With so much going on, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed. Many people are struggling to focus and feeling frustrated with colleagues, participants, or community members. Managers are facing additional challenges in leading teams amid uncertainty and stress. To address these concerns and build the foundation for a healthy workplace culture, we can use brain awareness to set and respect strong boundaries. 

Boundaries are what is okay and what is not okay. At work, this means what is acceptable—and what isn’t—within workplace culture, communication, practices, and work-life balance. While boundaries are often seen as confining or negative, they empower us to say “yes” to what truly matters. 

By recognizing unhealthy boundaries and using brain-aware strategies to respond, we can reduce toxic stress, increase empathy, prevent burnout, boost productivity, enhance teamwork, and create a more fulfilling work environment. 

March 16-25, 2025, marks Brain Awareness Week the global campaign dedicated to inspiring enthusiasm and support for brain science. As we think about our boundaries, it’s incredibly helpful to consider what is happening in our brains, which shape our thoughts, emotions, and actions every moment of the day. To set and maintain healthy workplace boundaries, we need to engage our “thinking brains,” which are responsible for reasoning, planning, and decision-making. However, it can be difficult to access this part of our brains when we are stressed and overwhelmed. 

Consider these key steps for setting healthy boundaries: 

Boundaries in Action 

Let’s dive deeper into common workplace boundary challenges and explore how the steps outlined above can address these dynamics: 

Is it okay to send emails after hours?  
This should be avoided if staff value work-life balance, and don’t want an “always-on” culture that undermines workplace well-being. To establish boundaries, talk about this practice, and ways to change it. Create email response time guidelines, encourage leadership to model boundary-setting, and use scheduling tools for messages.  

These strategies allow us to say “Yes” to family, friends, hobbies, volunteer work, and self-care. 

Is it ok to drop into colleagues’ offices unannounced to vent frustrations? 
While it’s normal to seek support from colleagues, this behavior can drain our energy, reduce empathy, and spark unproductive conversations. Instead, consider holding a team meeting to set boundaries about when and how we process challenges. Start with “regulate” and “relate,” and then dive into the conversation. If the boundary is violated, tell our colleague, “I can’t talk right now. Can we find another time to connect?” 

When we do this, we say “Yes” to deeper empathy, more productive interactions, stronger relationships, and effective problem-solving. 

Is it ok to repeatedly misgender colleagues or mispronounce their names? 
This is never ok. Respecting colleagues’ names and pronouns is fundamental to workplace respect and inclusion. When mistakes are made, it is important to acknowledge and correct them in the moment. Feeling exhausted or overwhelmed may make it more difficult to accept feedback with grace and correct the mistake. “Regulate” and “relate” is always the place to start because it will make it easier to “reason” and discuss the violation.  

This process says “Yes” to inclusion, respect, and a more supportive workplace. 

Is it ok to speak disrespectfully to someone else at work? 
Disrespectful behavior is unacceptable in any setting. However, the current climate of political tension, job insecurity, targeting of human services, and uncertainty is creating immense pressure. This toxic stress can lead to staff, program participants, or community members operating from a place of fear and frustration, and to interactions that are reactive, emotionally charged, and disrespectful. It is helpful to respond to such behavior with, “That is not acceptable. Let’s both calm down and talk later,” or “I understand that things are stressful right now, but let’s keep our conversation professional so we can work through this together.” These statements acknowledge the frustration and set a boundary.  

This approach allows us to say “Yes” to respectful interactions while embracing the current challenges with intentionality and grace.  

Consider having a meeting with leadership or human resources staff to acknowledge stress and explore boundaries and respectful dialogue. Make sure to prioritize brain awareness and start any such meeting with “regulate, relate, reason.”  

If the disrespect is turning into harassment, threats, or a hostile work environment, other measures are needed from human resources and leadership to mediate or reinforce boundaries and expectations. 

These are only a few examples of how unhealthy boundaries show up at work. Strengthening them is critical. The bottom line: Boundaries are the foundation of empathy, compassion, and working in human services for the long term. Especially in times of uncertainty, prioritizing brain awareness to set and maintain strong boundaries can have a powerful impact on our individual and collective well-being.  

Next Steps in Using Brain Awareness to Create Healthy Boundaries 

There is much more to learn about the brain and how it makes us think, feel, and behave. Creating brain-friendly awareness is a critical tool for building a healthy workforce.  

