Statement for the Record for the Public Roundtable

 “The Value of Investing in Trauma-Informed Public Schools and Support Services” The Council of the District of Columbia Committee on Education

June 23, 2015

Elizabeth Prewitt, ACEs Connection Network

Leah Harris, DC Metro Area Trauma-Informed Community Initiative

Thank you Chairman Grosso for the opportunity to submit comments for the record of the Public Roundtable, “The Value of Investing in Trauma-Informed Public Schools and Support Services,” held June 23 in the Committee on Education.  Both the formal testimony and the dialogue about the topic were probing and wide-ranging and should be a good foundation for development of legislation to bring needed reforms and resources to address the prevalence of trauma in the DC community.

The ACEs Connection Network and DC Metro Area Trauma-Informed Community Initiative are part of a movement to prevent ACEs (adverse childhood experiences), heal trauma, and build resilience in individuals, systems, and communities. 

We would like to highlight a resource that could be very valuable as you go forward in the development of recommendations to address trauma in our community.  In addition to the information from Kids Count and the National Survey of Adolescent and Child Health (attached are specific profiles for the District comparing ACEs prevalence with jurisdictions in Maryland and Virginia)*, DC Health Department in 2010 included the “ACEs Module” in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. Additional analysis of the data could be very valuable as enhancement to the existing report and to create a useful baseline for future data collection.  Many states have included the ACEs module in multiple years and have found the ability to track changes over time to be very useful.

We would also like to highlight data that is available on the DC Public Schools gathered by The UCLA Center for Civil Rights Remedies and reported on in an addendum (see pages 25-27) to “Are We Closing the School Discipline Gap?”  The research showed excessive suspension rates in both the elementary and secondary levels in DC and alarming growth in rates between 2009-10 and 2011-12.  Rates in elementary schools rose from 0.9% in 2009-10 to 4.8% in 2011-12 and in high school, rates rose from 8.9% to 20.1% (an increase of 11.3%) during the same time period.  The data demonstrates deep disparities along lines of race, disability status, and ad English learner status.  By documenting these trends, this report should bring a sense of urgency to addressing the need for trauma-informed school policies and procedures in the District.

The new report and testimony of The Children Law Center highlighted the work on trauma-informed schools that is being done in Massachusetts, Washington State and San Francisco.  We would like to bring other state and local initiatives to your attention as you evaluate other models and examine “lessons learned.” The State of Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction has featured the use of Response to Intervention by some school districts in that state and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Basic Education Funding Commission recently urged the Department of Education to devise protocols and measures to identify student in trauma. 

The Whatcom County (Washington State) government codified a “one-tenth of one percent” sales tax for the county to go toward mental/behavioral health efforts specifically in county public school systems.  According to Steven Dahl, a district-level administrator in Washington State, “This effort has resulted in a tremendous (and stable) funding source for districts throughout the Whatcom County region to apply the funds in accordance with best-practices and under the approval of the Whatcom County Health Department.”  Dahl has developed online college accredited course called "Creating Compassionate Schools" which is available nationally through a number of universities.

In addition, we refer you to reports on a Minnesota high school that is using ACE screening and implemented successful trauma-informed practices: 

http://acestoohigh.com/2015/04...-informed-education/

http://acestoohigh.com/2015/04...w-its-my-lifes-work/

Two stories of success at the grade school level in Spokane are also included here: 

http://acestoohigh.com/2013/08/20/spokaneschools/

http://acestoohigh.com/2013/08...chool-in-spokane-wa/

Finally, the Brockton, Massachusetts school district has coordinated with Plymouth County District Attorney’s office to bridge law enforcement and the schools, providing an example of local departments incorporating trauma-informed practices separately and together. 

We are hopeful that these resources and ideas are helpful and offer whatever additional support for your efforts that we can provide.  The roundtable was an excellent start of a citywide effort to address the impact of trauma among students and their families.

* Profiles were compiled by the Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health and are based on data from the Child & Adolescent Measurement Initiative (2014). Nearly one fourth of children in the District have 2 or more ACEs.