Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Mapping “Trauma-Informed” Legislative Proposals in U.S. Congress

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Despite calls for translation of trauma-informed practice into public policy, no empirical research has investigated how the construct has been integrated into policy proposals. This policy mapping study identified and analyzed every bill introduced in US Congress that mentioned “trauma-informed” between 1973 and 2015. Forty-nine bills and 71 bill sections mentioned the construct. The number of trauma-informed bills introduced annually increased dramatically, from 0 in 2010 to 28 in 2015. Trauma-informed bill sections targeted a range of sectors, but disproportionally focused on youth (73.2%). Only three bills defined “trauma-informed.” Implications within the context of a changing political environment are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abram, K. M., Teplin, L. A., Charles, D. R., Longworth, S. L., McClelland, G. M., & Dulcan, M. K. (2004). Posttraumatic stress disorder and trauma in youth in juvenile detention. Archives of general psychiatry, 61(4), 403–410.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ahn, R., Alpert, E. J., Purcell, G., Konstantopoulos, W. M., McGahan, A., Cafferty, E., & Burke, T. F. (2013). Human trafficking: review of educational resources for health professionals. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 44(3), 283–289.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ardino, V. (2014). Trauma-informed care: is cultural competence a viable solution for efficient policy strategies. Clin Neuropsychiatry, 11(1), 45–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Azeem, M. W., Aujla, A., Rammerth, M., Binsfeld, G., & Jones, R. B. (2011). Effectiveness of six core strategies based on trauma informed care in reducing seclusions and restraints at a child and adolescent psychiatric hospital. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 24(1), 11–15.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, C. N., Brown, S. M., Wilcox, P. D., Overstreet, S., & Arora, P. (2016). Development and psychometric evaluation of the attitudes related to trauma-informed care (ARTIC) scale. School Mental Health, 8(1), 61–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker-Blease, K. A. (2017). As the world becomes trauma–informed, work to do. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 18(2), 131–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beidas, R. S., Adams, D. R., Kratz, H. E., Jackson, K., Berkowitz, S., Zinny, A., Evans, A. (2016). Lessons learned while building a trauma-informed public behavioral health system in the City of Philadelphia. Evaluation and Program Planning, 59, 21–32.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blendon, R.C., McMurty, C., Benson, J. & Sayde, J. (2016). The Opioid Abuse crisis is a rare area of bipartisan consensus. Health Affairs Blog. Retrieved February 24, 2017, from http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2016/09/12/the-opioid-abuse-crisis-is-a-rare-area-of-bipartisan-consensus/.

  • Bloom, S. L. (2013). Creating sanctuary: Toward the evolution of sane societies: Routledge, Abingdon

    Google Scholar 

  • Bloom, S. L. (2016). Advancing a national cradle-to-grave-to-cradle public health agenda. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 17(4), 383–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boel-Studt, S. M. (2015). A Quasi-experimental study of trauma-informed psychiatric residential treatment for children and adolescents. Research on Social Work Practice, 1049731515614401.

  • Bowen, E. A., & Murshid, N. S. (2016). Trauma-informed social policy: A conceptual framework for policy analysis and advocacy. American journal of public health, 106(2), 223–229.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Branson, C., Baetz, C., Horwitz, S., & Hoagwood, K. (2017). Trauma-informed juvenile justice systems: A systematic review of definitions and core components. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy. doi:10.1037/tra0000255

  • Burris, S. (2015). Public health law monitoring and evaluation in a big data future. ISJLP, 11, 115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burris, S., Hitchcock, L., Ibrahim, J., Penn, M., & Ramanathan, T. (2016). Policy surveillance: A vital public health practice comes of age. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 41(6), 1151–1173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burris, S., Wagenaar, A. C., Swanson, J., Ibrahim, J. K., Wood, J., & Mello, M. M. (2010). Making the case for laws that improve health: A framework for public health law research. Milbank Quarterly, 88(2), 169–210.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Children’s Mental Health: Traumatic Stress/Child Welfare, 3(1), 27–30.