Social Current can help with that journey: 

Sources: 

March is National Social Work Month, and this year’s theme is Social Work: Compassion + Action. Compassion is the secret ingredient that makes social work more than just a profession—it’s a movement of the heart. It’s not simply about ticking off tasks or offering services; it’s about creating real, human connections that inspire, empower, and transform lives. Compassion in social work isn’t a fleeting warm feeling. It’s a practice, an intentional way of showing up, and it’s woven into the very fabric of what social work is all about.

Social workers aren’t just helpers either they are bridge builders. They lean into the stories of others, listening with empathy and offering support that speaks to the unique experiences of each individual. This approach aligns perfectly with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, which reminds social workers to treat every person with dignity and respect, honoring the rich diversity that makes up the human experience. Compassion is the fuel that keeps this work alive, turning challenges into opportunities and struggles into hope.

But here’s the thing: social work isn’t just about one-on-one connections. Compassion is a multitasker not just stopping at individual care. It goes big. It drives social workers to tackle the broader systems that often keep people from reaching their full potential. From advocating for fair policies to dismantling structural inequalities, social workers use their compassion as a megaphone to amplify the voices of those who are often unheard. The NASW Code of Ethics calls this out too, urging social workers to push for social change, especially on behalf of the vulnerable and oppressed.

And the magic of compassion doesn’t stop there it’s contagious. When social workers show up with empathy, it sparks something bigger. Clients find strength, communities grow closer, and a ripple of positive change spreads far and wide. Brain science even backs this up! Compassion lights up pathways in the brain, like mirror neurons and oxytocin, making connection and kindness as natural as breathing. These moments of empathy don’t just help individuals, they create a more compassionate world, one relationship at a time. So, what’s the takeaway? Compassion isn’t just the heart of social work it’s its superpower. It’s what turns listening into understanding, action into advocacy, and challenges into opportunities for growth. Whether it’s one person or an entire community, compassion transforms. It’s how social workers heal, inspire, and create lasting change, proving that when empathy meets action, the possibilities are endless.

Creating work environments where team members feel safe to share ideas, ask questions, and voice concerns is crucial for promoting both individual and collective success. Managers can embrace key strategies for supporting staff well-being, reducing burnout, and building a culture of resilience. Learn more about how psychological safety and well-being can be integrated into the work environment to foster positive, sustainable changes in organizations.

Psychological Safety: A Cornerstone of Team Development

Psychological safety refers to an environment where individuals feel confident raising challenges, sharing differences of opinion, and presenting new ideas without fear of negative repercussions. Drawing from the influential work of Amy Edmondson, psychological safety is seen as a dynamic factor in team development, crucial especially for new hires who may feel uncertain or apprehensive in their roles.

In organizations where psychological safety is prioritized, staff feel empowered to engage more openly, leading to more creative solutions, innovative thinking, and a general atmosphere of trust. This openness is critical in the early stages of team development and helps establish a foundation for long-term success.

The Benefits of Psychological Safety

The benefits of fostering psychological safety extend beyond just team development. Many studies and real-world examples demonstrate that organizations with cultures of psychological safety experience lower turnover rates, greater employee satisfaction, and improved performance. Employees in these environments are more likely to be motivated, curious, and productive, creating a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.

Additionally, high levels of psychological safety have been linked to fewer critical incidents in high-stakes fields, such as public safety, where individuals must communicate effectively under pressure. This highlights the importance of trust and psychological well-being not just in creative sectors but in those where safety and precision are paramount.

The Challenges of Building Psychological Safety

Despite its numerous advantages, psychological safety is not always easy to cultivate. One major challenge is that many organizations prioritize quantitative metrics, such as financial performance or productivity, over qualitative factors like psychological safety. Building a safe environment requires patience, intentionality, and a willingness to embrace mistakes and errors as part of the learning process.

Moreover, many organizations focus heavily on external outcomes, neglecting the human elements that contribute to a thriving workplace. Developing a culture of psychological safety takes time, but its benefits are undeniable and far-reaching.

Supporting Staff During Times of Change and Uncertainty

Change is inevitable in any organization, and with it often comes uncertainty and stress. During periods of transition, leaders must ensure that a supportive workplace culture remains intact.

