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The Importance of a Trauma-Informed Approach in Foster Care

At Fostering People, we support children with trauma from adverse experiences. Our therapeutic fostering and trauma-informed approach help these children heal. But what is trauma, and why is a trauma-informed approach crucial in foster care? Keep reading to find out.

August 1 2024 - 4 min read

At Fostering People, we support children from diverse backgrounds, but one thing they often have in common is trauma from adverse childhood experiences. That's why we are committed to therapeutic fostering and using a trauma-informed approach so children living with trauma can heal.

But what is trauma, and why is a trauma-informed approach important in foster care? Keep reading to find out.

What is Trauma?

Many children in care have experienced prolonged adverse childhood experiences, such as abuse and neglect. These experiences affect each child uniquely and can impact all areas of their life now and in adulthood.

Childhood trauma causes emotional pain and mental health conditions like depression, anxiety and PTSD. There can also be physical symptoms and a reduction in cognitive function, making it more difficult for children with trauma to concentrate, retain memories and learn new things.

When ignored or left untreated, childhood trauma can lead to a lack of fulfilment when they reach adulthood. It may also lead them to fall behind their peers at school and, in the future, make it difficult to form relationships and impact employment.

All is not lost; we can mitigate the impacts of trauma by using a trauma-informed approach in foster care, giving children with trauma hope and a brighter future.

What Does Trauma-Informed Mean?

The trauma-informed approach means understanding children living with trauma and how it can impact all areas of their lives. It's about being mindful of triggers and providing a safe and stable foster home where they can freely express their emotions and be themselves.

Through a combination of this and collaboration with enhanced communities of support, children can begin to recover from their trauma and reach their full potential.

Safety and Stability

Recovery can only begin if children have a safe and stable home. A safe and stable home protects and promotes children's physical, mental, spiritual and emotional well-being. It's a platform for children to discover themselves, build relationships, find educational fulfilment, and feel empowered to succeed.

At Fostering People, we ensure the best matches between foster families and children by truly getting to know everyone. By doing so, we nurture the whole family and provide children with homes where their triggers are understood and alleviated so they can heal.

Building Trust Through Understanding

Another crucial aspect of the trauma-informed approach involves taking the time to look beyond the behaviour of children living with trauma. It means slowing down your response so you can recognise their triggers and understand their inner world; this helps you provide appropriate support.

At Fostering People, we train our foster parents to use the PACE approach. PACE stands for Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy. It encourages foster parents to be mindful of their interactions with children who have trauma, responding thoughtfully, creating trust and helping them through big emotions.

Playfulness – means two things. Firstly, it's adding appropriately timed moments of silliness and playfulness into your daily interactions with children. This could mean creating a song about washing up or dancing whilst baking together. These moments give you an opportunity to bond and can make children feel at ease.

Secondly, playfulness means using soft tones and facial expressions when responding to children's behaviour if being silly in this situation would be inappropriate. For example, if they have fallen out with a friend, it would be inappropriate to make a joke. Instead, you could use open body language, ensure you're at their level and use a light-hearted tone.

Acceptance – means accepting the cause of a child's behaviour because you know there is an underlying explanation. It also means providing non-judgemental support so they can share their thoughts, feelings and emotions.

For example, the child in your care grew up in a home where they often felt hungry, they have been hiding food in their bedroom for weeks, and you find some moulding under their bed. At first, you may feel confused or annoyed, but the PACE approach encourages you to stop and think about the underlying reasons for this behaviour before responding. You can then explain to the child in your care that they don't need to hide food in their room because they can ask you for it if they feel hungry.

Curiosity – When children enter a new foster home, they may not feel comfortable or able to share their feelings, emotions, or experiences. So, it is vital to be curious and attentive to decode their behaviours and, by doing so, show the child that you care about their thoughts and feelings.

Curiosity means being mindful of children's behaviour and asking questions that help you better understand. For example, the child in your care comes home from school upset and rips up a card she received on her birthday from her best friend, which indicates she has fallen out with her friend and this could be triggering feelings of rejection. With this in mind, you can approach the subject with understanding and ask questions that show the child you care.

Empathy - means putting yourself in the child's position and imagining how they must be feeling so you can better understand their behaviour. You can then respond to the child using compassionate language.

For example, the child in your care wants to go swimming this weekend but has an ear infection, so they can’t go and they are upset. You can explain that you understand their frustration and why they are upset because you know swimming is their favourite activity, which could help them feel less alone in their feelings.

Community and Collaboration

The trauma-informed approach emphasises collaboration and building strong communities that put foster families at the centre. This is why, at Fostering People, we create close-knit communities that support the needs of the whole family. We ensure everyone feels safe, supported and valued, giving children with trauma a nurturing environment to thrive.

Our trauma-informed communities include:

  • Dedicated social worker - Our social workers live and work from home in the communities they serve, meaning they are close at hand to offer guidance, support and advice whenever needed. Our social workers are all PACE trained, to support you in your fostering role.
  • Support groups - We offer support groups in local community venues that allow you to meet other foster parents, discuss your experiences and enhance your skills in the trauma-informed approach.
  • Network of fostering professionals - Being trauma-informed means knowing that often, children with trauma need input from fostering specialists like therapists, who can provide counselling to help them work through their trauma. Our network includes therapists, social workers and more.
  • Community activities and events - each region has a calendar bursting with fun activities and events for the whole family to enjoy. Giving you and the children in your care a chance to make friends, build on your support and spend time with like-minded people.
  • 24/7 assistance - our phone line is available 24/7 with experts waiting to help you, no matter the time of day.

Trauma-informed Training

At Fostering People, our trauma-informed training equips foster parents with the skills and knowledge they need to support children living with trauma.

Our trauma-informed training includes:

  • Prepare to foster training – completed during your assessment; our ‘Next Steps’ programme will introduce you to therapeutic parenting and the trauma-informed approach.
  • Induction training – Once approved, you’ll complete our induction training on topics such as Safeguarding, First Aid and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion.
  • Advanced training – When you’ve completed your induction training, you can opt to complete training in specialist topics like Emotional Wellbeing, Mental Health Awareness and Child Development to broaden your knowledge.

Many training courses are delivered online, and in-person courses take place in local community venues. Your supervising social worker will work with your family to make sure you receive training that will help you support children living with trauma effectively.

Do you want to join a fostering agency committed to providing children with trauma-informed care? Get in touch to learn more about the role of a foster parent and to find out how much fostering allowance you could receive.

Together, using a trauma-informed approach, we can change the outcomes for children with childhood trauma and make an extraordinary difference that will last a lifetime.