  • Chilton, M., Knowles, M., Rabinowich, J., & Arnold, K. T. (2015). The relationship between childhood adversity and food insecurity:‘It’s like a bird nesting in your head’. Public Health Nutrition, 18(14), 2643–2653.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clawson, H. J., Salomon, A., & Grace, L. G. (2007). Treating the hidden wounds: Trauma treatment and mental health recovery for victims of human trafficking: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • DePrince, A., & Newman, E. (2011). Special issue editorial: The art and science of trauma-focused training and education. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 3(3), 213–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dinnen, S., Kane, V., & Cook, J. M. (2014). Trauma-informed care: A paradigm shift needed for services with homeless veterans. Professional case management, 19(4), 161–170.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Endres, M. J., Keller, S., Wong, S. Y., & Krahn, K. (2015). Insights in public health: toward a trauma-informed system of care in Hawai ‘i’s adult mental health division. Hawai’i Journal of Medicine & Public Health, 74(6), 213.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fairbank, J. A., & Gerrity, E. T. (2007). Making trauma intervention principles public policy. Psychiatry, 70(4), 316–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The adverse childhood experiences (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245–258.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gatz, M., Brown, V., Hennigan, K., Rechberger, E., O’Keefe, M., Rose, T., & Bjelajac, P. (2007). Effectiveness of an integrated, trauma-informed approach to treating women with co-occurring disorders and histories of trauma: The Los Angeles site experience. Journal of Community Psychology, 35(7), 863–878.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerrity, E. T. (2007). Child trauma: The role of public policy. Focal Point: Research, Policy, and Practice in Children’s Mental Health: Traumatic Stress/Child Welfare, 21(1), 27–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gollust SE. Improving population health in a politicized World: Understanding and overcoming communication barriers 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2017, from https://www.isr.umich.edu/cps/events/Gollust_20160610.pdf.rs.

  • Goodman, R. A. (2007). Law in public health practice: Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwald, R., Siradas, L., Schmitt, T. A., Reslan, S., Fierle, J., & Sande, B. (2012). Implementing trauma-informed treatment for youth in a residential facility: First-year outcomes. Residential Treatment for Children & Youth, 29(2), 141–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, M. E., & Fallot, R. D. (2001). Using trauma theory to design service systems: Jossey-Bass, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodgdon, H. B., Kinniburgh, K., Gabowitz, D., Blaustein, M. E., & Spinazzola, J. (2013). Development and implementation of trauma-informed programming in youth residential treatment centers using the ARC framework. Journal of Family Violence, 28(7), 679–692.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hopper, E. K., Bassuk, E. L., & Olivet, J. (2010). Shelter from the storm: Trauma-informed care in homelessness services settings. The Open Health Services and Policy Journal, 3(2), 80–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Houston, J. B., Spialek, M. L., & Perreault, M. F. (2016). Coverage of posttraumatic stress disorder in the New York Times, 1950–2012. Journal of health communication, 21(2), 240–248.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Howlett, M. (2010). Designing public policies: Principles and instruments: Routledge, Abingdon

    Google Scholar 

  • Howlett, M., Ramesh, M., & Perl, A. (1995). Studying public policy: Policy cycles and policy subsystems. 3: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. (2010). Strategic Plan. Retrieved February 24, 2017, from https://www.istss.org/ISTSS_Main/media/Documents/ISTSSStrategicPlanPrioritiesFINAL1.pdf.

  • Jarrett, V. L., Lhamon, C. (2016). Trauma-informed school discipline and preventing sexual assault. The White House. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2016/09/19/trauma-informed-school-discipline-and-k-12-checklist-and-toolkit.

