About Trauma Informed California
Trauma Informed California promotes trauma-informed practices within California’s social service sector through the creation of informative, research-based white papers and guides, the Unsafe Behaviors Inventory tool, and the Stop Trusted Advisor Abuse public advocacy campaign. It was founded in 2009 as the California Center of Excellence for Trauma Informed Care and was transformed to become Trauma Informed California in 2024.
The Unsafe Behaviors Inventory (UBI) is a therapeutic tool created Trauma Informed California to measure reductions in unsafe behavior over time. The UBI tool is designed to be used by treatment providers delivering trauma-informed, safety-focused and skill-building services and supports. Agencies or individuals interested in the study can find more detailed information on our UBI page.
This project works to help Stop Trusted Advisor Abuse by providing an opportunity to educate the general public, to hold professionals to a higher level of responsibility, to ensure that accountability systems do a much better job policing abuse within their ranks and to protect those who rely on providers, whether in publicly-funded systems or on the private market.
Our History
During its 15-year tenure as the predecessor of Trauma Informed California, the California Center of Excellence for Trauma Informed Care (CCETIC) originated both of our ongoing public interest projects, the Unsafe Behavior Inventory (UBI) tool and the Stop Trusted Advisor Abuse public advocacy campaign, and also contributed to the public health community through numerous collaborations with other leaders and agencies in the social service sector.
With hosting support from the Walnut Avenue Family and Women’s Center and then Siena House, CCETIC director Gabriella Grant offered no-cost drop-in Seeking Safety groups for women in downtown Santa Cruz. Seeking Safety is an evidence-based present-focused counseling model developed by Lisa Najavits, PhD, to help people attain safety from trauma and/or addiction.
From 2011 to 2021, CCETIC was also the convenor of the Santa Cruz Trauma Consortium (SCTC), a collective of Santa Cruz County agencies that work with trauma-exposed populations. Through bi-monthly meetings and quarterly trainings, SCTC provided opportunities for agencies to increase trauma-informed practice and collectively strategize on client and system issues.
Most prominently and with cooperation from SCTC members, CCETIC organized eight annual Fall Trauma Conferences between 2013 and 2021. Fall Conference featured speakers included leaders in the field of trauma-informed care from across the nation, and Conference workshops provided focused learning opportunities on a variety of trauma-informed practice issues.
Today, under the new banner of Trauma Informed California, our focus is still on improving outcomes and care practices within services that work with trauma-exposed individuals. This begins with developing an understanding of the long-term health effects of trauma, recognizing that more than 60% of adults in the United States have been trauma-exposed at least once, and acknowledging that addressing trauma-related issues requires systemic change not just on an individual level, but within larger communities and society as a whole.
Introduction to Trauma Informed Key Values
Introduction: Key Values Begin with Safety
Trauma Informed California is dedicated to helping publicly funded agencies understand the impact of trauma on their clients, both individually and as a group, and to then use that understanding to design programs (interventions, policies, training) to work more effectively with their clients. We use the Fallot and Harris (2001) framework from “Using Trauma Theory…
Who are trauma informed services for?
In 2012, SAMHSA’s groundbreaking National Center for Trauma-Informed Care project published this description: “Trauma-informed care is an approach to engaging people with histories of trauma that recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledges the role that trauma has played in their lives.” This is a key definition for our understanding of trauma-informed care as…
What’s wrong with relationships?
“Children develop within an environment of relationships that begins in the family but also involves other adults who play important roles in their lives. This can include extended family members, providers of early care and education, nurses, social workers, coaches, and neighbors,” states the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University in From Best…