CA Surgeon General’s trauma-informed training now live

Association of California School Administrators

September 4, 2023

The following was written by Julie Rooney, director of communications, Office of the California Surgeon General.

Educators, early care providers and other school personnel all play a critical role in supporting our children and youth. That’s why it’s so important to continue to give them tools and resources to help our young people manage stress and achieve the healthiest version of themselves. One of these news resources, from the Office of the California Surgeon General, is now live at osg.ca.gov/safespaces.

Safe Spaces: Foundations of Trauma-Informed Practice for Educational and Care Settings is a free, online training designed to help educators, school personnel and childcare providers respond to trauma and stress in children and nurture trauma-informed environments.

The training was made possible with funding from the California Children & Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) and was developed in collaboration with experts in education, youth mental health and Adverse Childhood Experiences research. California is prioritizing youth mental health by investing in the CYBHI and expanding resources to enhance and extend mental health services at schools. In the meantime, this self-paced training can also help fill in gaps and support those who are seeking more foundational training about how stress and trauma can impact a child’s ability to learn

Safe Spaces engages the learner with case examples, strategies, videos and practices — each varied according to the developmental stage served. Each lesson focuses on helping the learner understand four key concepts:

Their role in promoting resilience and healing.
How individuals experience stress and trauma.
The collective conditions for health and well-being.
The role of systems in supporting health and well-being.

The training includes three learning modules for ages 0-5, 5-11 and 12-18 and will be available in English and Spanish. All individuals who complete the training will receive a certificate of completion from the California Surgeon General.

To stay updated on Safe Spaces and other efforts of the California Surgeon General, sign up for the OSG Newsletter at https://osg.ca.gov/contact.