This program is for individuals from birth to 24 years old, who have experienced adversity or trauma, and their parents.

Childhaven Childhood Trauma Treatment, a community-based program, is designed to provide child care and services that support positive outcomes for families who have experienced trauma.

Twelve-year follow-up results from a small sample of youth who participated in a randomized controlled trial of the program indicate that families in the treatment group experienced significantly more positive home environments and caregiver-child relationships compared to families in a control group. Youth in the control group experienced significantly more caregiver-reported behavior problems, earlier arrest and more frequent violent delinquency, and more school disciplinary problems compared to youth in the treatment group. It should be noted that the original study began in 1980, and this article was published in 1998.

Children receive individualized care that addresses psychosocial, emotional, behavioral, and developmental needs. A variety of programs are offered, including the following:

• Art with Heart – use art and creative expression to help youth work through and cope with their feelings, develop resilience, and see a better future for themselves;
• Capacity building services – provide training; resources; and consultation for individuals, organizations, and systems that work with children and families;
• Child and family counseling – provide therapeutic care and counseling services that focus on infant/early childhood mental health, dyadic and interaction-focused therapies, trauma-informed care, emotional health, and whole child well-being;
• Community-based programs – provide a variety of supports to children and families within their communities;
• Early learning and Therapeutic Early Learning Capacity Building (TEL-Cap) – provide care and mental health-aligned therapeutic supports to young children in a classroom environment, and work with families to foster developmental progress;
• Early support programs – provide home and community-based coaching, support, and developmental therapies for families and caregivers and individualized family service plans;
• Renton Area Youth and Family Services (RAYS) – provide integrated behavioral healthcare and prevention services to youth and families, and help individuals gain access to medical care, food, clothing, housing, and other necessities; and
• Wraparound with intensive services – provide family-guided, wraparound supports including classroom support, health screenings and individualized health plans, and mental health support and parent coaching.

Youth may be referred by parents; caregivers; or professionals including pediatricians, physicians, social workers, nurses, child care providers, or a variety of referral partners.

Childhaven was established in King County, Washington in 1909 and is currently operating at four sites in Washington.

This program is delivered primarily by case managers, child and family therapists, and therapeutic classroom teachers. Therapists and case managers should have a master’s degree, and teachers should have a bachelor’s degree. Optional training is available on a case-by-case basis. Please use details in the Contact section for more information on training and associated costs.

Considerations for implementing this program include finding a suitable location (a licensed child care facility) that has adequate meeting space and a functional kitchen for meal preparation, hiring qualified therapists and other staff, obtaining a mental health licensure, ensuring that transportation is available to bring children to and from sessions, obtaining parent and youth buy-in, and ensuring the program is delivered with fidelity.

The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email clearinghouse@psu.edu

If you are interested in implementing Childhaven Childhood Trauma Treatment, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you! Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email clearinghouse@psu.edu

Therapeutic care services are delivered 5.5 hours per day for 5 days per week. Time to implement other components of the program will vary, and length of treatment varies based on individual needs.

Information on implementation costs was not located. Please use details in the Contact section to learn more.

To move Childhaven Childhood Trauma Treatment to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation should be performed in a representative sample demonstrating positive effects lasting at least one year from the beginning of the program or at least six months from program completion.

The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email clearinghouse@psu.edu

Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program. Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: clearinghouse@psu.edu

You may also contact Childhaven Administration by mail 1035 SW 124th St., Seattle, WA 98146, phone 1-206-624-6477, fax 1-206-382-3303, email info@childhaven.org, or https://childhaven.org/locations/

https://www.cebc4cw.org/program/childhaven-childhood-trauma-treatment/detailed and https://childhaven.org/

Moore, E., Armsden, G., & Gogerty, P. L. (1998). A twelve-year follow-up study of maltreated and at-risk children who received early therapeutic child care. Child Maltreatment, 3(1), 3-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559598003001001