Phase 1

The TARA (Trauma, Attachment, Resilience into Action) Project is a collaborative initiative between the Dublin South Central Integrated Service Area (DSC) of TUSLA and University College Cork (UCC). The project aims to integrate trauma-informed practices within DSC to better address the complex needs of children and families. In Phase 1, the project evaluated the effects of Trauma-informed care on practitioner outcomes in the DSC Area (2022-2023).

Key Findings from Phase 1 Report:

Program Success: The UCC graduate-level program effectively supports child welfare professionals in adopting trauma-informed practices.

Impact Areas:

Program Acceptability: Positive feedback on design, content, and experience.

Dynamic Learning Acquisition: Enhanced trauma-informed knowledge, self-reflection, practice confidence, and integration of new and existing knowledge.

Practice Changes: Improvements in child and family practices, practitioner resilience, and collaborative practices.

Sustainability: Emphasis on a shared agency approach and ongoing support to maintain progress and address inconsistencies.

TARA Phase 1 Report

The Certificate in Continuing Development in Trauma-informed Care is now open to the wider public and is designed to meet the educational and professional needs for front-line practitioners in the integration of trauma-informed practices into their role as a response to working with children, young people, adults and/or their families who have experienced trauma. The programme focuses on both developing practitioner’s understanding of the lived and living experience of trauma and effectively intervening with those that have experienced trauma across the life span.

Phase 2

Phase 2 of the project which adopts a participatory research approach, focusing on creating initiatives informed by the TARA model with frontline professionals that blend trauma-informed practices with existing service delivery processes. Interested practitioners expressed an interest via an online survey in joining a working group (clusters).

Those who completed the survey were assigned to their first preference, which comprised groups focusing on Practitioner Resilience, Collaborative Practice, Working with Children and Families, and The Child's Journey across Teams. In total 31 eligible participants put their names forward for this. From January 2025, TUSLA professionals engaged in collaborative project development guided through the clusters to produce practice initiatives by engaging with four workshops:

1. Define and understand
2. Explore and prepare
3. Develop and present
4. Improve following feedback.

At the first workshop cluster members decided on their name and what they would focus on for the project. The Practitioner Resilience group chose to keep the original name and prioritise supervision. This focus is intended to positively impact practitioner retention and resilience, an area of interest and previous work for those involved.

The Child's Journey across Teams was renamed The Ripple Effect. Their main aim was to create a set of resources in the form of animations that highlight, recognise and address the needs of children and workers who experience the difficult transitions during moves in care.

The Collaborative Practice group were renamed the Communication Cogs, and its focus was on communication, particularly TUSLA’s role in working with external groups and agencies and recognising barriers in understanding TUSLA’s work and approach from an external perspective. They created a tool that help TUSLA staff reflect on a number of domains in relation to communication with others.

The Working with Children and Families group was renamed to the Time Bandits, and this was the only group that ended up having more than one initiative, with a total of four initiatives coming from this cluster. The initiatives focused on developing tools to assist them and incorporating trauma-informed practices into their work. This included a sensory pack, a journal, and a support in brining foster siblings together.

The research design was informed by the Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC). BSC facilitation is responsive to participants' and teams' interests, contexts, and realities, allowing participants to lead in identifying and creating beneficial practices. The BSC focuses on changing organisational cultures and beliefs by fundamentally altering practices. It contrasts real-world implementation, replication, and sustainability with traditional pilot projects. The intent is to shift practice at all levels of the agency, involving members from various levels, especially those most impacted by the work.

Stakeholder Group

A stakeholder group was established to support the project. This group includes individuals with lived experience in child welfare and protection (e.g., parents, foster carers, care-experienced persons) and multidisciplinary professionals (e.g., social work, social care, youth and community work, psychology, teaching, nursing, psychotherapy). These professionals

represented both intra-agency (TUSLA) and inter-agency entities (e.g., Barnardos, schools, advocacy groups, health providers) as well as academics. Stakeholder group members provide expert reviews of the research process during meetings and through ongoing feedback. The stakeholder group is an integral part of the Project, with their input actively listened to and incorporated.