Key strategies include:

Additionally, promoting mental health awareness and work-life balance is essential. There are many ways this can be achieved, such as through flexible work arrangements, offering employees a voice in workplace policy decisions, and ensuring sufficient staffing levels to prevent overwhelm.

Reducing Burnout and Strengthening Emotional Well-being

Burnout is one of the most significant challenges facing modern organizations. To combat burnout, leaders must ensure employees have access to mental health resources, normalize conversations about mental health, and provide policies that promote wellness.

Ensuring staff have paid time off (PTO), manageable workloads, and realistic expectations around overtime are vital components in reducing stress. Furthermore, encouraging boundaries between work and personal life, offering remote work options, and allowing for compressed work schedules can go a long way in mitigating burnout and strengthening emotional resilience within teams.

Much of the time in the human and social services sector, staff are empathetic. It can be difficult not to become an ‘absorber’ at work and in life outside of work, which is still happening at the same time.

Addressing Trauma in the Workplace

Workplaces must also be sensitive to trauma, whether it is personal, caused by internal challenges, or vicarious trauma experienced by direct service staff. A trauma-informed culture, where mental health is prioritized, helps create an atmosphere of support and healing. Leaders should be aware of signs of distress among employees and act proactively to create safe spaces for individuals to express their struggles.

Approaching these conversations from a strengths-based perspective—recognizing staff achievements and offering meaningful support—is key in helping those who may be experiencing trauma. A compassionate, understanding leadership approach can significantly impact an employee’s ability to recover and thrive.

Building Relationships and Embracing Differences

One of the simplest yet most effective ways to foster psychological safety is by building strong, authentic relationships within teams. Leaders and colleagues should take time to understand each other’s preferences, communicate openly, and show interest in each other’s perspectives. By embracing differences, whether cultural, generational, or personal, organizations can create a more inclusive environment where everyone feels valued.

Taking a curiosity-driven approach to building relationships, and allowing room for grace in interactions, strengthens the organizational culture and encourages greater collaboration and mutual respect.

Social Current Offers Resources for Organizational Success

Creating psychologically safe environments is not only beneficial for individual well-being, but also for organizational success.

By prioritizing psychological safety, supporting staff well-being, and reducing burnout, organizations can foster a culture of trust, resilience, and productivity. Leaders who embrace these strategies will not only see improved outcomes for their teams but will also contribute to building a healthier, more supportive workplace culture for the long term.

For tangible strategies you can implement immediately, join our Workforce Well-Being and Resilience During Times of Change training series, beginning March 26. You may also contact us for consultation support.

To learn more about Social Current’s work to strengthen child, family, and community well-being, visit our impact area page.

The social sector is at a critical juncture, grappling with persistent workforce challenges that impact both the effectiveness of organizations and the well-being of employees. From inadequate wages and growing financial hardship for many nonprofit workers, to the increasing difficulty of filling key leadership roles, nonprofits face a host of obstacles that threaten their ability to support their communities.

As the sector confronts a rising mental health crisis and workforce shortages, there is an urgent need for innovative solutions that address these issues while fostering a resilient, well-supported workforce. Join Social Current’s four-part Workforce Well-Being and Resilience webinar series, beginning in March, for insights to healthy and resilient organizational culture.

This article explores the current workforce trends within the social sector, highlighting key challenges and offering insights into strategies for navigating these complexities in 2025 and beyond.

Nonprofits are struggling to pay competitive wages and many social sector employees face financial hardship.

According to the latest ALICE Report from Independent Sector, 22% of nonprofit employees are earning below the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) threshold and are struggling financially. Inequities of the general workforce play out in the nonprofit realm as well: 34% of Black nonprofit employees and 35% of Hispanic nonprofit employees are facing financial hardship. Women, despite making up two-thirds of the nonprofit workforce, are paid significantly less than men in the sector.

We must continue to advocate for social sector funding models that cover the true costs of operations, including competitive, livable wages for all social sector employees. Social Current is leading the social impact work that is inspired by the movie UnCharitable. The effort will address this chronic underfunding in the social sector and ensure adequate resources to meet our communities’ needs while also driving sector innovation and growth.

Workforce shortages continue to impede nonprofit progress and innovation.

