This page features a number of external and FFF resources on childhood trauma, responding to trauma and trauma-sensitive schools. Click the "For educators" box below to limit search results to those resources that may be particularly helpful to school personnel. In addition to services and supports at schools, Virginia regional Community Services Boards offer behavioral health services for children and families. Emergency services and crisis response are among the supports offered by CSBs. Local CSBs can be found at https://dbhds.virginia.gov/community-services-boards-csbs .
Trauma Sensitive Approaches for Home and School videos– produced by Formed Families Forward as part of our work with the Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports project. Under 10 minutes in length, each video provides an introduction to critical trauma content.
The videos include:
1) Understanding Trauma
2) Responding to Trauma
3) Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools
Three fact sheets are designed to support the Trauma Sensitive Responses at Home and School video series.
Individual Fact Sheets are available as separate documents, and all three fact sheets in one document. Accessible text versions of all fact sheets are also available in English and Spanish.
Video Series
Fact Sheets for Videos 1 through 3
Video 1 Fact Sheet Understanding Trauma
Video 2 Fact Sheet Responding to Trauma
Video 3 Fact Sheet Trauma Sensitive Schools
Video 1 Fact Sheet Understanding Trauma accessible version
Video 2 Fact Sheet Responding to Trauma accessible version
Video 3 Fact Sheet Trauma Sensitive Schools accessible version
SPANISH Video 1 Fact Sheet accessible version
SPANISH Video 2 Fact Sheet accessible version
SPANISH Video 3 Fact Sheet accessible version
ARABIC Video 1 Fact Sheet
ARABIC Video 2 Fact Sheet
ARABIC Video 3 Fact Sheet
Trauma Sensitive Approaches for Home and School videos– produced by Formed Families Forward as part of our work with the Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports project. Under 10 minutes in length, each video provides an introduction to critical trauma content.
The videos include:
1) Understanding Trauma
2) Responding to Trauma
3) Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools
This webinar was presented live on April 29, 2025, by Dr. Lisa Weed Phifer, NCSP, of Fairfax Co. Public Schools.
The content explored how trauma-informed practices and social-emotional learning (SEL) support student well-being and academic success. The session covered impact of stress and trauma on children, how it can manifest in their behavior, and the importance of creating safe and supportive learning environments. The session highlighted protective factors that foster student resilience and growth. Additionally, Dr. Phifer shared helpful practices at school that teach and reinforce essential skills such as self-awareness, self-management, and relationship building. Practical strategies were provided for parents and caregivers to strengthen these skills and nurture resilience in their children.
Presentation slides for Supporting Student Well Being
Webinar recording
This fact sheet from the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations, this 10 page brief provides guidance to adults working with children who have experienced trauma. It offers specific suggestions for prevention strategies that might be helpful, as well as considerations for actions to take during times of activation or acute stress for young children who have experienced trauma.
Considerations for Working with Children who have Experienced Trauma
Presented at the Loudoun Co. Public Schools Mental Health and Wellness conference on January 27, 2024, this presentation focused on how to regulation and connect with your children, so they feel safe, seen and valued.
Presentation slides
A collection of linked resources for families raising LGBTQ+ children, youth and young adults, and professionals and communities who support them.
FFF Building LGBTQ Awareness and Acceptance webinar training and related resources
Family Acceptance Project LGBTQ Youth and Family resources
The Trevor Project
The National Center for Youth with Diverse Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Expression (The National SOGIE Center)
Originally broadcast live on May 9, 2023, this webinar from FFF’s Renee Myers offered an overview of typical parenting stressors, self-care techniques and approaches for making a self-care plan for the upcoming summer break.
Recording of webinar
Copy of presentation slides
This series of three webcasts from VCU Autism Center for Education, presented by Dr. Ruth Brown, were made available in February, March and April 2023.
Webcast Part 1: The Essential Messages of Trauma Responsive Practices
Webcast Part 2: Understanding Traumatic Stress Responses
Part 3: Trauma Responsive Strategies for the Classroom
On March 8, 2023, FFF hosted a live webinar featuring the new Critical Crossroads videos and other resources. Provided here is a re-recording, that does not include time for the pre-and post-tests or Q & A that were included in the live webinar.
Recording of Critical Crossroads resources webinar March 2023
This infographic from Formed Families Forward’s Critical Crossroads resources overviews the issues around trauma impact on children and youth with disabilities.
Critical Crossroads Infographic
From the National Center for School Safety and the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, this toolkit offers school personnel, families and other stakeholders guidance and strategies for implementing trauma-informed and resilience-oriented schools.
This tip sheet provides parents and allies of youth and young adults with lived experience of a mental health condition tips be able to improve their connection with them. This tip sheet was developed as a collaboration between the family member and young adult advisory boards that work with the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research at University of Massachusetts. The tips are based on advisory board members’ real experiences.
In October 2022, the federal Administration on Children and Families (ACF) issued a Dear Colleague letter offering resources and links for families and professionals supporting children who have been impacted by the loss of parent or caregiver
Dear Colleague Letter
The TREP Project was launched in 2016 with a policy brief on the educational consequences of the chronic toxic stress of living in high crime communities. The TREP Project works to develop the individual and organizational capacity of educators and schools serving children growing up in neighborhoods that have high levels of toxic stress, such as violent crime, concentrated poverty, concentrated foster care involvement, and housing instability.
Affiliated with the University of Chicago, the Project offers professional learning courses, online resources and a Magazine.
TREP Educator website
This fact sheet from the Northern Virginia Family Network, of which FFF is an active member, provides an overview of social emotional learning efforts in the schools. It offers families information about how they can be involved in SEL efforts in their children’s schools.
SEL Fact Sheet
These online modules from the Virginia Department of Education’s Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports project. They are designed for school personnel to support the journey to becoming a trauma-sensitive school.
The six modules are focused on the following topics:
A description of Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), from the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development. TBRI is a an attachment-based, trauma-informed intervention that is designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children. TBRI uses Empowering Principles to address physical needs, Connecting Principles for attachment needs, and Correcting Principles to disarm fear-based behaviors.
This article from NACAC describes the 3-5-7 Model used to treat children and youth.
The 3-5-7 Model is designed to help professionals and parents work with children and youth to address these issues of grief and loss. It is an evidenced-informed, guided practice approach that supports the work of children and parents in grieving their losses and rebuilding their relationships in an effort to achieve well-being, safety, and permanency. The model incorporates theoretical underpinnings from child development, attachment, separation and loss, trauma, family systems, and relationship development.
From the Regional Educational Lab (REL) Appalachia Cross-State Collaborative, several resources from Spring 2020 on Addressing Student and Educator Trauma.
Menu of Trauma Informed Programs for Schools
Common Trauma Symptoms and Strategies for Educators
Resources on Addressing Student and Educator Trauma from REL Appalachia
Trauma-Sensitive Schools Learning Modules from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Tools for supporting elementary and for middle and high school students in self-regulation. From Heather Forbes, Beyond Consequences Institute.
Regulation Tool for Middle and High School
Regulation Tool for Elementary School
This book from LRP Publications, dated 2020, takes a step-by-step approach to addressing trauma as a part of IEP development — from referral to family engagement, report writing, and IEP design and implementation. Authors offer guidance to develop effective, compliant IEPs for these vulnerable students.. The book is available for purchase. FFF has a copy, feel free to contact us to learn more about the book or borrow at our office.
Link to Book, LRP Publications