Mass. EEC and Office of the Child Advocate open applications for trauma-informed train‑the‑trainer cohort

The Department of Early Education and Care and the Office of the Child Advocate on Tuesday outlined a statewide train‑the‑trainer program to expand trauma‑informed and trauma‑responsive practices for early childhood educators.

The program — called STREET (Strategic Trauma Responsive Early Education Training) — combines online foundational modules on EEC’s Strong Start learning management system with a fall train‑the‑trainer cohort that begins with an all‑day, in‑person kickoff on Oct. 7 at the Taunton EEC office and continues with six 90‑minute virtual sessions and a final capstone day in person.

The initiative is intended to equip trainers to offer free local trainings for early educators. Amy Smisioli, supervisor of EEC’s behavioral health team, told attendees, “we can become more trauma responsive in the way that we're engaged with educators,” and said applicants should be prepared to offer multiple free sessions in the year after completing the cohort.

Why it matters: organizers said trauma‑informed practice can reduce retraumatization in classrooms and limit the use of exclusionary discipline that can follow challenging behavior. Joy Cohen, Deputy Director at the Center on Child Well‑being and Trauma in the Office of the Child Advocate, said the center’s materials and curricula use five guiding principles for work with children: safety; transparency and trust; empowerment, voice and choice; equity and cultural affirmation; and healthy relationships and interactions.

What organizers described: EEC and the OCA created a multi‑part pathway. First, several self‑paced LMS modules on Strong Start provide foundational content. Second, the train‑the‑trainer cohort offers deeper practice and facilitation skills so selected participants can return to their regions to run additional sessions. Organizers said the cohort includes interpreted materials and multilingual learning links; Strong Start content is available in Spanish, Portuguese and simplified Chinese in addition to English.

Applications are open now and close Sept. 12; organizers said applicants will begin to hear decisions on a rolling basis and at the latest by Sept. 19. The team emphasized the program is not run as a fee‑for‑service: the expectation is that certified trainers will offer several free training opportunities for early educators in the months after completing the cohort. EEC staff said completion yields a certificate of completion and counts toward annual professional development hours; Susan (a participant who asked about credits) was told the program does not issue continuing education credits at this time.

Organizers described ongoing support from the OCA after trainers complete the cohort. “They are supplying you with all the materials, including interpreted materials that you will need to then go out and do those trainings,” Smisioli said; OCA staff also offered follow‑up technical assistance and a platform to register offered sessions so EEC can track statewide rollout.

Logistics and follow up: the train‑the‑trainer series requires applicants to complete the online foundation modules before October. The in‑person kickoff is expected to be an all‑day event; organizers said they prefer full participation but can sometimes accommodate short absences. EEC staff said they hope core trainers will offer at least two to three sessions in the year after certification. An additional informational session is scheduled for Aug. 19; attendees will receive the recording, slides and application links by email from the session host.

Questions and limitations: presenters said there are no eligibility restrictions tied to an applicant’s employer; applicants from professional development centers, higher‑education, PDCs or community programs were encouraged to apply but must agree to provide free sessions locally. Organizers said selection depends on the applicant pool and program goals; multiple applicants from one organization may be accepted. Attendees asked whether the trainings will be part of a future EEC credentialing pathway; Smisioli said the curriculum was developed with credentialing in mind, but no formal credential announcement had been made.

Contacts and resources: presenters directed participants to EEC’s behavioral health team web pages on Strong Start and the Center on Child Well‑being and Trauma’s resources and toolkits on the OCA website. Participants were told to submit application questions to the emails shared on the session slides and that a recording and slides will be sent to registrants.

Organizers closed by encouraging applicants and said they will continue to expand training opportunities for early educators across the state.