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What Trauma-Informed Care Actually Means — And What It Isn't

Colorado's juvenile system overhaul went into effect this month. Governor Jared Polis signed the measure in March; it became law in August. The new statute mandates trauma-informed care, individualized treatment plans, therapy, and reentry-focused programming for youth offenders. Trauma-informed care. That's the phrase that's supposed to change everything. Here's what it actually means, and what I know it isn't. The Mandate The Colorado law requires facilities to operate from an understanding that most kids in the system have already been hurt — by adults, by other kids, by circumstances that were never in their control. Trauma-informed care means staff are trained to recognize that a kid who can't sit still, won't make eye contact, or flinches when you move too fast isn't being defiant. They're responding to what was already done to them before they arrived. It means asking "what happened to you" before assuming "what's wrong with...

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