ABSTRACT
This chapter presents several case studies. The first case study describes a trauma-responsive approach to communication with parents going through a conflictual divorce. The next case describes how a family childcare provider worked in a trauma-responsive manner with a single mother experiencing homelessness and temporarily living doubled-up with her friend after surviving intimate partner violence. The third case highlights an African-centric child care program that emphasizes family engagement as one of its three foundational pillars. The case describes how the administrators and staff in this program communicate a deep respect to parents and families and how they work together to create an authentic partnership with them that honors what they bring to the table. The next case shows how one administrator applied her knowledge of trauma-responsive practice to facilitating a productive conversation between her staff and the parents of a child who was displaying concerning behavior in the classroom. We see how she applies the trauma-responsive principles in preparation and facilitation of an effective meeting to address how to better support the child’s needs. The next case describes a program coordinator for the department of special education at a public school district who oversees special education programs and supervises and evaluates a group of teachers, paraeducators, specialists, such as the behaviorists and the occupational therapists. She describes how she attends high-profile Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings and finds herself the target of parents’ and teachers’ anger, frustration, exasperations and deep hurt. She grapples with how to create a trauma-responsive environment that meets the diverse needs of staff and parents and families. She finds herself struggling to keep her teachers from burning out and leaving their positions. She also faces discrimination based on her gender, race and ethnicity with her superiors in the district. This case provides an honest account of the difficulties associated with implementing trauma-responsive practice and the way our own experiences of stress and trauma impact our work with staff, parents and families. The final case study shows us that family engagement does not mean that listening to parents and taking their lead does not mean that early childhood professionals always do everything they say. We see how a teacher uses her expert knowledge of child development but also a respectful and attuned approach to listening to a parent who expressed concerns about enrolling his son in her program. We see how she listens to how the father feels, respects his words, thoughts and reactions while creating opportunities to explore new ways of thinking about child development. She approaches the conversation using the trauma-responsive principle, Building Mutually Respectful and Trusting Relationships.
