USICH Blog
Trauma Informed Care Archive
10/19/2012 - What We’re Talking About: The Week at USICH - October 15-19
Los Angeles County Makes a Smart Move for Ex-Offenders 
As noted in the most recent USICH newsletter, the importance of connecting ex-offenders to safe, stable housing is a key element in successful reentry. In a few months, Los Angeles County Housing Authority, will allow ex-offenders on parole or probation who are also experiencing homelessness to be eligible for vouchers under the long-running homeless set-aside. This move will enable access to the nearly 22,000 vouchers for ex-offenders who are experiencing homelessness – a large group of individuals in Los Angeles County and individuals who face many barriers to housing stability.
The Los Angeles Times notes the importance of this change
Interested in reentry issues like this one? Take a look at our newsletter
05/30/2012 - Checklist: Ten Principles of Care for Families and Children Experiencing Homelessness
According to America’s Youngest Outcasts 2010, a report by The National Center on Family Homelessness, more than 1.6 million, or one in 45 children in America, experience homelessness each year. Family homelessness is increasing in all parts of the country and families represent an ever growing sub-set of the overall homeless population. 
Most homeless families have experienced extreme poverty and violence, have been unstably housed, and have limited education and work histories. Service providers can better serve homeless families and help mitigate the devastating impact of homelessness by implementing ten basic principles of care. Does your organization implement these principles when serving homeless children and families?
05/02/2012 - Trauma-Informed Care for Women Experiencing Homelessness and their Children
Today, USICH highlights the issue of trauma-informed care, particularly from the angle of trauma-sensitive programming. While it is absolutely critical to understand the impact of traumatic events
past and present on an individual's ability to rebuild, it is equally important to think about how an organization structures and operates its programs to take trauma sensitivity into consideration. How are staff expectations set and how does professional development occur? What are the program rules, why do they exist, and how are they enforced? How do programs build trust with families when it might be perfectly natural for a family not to trust the program right away?
