What role did trauma-informed care play in alleged juvenile prison abuse?

What role did trauma-informed care play in alleged juvenile prison abuse?

“I think it’s not fair to blame the trauma-informed care approach,” responded Joanne Juhnke, policy director at Wisconsin Family Ties, a Madison-based mental health advocacy group that helped train staff at the two facilities in Irma. “The trauma-informed care approach … is the opposite of the allegations of abuse. Trauma-informed care is all about safety.”

What role did trauma-informed care play in alleged juvenile prison abuse?

Published: May 22, 2016

Parents need help for Kids in Crisis, experts say

Parents need help for Kids in Crisis, experts say

The mental health system across the state is a daunting bureaucracy and parents often feel overwhelmed and alone when seeking care for their children, said Hugh Davis, father of four children with mental health needs and director of Wisconsin Family Ties, a nonprofit organization providing support for families of children with emotional, behavior an mental disorders.

https://www.stevenspointjournal.com/story/news/2016/03/03/parents-need-help-kids-crisis-experts-say/81103594/

Published: March 3, 2016

Suicide prevention group creates action plan

Suicide prevention group creates action plan

Other ways people can help are to learn more about mental health issues, which will help eliminate preconceptions about those who struggle with them, said Hugh Davis, executive director of Wisconsin Family Ties, a statewide, family-run nonprofit organization for families with children and adolescents affected by social, emotional, behavioral and mental health challenges.

“Even without all that training, suspend judgement and just look at others with empathy,” Davis said.

https://www.thenorthwestern.com/story/news/2016/03/04/suicide-prevention-group-creates-action-plan/81260672/

Published: March 4, 2016

Pace of mental health reform slows to crawl

Pace of mental health reform slows to crawl

With a new budget cycle ahead, there is hope for renewed progress.

“I’m hoping that again we’ll be able to move forward and I hope that we didn’t lose momentum,” said Joanne Juhnke, policy director for Wisconsin Family Ties, which offers peer support for families with mental health challenges.

http://www.jconline.com/story/news/local/2016/03/22/capitol-slows-mental-health-work/81169684/

Published: March 22, 2016

School districts use restraint and seclusion too often, advocacy groups say

School districts use restraint and seclusion too often, advocacy groups say

Anna Moffit, a parent peer specialist for Wisconsin Family Ties and the parent of a son with autism, said she thinks “Madison, like other districts, overuses restraint and seclusion, which has a disproportionate impact on students with disabilities and African-American students.”

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/education/local_schools/school-districts-use-restraint-and-seclusion-too-often-advocacy-groups/article_b4546802-9f10-5631-b277-2db4db2a17cc.html

Published: February 10, 2016

Dozens of police reports detail abuse allegations at state’s youth prison

Dozens of police reports detail abuse allegations at state’s youth prison

But Joanne Juhnke, policy director for Wisconsin Family Ties, which collaborated with the state Department of Corrections and Department of Health Services to bring trauma informed care practices to Lincoln Hills, said it’s unfair to scapegoat such practices for the incidents under investigation.

“If done properly, as an approach, it’s not about relaxing discipline,” Juhnke said. “It’s about responding to individual trauma in a way that makes sense and can be learned from.”

Juhnke provided the Wisconsin State Journal with a Sept. 2014 report on outcomes of the trauma informed care training program that began in late 2012 and concluded in Jan. 2014 for one of the living units. Changes included the elimination of leg shackles and belt padlocks in most situations and modification of discipline practices and living-unit rules and procedures to reduce room confinement.

http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/state-and-regional/dozens-of-police-reports-detail-abuse-allegations-at-state-s/article_c0aca070-8f9b-5def-a26b-982931f0ebf7.html

Published: December 17, 2015