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Building Trauma Informed State Systems in Michigan

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Building Trauma Informed State Systems in Michigan

The Road Map to Trauma Informed State Systems project focuses on increasing the trauma responsivity of Michigan’s state systems. This includes facilitating a collaborative network of state employees, contractors, and other stakeholders who are engaged in adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), trauma, and toxic stress-related work.

Those involved with the project seek to create more equitable outcomes in programming that can reduce the negative effects of ACEs on social determinants of health with the intention of leading to improved overall health outcomes, decreased genetic and behavioral implications related to ACEs, and a lower occurrence of new ACE incidents among adults.

As part of the objectives for the Road Map to Trauma Informed State Systems project, participants collaborate within teams to provide educational concepts and practical strategies that support units in advocating for — and creating — a more trauma-responsive state system by:

  • Increasing the trauma responsivity of human services and related state programming;
  • Increasing staff engagement and staff satisfaction at all levels, decreasing secondary trauma and trauma fatigue, improving quality of work performance, and decreasing staff turnover; and
  • Ensuring that state-provided services are accessible, responsive and effective for individuals regardless of their ACE levels or traumatic experiences.

To learn more about the The Road Map to Trauma Informed State Systems project and how you can get involved, please e-mail us at MDHHS-NEARCollaborative@michigan.gov.
 


Trauma Informed Ambassador Program

In FY25, funding provided through the State of Michigan’s Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) was used to complete the development of the Trauma Informed (TI) Ambassador Program.

In partnership with the Corporation for a Skilled Workforce, the State of Michigan NEAR Collaborative provides training and coaching through the Trauma Informed Ambassador Program. This program supports staff and units/teams in advancing through the Road Map for State TI Systems.

TI Ambassadors engage in training sessions to deepen content knowledge, action labs to practice behavior change, and develop an action plan to cultivate more trauma-responsive and resilience-building cultures, programs, and services within their departments and agencies. The project includes monthly training sessions and action labs, as well as action planning and implementation between sessions. The five core training sessions include:

  1. Introduction to Trauma and Resilience
  2. Cultivating an Organizational Culture of Trauma-Responsiveness and Resilience-Building
  3. Be a Trauma-Informed and Resilience-Building State Agency Administrator
  4. Secondary Trauma and Resilience
  5. Racial Trauma, Healing, and Resilience

Would you like to know more about the Trauma Informed Ambassador Program? Email us at MDHHS-NEARCollaborative@michigan.gov.