Building Resilience Through Relationships: A Public Health Campaign for Building Resilience in Children in Foster Care in Marion County, Florida

Campaign Theme:

The them for this campaign is “Building Resilience Through Relationship.” It is geared toward caregivers of approximately 635 children in foster care in Marion County, FL, including licensed foster parents, as well as relative and non-relative caregivers and those who have adopted through foster care. The purpose of the campaign will be to introduce caregivers to an evidence-based intervention for children with complex developmental trauma called Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), with a goal of enrolling 150 foster parents into the TBRI Caregiver Training Program.

Products/Purposes:

Three products were created for this campaign: an infographic, a podcast, and a blog post.

Infographic: The infographic was used to illustrate the number of children in foster care in Marion County, as well as the various traumas that have been endured by children in foster care. It also touches on the resulting changes in brain function that are often expressed through aggressive behaviors, tantrums, etc. Additionally, it illustrates the components of TBRI that are used to build resilience in these children and help them to develop the ability to regulate emotions and engage in trusting relationships.

Blog Post: The blog post discusses my personal experience with adopting a child who experienced prenatal trauma. It also touches on why traditional parenting methods may not work for foster and adoptive children who have experienced complex developmental trauma. It further explains how TBRI can be used to bring peace back to the family, while helping the children heal from their trauma and build resilience.

Podcast: The podcast centers around an interview with a foster-turned-adoptive parent who is also a TBRI practitioner in Marion County. We will discuss her experience as a foster and adoptive parent of children who experienced prenatal trauma and how using TBRI has built resilience in her kids and others she has worked with as the Executive Director of the Pearl Project, a local organization that trains caregivers in TBRI.