However, the fact that it was proposed with many pieces of legislations passed is great momentum for the trauma-informed movement.
In that January report, you can find how your own state is doing in their legislative proposals which may help you direct advocacy and/or funding concerns for your particular state. These kinds of reports are so helpful as we continue to grow in our understanding and support of trauma-informed legislation and available funding for our organizations and systems that deal with individuals who have been impacted by trauma.
