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…