  • Kagi, R., & Regala, D. (2012). Translating the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study into public policy: Progress and possibility in Washington State. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 40(4), 271–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, U., Boyd, M. A., Valente, S. M., & Czekanski, E. (2014). Trauma-informed care: Keeping mental health settings safe for veterans. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 35(6), 413–419.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, M. M., Ford, J. D., Howard, D. L., & Bradford, D. W. (2010). Assessing trauma, substance abuse, and mental health in a sample of homeless men. Health & Social Work, 35(1), 39–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kindig, D. A. (2015). Can there be political common ground for improving population health? Milbank Quarterly, 93(1), 24–27.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ko, S. J., Ford, J. D., Kassam-Adams, N., Berkowitz, S. J., Wilson, C., Wong, M., ... Layne, & C, M. (2008). Creating trauma-informed systems: Child welfare, education, first responders, health care, juvenile justice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 39(4), 396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Machtinger, E. L., Cuca, Y. P., Khanna, N., Rose, C. D., & Kimberg, L. S. (2015). From treatment to healing: The promise of trauma-informed primary care. Women’s Health Issues, 25(3), 193–197.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Macy, R. J., & Johns, N. (2010). Aftercare services for international sex trafficking survivors: Informing US service and program development in an emerging practice area. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 1524838010390709.

  • Marsac, M. L., Kassam-Adams, N., Hildenbrand, A. K., Nicholls, E., Winston, F. K., Leff, S. S., & Fein, J. (2016). Implementing a trauma-informed approach in pediatric health care networks. JAMA Pediatrics, 170(1), 70–77.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Messina, N., & Grella, C. (2006). Childhood trauma and women’s health outcomes in a California prison population. American Journal of Public Health, 96(10), 1842–1848.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Morrissey, J. P., Jackson, E. W., Ellis, A. R., Amaro, H., Brown, V. B., & Najavits, L. M. (2005). Twelve-month outcomes of trauma-informed interventions for women with co-occurring disorders. Psychiatric Services, 55(10), 1213–1222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ngo, V., Langley, A., Kataoka, S. H., Nadeem, E., Escudero, P., & Stein, B. D. (2008). Providing evidence based practice to ethnically diverse youth: Examples from the Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) program. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 47(8), 858.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Norman, S. B., Wilkins, K. C., Myers, U. S., & Allard, C. B. (2014). Trauma informed guilt reduction therapy with combat veterans. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 21(1), 78–88.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Peck, M. C., & Scheffler, R. M. (2002). An analysis of the definitions of mental illness used in state parity laws. Psychiatric Services, 53(9), 1089–1095.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Perry, D. L., & Daniels, M. L. (2016). Implementing trauma—informed practices in the school setting: A pilot study. School Mental Health, 8(1), 177–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purtle, J. (2014). The legislative response to PTSD in the United States (1989–2009): A content analysis. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 27(5), 501–508.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Purtle, J. (2016). “Heroes’ invisible wounds of war:” constructions of posttraumatic stress disorder in the text of US federal legislation. Social Science & Medicine, 149, 9–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purtle, J., Dodson, E. A., & Brownson, R. C. (2016). Uses of research evidence by State legislators who prioritize behavioral health issues. Psychiatric Services, 67(12), 1355–1361.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Purtle, J., Goldstein, N. D., Edson, E., & Hand, A. (2017). Who votes for public health? US senator characteristics associated with voting in concordance with public health policy recommendations (1998–2013). SSM-Population Health, 3, 136–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purtle, J., Lynn, K., & Malik, M. (2016). “Calculating the toll of trauma” in the headlines: Portrayals of posttraumatic stress disorder in the New York Times (1980–2015). American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 2016;86(6):632–638.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rivard, J. C., Bloom, S. L., McCorkle, D., & Abramovitz, R. (2005). Preliminary results of a study examining the implementation and effects of a trauma recovery framework for youths in residential treatment. Therapeutic Community: The International Journal for Therapeutic and Supportive Organizations, 26(1), 83–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowan, P. J., Duckett, S. A., & Wang, J. E. (2015). State mandates regarding postpartum depression. Psychiatric Services, 66(3), 324–328.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, & Ingram (1993). Social construction of target populations: Implications for politics and policy. American Political Science Review, 87(02), 334–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, &amp, & Ingram. (2005). Deserving and entitled: Social constructions and public policy: SUNY Press, Albany

