Investing in the people who work in the juvenile justice system is a vital component of system-wide improvement. Learn how juvenile justice professionals are using implementation science, reflective leadership, and other tools to make trauma-informed practices the standard for working with youth in the system.

Show Notes & Related Resources

Impact Center at FPG (UNC)

Collaborative for Implementation Practice (UNC)

Reclaiming Futures

GAIN (Global Appraisal of Individual Needs) assessment tool

The Resilience for Trauma-Informed Professionals (R-TIP) Study (Dr. Patricia K. Kerig)

TARGET and T-Care Information Sheet (NCTSN)

Effect of Trauma-Informed Supervision in a Youth Detention Center (CTRJJ)

Secondary Traumatic Stress and Reflective Practice/Supervision (Al Killen-Harvey) 

Differentiating Secondary Traumatic Stress, Burnout, Vicarious Trauma, and Compassion Fatigue (video)

Three Steps to Addressing Burnout (video)

Preventing & Reducing Burnout in an Organization (video) 

In Memoriam: Dr. Maureen Allwood (CTRJJ) 

Contact CTRJJ for more information and resources

Thank you to our guests on this episode:

Michelle, Jasmine, Erika, Dr. Robin Jenkins, Judge Michael Keys, Al Killen-Harvey, Dr. Maureen Allwood, and Aaron

Identifying details of youth and their family members are changed to protect privacy. All interviewees provided explicit consent to be recorded and have their voices and stories shared on this podcast and in accompanying resources and marketing materials. A parent or guardian provided additional consent for interviewees under 18 years old.

Experts at every level of the juvenile justice system - from caseworkers and trauma psychiatrists to country judges and state-level decision-makers - weigh in on how to facilitate system-wide change through collaboration and trust, and how to communicate to youth at every step that someone is on their side and won't let them fail.

Related Resources

Understanding Trauma Exposure in Crossover Youth (CTRJJ)

Thank you to our guests on this episode:

Jordan, Dr. Monique Khumalo, Kim Genis, Tim Wires, Judge Michael Key, Dr. Carly Baetz, Randall Farmer, and Josh Weber

Identifying details of youth and their family members are changed to protect privacy. All interviewees provided explicit consent to be recorded and have their voices and stories shared on this podcast and in accompanying resources and marketing materials. A parent or guardian provided additional consent for interviewees under 18 years old.

For a decade, the Center for Trauma Recovery and Juvenile Justice has led conversations on the necessity of trauma-informed care for youth involved with the juvenile justice system. Now, the conversation has shifted. 

Most in the field no longer need to be convinced that a trauma-informed approach is necessary. How then do we take what we know about the prevalence of trauma for justice-involved youth and collaborate to respond to trauma across the entire system?

In this episode, Dr. Amanda Zelechoski visits a juvenile detention facility to speak with youth about their experiences and give them a direct line to share what they want to see change in the system. You’ll also hear from several professionals working in and alongside the system highlighting why change is necessary and how change is possible.

Thank you to our guests on this episode:

Jasmine, Dr. Julian Ford, Dr. Rocio Chang, Dr. Keith Cruise, Michelle, Aaron, Austin, Zachary, Erica, Dr. Monique Khumalo, Mariah Rooney, Tim Wires, and Dr. Carly Baetz

Identifying details of youth and their family members are changed to protect privacy. All interviewees provided explicit consent to be recorded and have their voices and stories shared on this podcast and in accompanying resources and marketing materials. A parent or guardian provided additional consent for interviewees under 18 years old.

Roadmap for Change dives into the pressing need for transformation within the juvenile justice system—a system that often falls short in meeting the needs of youth. Many of us working in and around the field understand the power of trauma-informed care, but breaking old mindsets and creating true, system-wide change is no easy feat.

Join us as we examine historical and cultural roadblocks that challenge reform efforts and celebrate stories of progress from communities and jurisdictions working to make a difference. Through the voices of youth and their families, we explore the changes they believe would truly support healing and growth. Experts share the latest insights on trauma-informed practices, along with actionable strategies and resources for bringing these ideas to life.

Whether you're a lawyer, judge, mental health professional, probation officer, researcher, or policymaker, Roadmap for Change offers inspiration, evidence, and guidance for those committed to building a more supportive, restorative system for our youth. 

