Organized by the FRONTIER Program at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute
April 26-28, 2023
Raleigh, NC
INTRODUCTION
“Leveraging North Carolina’s Assets to Prevent Child Trauma” (the summit) convened 150 in-person attendees and approximately 230 virtual attendees representing academia, community and state organizations, lived experience, philanthropy, legislative and agency officials, scientific research, educational systems, clinical practice, and others. The overarching goal of the summit was to
identify common threads across constituent groups in North Carolina, each working to address child trauma, and determine how, together, we can co-create a statewide effort in community and policy spaces to tackle its sources and reduce its incidence. Organizers and participants agree this can be achieved by:
• sharing knowledge and experience about child trauma, its causes, and its prevention;
• bolstering community efforts through a shared understanding of trauma science;
• creating new relationships between individuals and organizations and strengthening existing relationships;
• illuminating the current landscape of child trauma prevention across North Carolina communities to help assess strengths and gaps; and
• beginning a process of generating policy recommendations to prevent child trauma.
THEMES IDENTIFIED AT THE SUMMIT
Child trauma has myriad effects and solutions. Not every important idea could be shared at a two-day summit or in this executive summary, but below are a few of the themes that came up repeatedly.
Preventing child trauma and addressing child trauma to prevent long-term harm require:
• supporting parents to reduce economic stress with access to affordable housing, food, childcare, and dependable employment or income;
• addressing systemic root causes, including structural racism, health inequities, and economic stress;
• transitioning to trauma-informed practices in many settings, including families, schools, communities, child welfare system, healthcare, legislative, and criminal justice;
• interrupting the cycle by addressing trauma in children, adolescents, and young adults before they become parents;
• expanding access to mental health assessment and access for children and parents, including addiction prevention and treatment;
• educating people and organizations to change violent social norms and improve interpersonal relationships; and
• providing universal high-quality early childhood education.
Effective approaches for moving forward include:
• People with lived experience of child trauma must be part of developing policies and programs regarding child trauma.
• There is no silver bullet; preventing child trauma as a society requires a lot of pieces.
• Strategic alignment and collective action are critical; no one person, community organization, agency, foundation, nonprofit, or legislative body can do it alone.
• Prevention and early intervention are better than later intervention.
• Sustainable funding is needed to ramp up evidence-based prevention programs; these programs save society money in the long run.
• Local organizations and philanthropy can make a difference in communities and demonstrate effective strategies.
• Advocacy is an effective tool to institute trauma-informed policies at national, state, or local levels.
SUMMIT SPEAKERS & PRESENTATION SLIDES
Day 1: Morning
Welcome
Dr. Diana Fishbein, Director of FRONTIER and the Translational Neuro-Prevention Research and Senior Research Scientist, Frank Porter Graham (FPG) Child Development Institute, UNC-Chapel Hill
Dr. Aysenil Belger, Professor and Director of Neuroimaging Research in the Department of Psychiatry, and Professor in the Department of Psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill, Adjunct Associate Professor at the Brain Imaging and Analysis Center at Duke University
Keynotes – Vision for the State
Dr. Lisa Amaya-Jackson, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychiatry Division, Duke University Medical Center.
Dr. Kelly Graves, Executive Director & Co-Founder, The Kellin Foundation
Safiyah Jackson, Chief Strategy Officer, North Carolina Partnership for Children.