    Google Scholar 

  • Shern, D. L., Blanch, A. K., & Steverman, S. M. (2016). Toxic stress, behavioral health, and the next major era in public health. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 86(2), 109.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shonkoff, J. P., & Fisher, P. A. (2013). Rethinking evidence-based practice and two-generation programs to create the future of early childhood policy. Development and Psychopathology, 25(4pt2), 1635–1653.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Shonkoff, J. P., Garner, A. S., Siegel, B. S., Dobbins, M. I., Earls, M. F., McGuinn, L., Wood, & D, L. (2012). The lifelong effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress. Pediatrics, 129(1), e232–e246.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sorenson, S. B. (2002). Preventing traumatic stress: Public health approaches. Journal of Taumatic Stress, 15(1), 3–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stein, B. D., Jaycox, L. H., Kataoka, S. H., Wong, M., Tu, W., Elliott, M. N., & Fink, A. (2003). A mental health intervention for schoolchildren exposed to violence: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA, 290(5), 603–611.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminstration. (2016). SAMHSA’s Efforts to Address Trauma and Violence. Retrieved February 24, 2017, from http://www.samhsa.gov/trauma-violence/samhsas-efforts.

  • Sun, J., Knowles, M., Patel, F., Frank, D. A., Heeren, T. C., & Chilton, M. (2016). Childhood adversity and adult reports of food insecurity among households with children. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 50(5), 561–572.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, J., Patel, F., Kirzner, R., Newton-Famous, N., Owens, C., Welles, S. L., & Chilton, M. (2016). The Building wealth and health network: Methods and baseline characteristics from a randomized controlled trial for families with young children participating in temporary assistance for needy families (TANF). BMC Public Health, 16(1), 1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Policy Surveillance Program, Temple University. (2016). The Policy Surveillance Program. Topics. Retrieved February 24, 2017, from http://lawatlas.org/topics.

  • Thoits, P. A. (2010). Stress and health major findings and policy implications. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 51(1 suppl), S41–S53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tremper, C., Thomas, S., & Wagenaar, A. C. (2010). Measuring law for evaluation research. Evaluation Review, 34(3), 242–266.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Trump, D. (2017). Presidential memorandum regarding the hiring freeze. The White House. January 23, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2017, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/23/presidential-memorandum-regarding-hiring-freeze.

  • Wagenaar, A. C., Erickson, D. J., Harwood, E. M., & O’Malley, P. M. (2006). Effects of state coalitions to reduce underage drinking: A national evaluation. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 31(4), 307–315.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Walkley, M., & Cox, T. L. (2013). Building trauma-informed schools and communities. Children & Schools, cdt007.

  • Wiest-Stevenson, C., & Lee, C. (2016). Trauma-informed schools. Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work, 1–6.

  • Wu, L. (2016). US media representation of post-traumatic stress disorder: a comparative study of regional newspapers and national newspapers. Journal of Mental Health, 6, 1–7.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

National Institute of Mental Health 5R25MH080916-07; National Institute of Mental Health 1R21MH111806-01.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Management & Policy, Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health, 3215 Market St., 3rd floor, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Jonathan Purtle

  2. Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech College of Science, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    Michael Lewis

Authors
  1. Jonathan Purtle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michael Lewis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jonathan Purtle.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Jonathan Purtle declares that he has no conflict of interest. Michael Lewis declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 15 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Purtle, J., Lewis, M. Mapping “Trauma-Informed” Legislative Proposals in U.S. Congress. Adm Policy Ment Health 44, 867–876 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-017-0799-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-017-0799-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation