Danger Signs
The more danger a child or teen has experienced, the more likely different things in the world will be interpreted as dangerous.
The Casey Foundation and the Justice Resource Institute developed ARC Reflections, a training curriculum to develop foster parents and caregivers’ understanding of traumatic stress, increase their own emotional regulation and provide tools to support their parenting skills. The Session Two guide helps facilitators build on earlier content, emphasizing that many challenging behaviors displayed by children and teens make sense when you look at their life experiences. Caregivers are encouraged to explore the lens used by children and adolescents to understand themselves, their relationships and their world.
Every session includes a check-in to increase awareness and engagement of participants; a facilitator checklist of session materials; practice activities and take home log for participants; a representative case study to follow throughout the sessions; and reflective questions for participant growth and understanding.
The experience of trauma, stress and adversity strongly affects many aspects of children’s and teens’ development. Trauma affects how children and teens take in information, the ways they understand themselves and other people, and how they make meaning of their experiences.