Trauma & Child Development
Dr. Margaret Sheridan, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, UNC-Chapel Hill
Dr. William Copeland, formerly at Duke and currently Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont
Trauma & Mental Health
Dr. Angela Tunno, Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine
Dr. Ilana Berman, Postdoctoral Fellow, FPG Child Development Institute and Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, UNC at Chapel Hill
Trauma, Inequities, & Racism
Dr. Jennifer Neitzel, Executive Director at Educational Equity Institute
Dr Iheoma Iruka, Research Professor, Department of Public Policy, UNC; Founding Director, Equity Research Action Coalition at FPG Child Development Institute, UNC
System-Specific Trauma
Dr. Aidan Bohlander, Manager of Outreach and Product Development, National Infant-Toddler Court Program at Zero to Three
Dr. Kimberly Cook, Professor in Department of Sociology and Criminology, UNC- Wilmington with Frankie Roberts
Day 1: Afternoon
Policy Realities and Opportunities
Introductions by Jesse Kohler, CEO of the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy & Practice (CTIPP)
Representative Ashton Clemmons (D-NC)
Senator Jim Burgin (R-NC)
Systems Change
Crystal Kelly, VP, Programs and Policy at Prevent Child Abuse NC
Elizabeth Star, CEO, HopeStar Foundation
Kimberly Friedman, JD, Managing Director of External Relations at Family Connects International
Dashboard and Assessment Tool
Mebane Boyd, Resilient Communities Officer, NC Partnership for Children
Nick Pylypiw, Cape Fear Collective
Wrap Up of the Day
Vernisha Crawford, Trauma Informed Institute and BYE Foundation
Day 2: Morning
Community Perspectives
Dr. Dawn Baldwin Gibson, Executive Pastor of Peletah Ministries
Dr. Jada Brooks, Associate Professor at UNC Chapel Hill
Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, minister, founding Executive Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality
Tamra Church and Dr. Jennifer Matthews: Resilient North Carolina Collaborative Coalition (RNCCC)
Agency Level Policy Reform
Jenni Owen, Director, NC Office of Strategic Partnerships
William Lassiter, Deputy Secretary for Juvenile Justice, NC Department of Public Safety
Public Policy Efforts to Prevent & Address Trauma and Childhood Adversity
Erica Palmer-Smith, NC Child
Sharon Hirsch, President and CEO, Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina
Department of Health and Human Services Initiatives to Support Trauma-Informed Practices and Policies
Dr. Charlene Wong, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families at NCDHHS, Executive Director, NC Integrated Care for Kids, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Public Policy at Duke University
Ingrid Bou-Saada, MA, MPH Division of Public Health, NC DHHS
Saarah Waleed, MA, LCMHC, Department of Mental Health, NC DHHS
Amy Eaton, MS, Children's Health and Development Coordinator, DSS, NC DHHS
Day 2: Afternoon
Cost/Benefits Analysis of Trauma-Informed Policies
Facilitator: Whitney Marris, CTIPP
Dr. Jane Cooley Fruehwirth, Professor of Economics at UNC-Chapel Hill, Fellow of UNC’s Carolina Population Center, and Adjunct Associate Professor in Public Policy
Dr. Stephen Marshall, Director of the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center
Building Trauma-informed Societal Systems
Judicial System: LaToya Powell, JD, Deputy General Counsel at NC Department of Public Safety
Health Care: Dr. Frank Castelblanco, Mountain Area Health Education Centers
Education: Dr. Rodney Trice, Deputy Superintendent for Teaching & Learning, Systemic Equity, & Engagement, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
Cross-sector community coalitions: Ingrid Cockhren, CEO at PACEs Connection
Opioid Use Prevention Policy
NC Attorney General Josh Stein (via video)
Dr. April Bragg, Dogwood Health Trust
Dr. Linda Richter, Partnership to End Addiction
Opportunities for Policy Change: Key Takeaways, New Thinking & Next Steps
Dr. Melissa Clepper-Faith, Perspectives of a Pediatrician from a Public Health Standpoint
Diana Fishbein, Ph.D., Perspectives of a Scientist and Policy Advocate
Mr. Jesse Kohler, Perspectives of a Community Organizer and Policy Advocate
Ms. Whitney Marris, Advocacy Training to Learn How to Effectively Engage with Policymakers
NEXT STEPS
The summit themes were explored in greater detail, producing a series of articles on key topics raised during the summit, including:
Preventing Child Trauma in North Carolina
Supporting and Connecting Organizations Addressing Child Trauma
Addressing Root Causes of Child Trauma
Addressing Child Trauma in North Carolina: What State Agencies are Doing
Advocacy: Turning Science into Policy
Addressing Child Trauma in North Carolina: What Organizations are Doing
To access all of these articles, visit the FPG website.
If you would like to view video presentations from the two-day event, check out this YouTube video playlist.
If you are interested in obtaining 4 APA Continuing Education Credits for the morning session on Day 1, visit the NPSC page to purchase the course.
In addition, FPG will work on a set of specific policy recommendations to share with the General Assembly, state agencies, and local officials. There will be webinars, meetings, and other follow-on activities. They also plan to create a task force comprised of a wide range of constituent groups and individuals to co-develop a
statewide action plan for North Carolina for maximal impact. If you’re interested in
participating in upcoming webinars, meetings, or the task force, please contact Dr. Fishbein.
Contributors to this summit include: UNC Carolina Seminar Series; NCDHHS; SAMHSA; Smart Start; HopeStar; Child Trust Foundation; Duke Endowment; PCANC; KB Reynolds Trust; CTIPP; National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives; and the coordinators, Wake AHEC.