Children who come to the attention of the juvenile justice system are a challenging and underserved population. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network has developed resources to help juvenile justice professionals understand and provide trauma-focused services to these youth. These resources include tools and materials for building skills and increasing knowledge about childhood trauma to help judges, attorneys, law enforcement, probation officers, frontline residential staff, mental health personnel, and caregivers understand and respond to the needs of traumatized children. In addition to the NCTSN resources highlighted below, Justice System Professionals can learn more about creating trauma-informed Justice Systems in the Trauma-Informed Care section of this website.
Helps programs who work with justice-involved youth better understand the steps to take to recognize and respond to the trauma-related needs of youth, family members, and staff working in the justice system.
Provides judges with useful questions and guidelines to help make decisions based on the emerging scientific findings in the traumatic stress field. These bench cards assist judges and court-appointed professionals doing mental health assessment of children.
Provides an overview for juvenile justice staff on how to work towards creating a trauma-informed juvenile justice residential setting.
Describes how young children, school-age children, and adolescents react to traumatic events and offers suggestions on how parents and caregivers can help and support them.
Defines child traumatic stress. This fact sheet gives an overview of trauma, describes traumatic stress symptoms, and ways children may be impacted.
Offers juvenile justice professionals ways to c
Offers front-line juvenile justice staff ways t
Offers administrators and supervisors with guid
Offers juvenile justice professionals informati
Offers helpful questions about safety that judges, legal professionals, and court personnel can ask themselves regarding their work and their personal lives.
Explores ways a juvenile justice professional can improve the impact of their work through family partnering, why family partnership is critical to trauma-informed care, and how partnership can improve a juvenile justice professional’s effectiveness and job satisfaction.
Provides judges with information they need to know about newcomer immigrant youth and trauma. This bench card offers useful questions and guidelines to help make decisions based on the specific needs of newcomer immigrant youth.