Roadmap for Change is a production of the Center for Trauma Recovery and Juvenile Justice. Funding provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

During safety overviews before a flight, we’re instructed to put on our own oxygen masks first before assisting others. In the same way, as professionals and parents, we have to take care of ourselves before we can continue to care for the children in our lives. To close out this audio series, we’ll hear from several guest experts on what they do to support their own well-being as trauma-care providers.

Learn more about our guest experts on this episode:

Dr. Claudette Antuña

Dr. Archana Basu

Dr. David Corwin

Dr. Bianca Harper

Nicole LaPlena

Dr. Brooks Keeshin

Dr. Joyanna Silberg

Yehudis Stokes

Karen Zilberstein

With our guest experts, we discuss why we need policies that support trauma-informed training and care and what’s at stake if we don’t. We’ll hear from guest experts speaking to specific policy needs in contexts such as medical care, mental health, and online spaces. 

Ultimately, we’ll discuss the foundational need for these laws and policies to be rooted in the community. Whether we’re legislators, policymakers, advocates, or just community members with a voice and a vote, we can work to ensure our laws and policies support the resilience of children in all of our communities.

Learn more about our guest experts on this episode:

Dr. Apryl Alexander

Hernán Carvente-Martinez 

Dr. David Corwin

Jessica Feierman

Dr. Brooks Keeshin

Dr. Michael Salter

Dr. Viola Vaughan-Eden

Karen Zilberstein

Explore resources mentioned in this episode:

Parents Under Pressure: Struggling to Raise Children in an Unequal America by Karen Zilberstein

Communities and collective action are vitally important in maintaining and strengthening our mental health and resilience. In this episode, we hear from several experts on the essential role communities play in fostering resilience in children who experience stress and trauma.

Learn more about our guest experts on this episode:

Dr. Apryl Alexander

Hernán Carvente-Martinez

Jessica Feierman

Dr. Viola Vaughan-Eden

Karen Zilberstein

Explore resources mentioned in this episode:

Healing Ninjas

Brody, G., Yu, T., Chen, E., Miller, G., Kogan, S., & Beach, S. (2013). Is resilience only skin deep? Rural African Americans’ socio- economic status-related risk and competence in preadolescence and psychological adjustment and allostatic load at age 19. Psychological Science, 24(7), 1285–1293.

As a parent, supporting your child day-in and day-out is a lot of work -- especially if your child has experienced or is experiencing stress and trauma. Our guest experts speak to the big and small ways parents and caregivers can help foster resilience in children.

Learn more about our guest experts on this episode:

Dr. Archana Basu

Dr. David Corwin 

Dr. Michael Salter

Karen Zilberstein

Explore resources mentioned in this episode:

Pandemic Parenting

Trauma & Resilience Resources (Pandemic Parenting)

In this episode, we’re focusing on the experiences of youth before, during, and after their interactions with the legal system. We’ll hear from trauma-focused behavioral healthcare professionals who have worked extensively with the legal system: with judges, lawyers, justice-involved youth, and their families. We’ll also hear from a lawyer and a community organizer and their work to reduce and prevent trauma in justice-involved youth.

Learn more about our guest experts on this episode:

Dr. Apryl Alexander

Dr. Sandra Baita

Hernán Carvente-Martinez

Jessica Feierman

Dr. Bianca Harper

Explore resources mentioned in this episode:

Psychosocial Interventions for Traumatized Youth in the Juvenile Justice System: Research, Evidence Base, and Clinical/Legal Challenges (Journal of Juvenile Justices)

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ)

Essential Elements of a Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice System(The National Child Traumatic Stress Network)

In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at clinical training programs for healthcare professionals in many fields: how to make the training more trauma-informed, and how students can best navigate those programs if they’re interested in providing trauma-informed care.

Learn more about our guest experts on this episode:

Dr. Archana Basu

Dr. David Corwin

Dr. Brooks Keeshin

Nicole LaPlena

Yehudis Stokes

Explore resources mentioned in this episode:

NCTSN Learning Center for Child and Adolescent Trauma

APSAC: American Professional Society Abuse Children

ISTSS: International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies

ISSTD: International Society for the Study of Trauma & Dissociation

APA: American Psychological Association - Trauma Psychology (Division 56)

TeachTrauma 

NCTSN Learn: Identifying Critical Moments and Healing Complex Trauma 

“Trauma-Informed Care” (Pediatrics, The American Academy of Pediatrics)

Academy on Violence and Abuse (avahealth.org)

California ACEs Academy