Florida Trauma Responsive and Caring Environment: Exploratory Factor Analysis of a Staff and Youth Trauma-Informed Self-Assessment Tools in Juvenile Residential Programs

Abstract

Trauma exposure is pervasive among juvenile justice involved youth. A growing appreciation for the prevalence of trauma and the challenges it poses to successful treatment has prompted youth serving organizations to adopt policies and practices that are consistent with trauma-informed care (TIC). Despite increased interest in integrating TIC into service provision, research on various TIC initiatives and juvenile outcomes is severely underdeveloped. Presently there are no validated instruments that can measure TIC at the organizational level in criminal and juvenile justice settings. To address this gap, the present study evaluates the internal structure and psychometric properties of two self-assessment surveys—for youth and staff—intended to measure organizational-level TIC in Florida Department of Juvenile Justice residential commitment programs. Data from 2761 youth and 2781 staff survey responses from 59 programs demonstrates that these instruments possess strong psychometric properties capable of measuring several distinct aspects of organizational TIC in a juvenile justice setting.