We’ll continue to see nonprofit staffing shortages in 2025, particularly in leadership positions. According to a recent report from PNP Staffing Group, almost 1 in 3 nonprofits struggle with retention and turnover and 59% of nonprofits said it was significantly harder to fill staff positions in 2024 than in previous years. This trend will most likely continue into the new year, as 55% of nonprofit organizations cite the inability to offer competitive salaries as a significant challenge.

Source: PNP Staffing Group. (2024). 2024 Nonprofit salaries and staffing trends.

The outlook for mental health care in particular shows a significant gap, with position openings projected to grow at triple the rate of all occupations over the next decade. Need is even higher in rural areas across the U.S. where approximately 122 million people do not have access to mental health services. In fact, roughly 27 million Americans with a mental illness are not receiving treatment. Mental Health organizations specializing in youth care face an even greater workforce deficit: In 70% of U.S. counties, there are no child or young adult psychiatrists and only 20% of children with mental health disorders receive the care they need from a specialized mental health provider.

Leadership gaps reveal inequities and barriers to advancement.

Interest in nonprofit leadership positions is also declining. A recent survey by the Building Movement Project shows that there has been a steady decline in interest in top leadership roles. In 2016, 50% of white and 40% of BIPOC respondents were interested in these roles whereas in 2022 this fell to 46% for white and 32% for BIPOC respondents. Though the nonprofit leadership pipeline crisis has been growing for decades, the pandemic exacerbated the issue with high turnover, burnout, and early retirements at the leadership level. Our sector is at a critical moment. We must address the barriers to leadership pipelines, including lack of mentorship and support opportunities, particularly for leaders of color, eschew rigid job requirements, and proactively address burnout and inadequate salaries, if we want to close these gaps in 2025.

With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), Social Current has partnered with the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) on the “Equip the Flip” initiative. This initiative seeks to create a new leadership framework that can support leaders by addressing structural racism, shifting power to authentically center community voices, and advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging across the sector. Through focus groups, story gathering, and a review of the literature and lived experiences, we have been able to map the next generation of leadership competencies for human service leaders – keeping them actionable and human-centered. The competencies developed from the Equip the Flip initiative show that social sector leaders need development in the following skillsets:

Learn more about the Equip the Flip initiative online.

Organizations are prioritizing employee mental health due to increasing rates of burnout.

The most recent State of Nonprofits Survey from the Center for Effective Philanthropy reveals that 95% of nonprofit CEOs are concerned about burnout at their organization and over 50% of those CEOs reported feeling more burnout themselves than in previous years. In Mental Health America’s recent Mind the Workplace Report, Millennials and Gen-Z had the worst work mental health scores, with 59% and 71% reporting unhealthy scores, respectively.

In 2025, support your nonprofit workplace with best practices in workforce resilience and employee wellness. In addition to paying living wages and comprehensive benefits packages, offer paid time off to encourage rest and rejuvenation, offer flexible and/or less than 40-hour work week schedules, create a resilient culture by training staff on trauma-informed workplace approaches, and allocate protected time for professional growth and development.

PQI: Nonprofits are developing and updating their PQI Models to stay sustainable and mission oriented.

The term VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) is over 30 years old, and yet it is increasingly resurfacing in recent business articles and blogs as we face a very VUCA political landscape to start out 2025. VUCA in the social sector field is the new constant and nonprofits must stay agile and change-ready.

When it comes to program evaluation and continuous improvement, nonprofits are updating their Performance & Quality Improvement (PQI) strategies to be more flexible, dynamic, and gather real-time feedback for swift course correction. PQI models provide a structured approach to evaluating programs, identifying areas for improvement, and driving evidence-based decision making to improve organizational outcomes. By tracking key performance indicators and analyzing data, nonprofits can make informed decisions about resource allocation, staff training, and program design. This data-driven approach helps nonprofits demonstrate accountability to funders, donors, and the community, while also fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Check out Social Current’s webinars to design or update your own PQI plan: Introduction to Logic Models and Logic Models 2.0: Connecting Program to Action.

Partnering with Social Cooperatives: Nonprofits are promoting worker co-ops through incubation.

Another growing workforce resilience trend is an increase in partnerships between established nonprofits and worker cooperatives. Over the past 50 years, social cooperative workplace models have been on the rise. This model deconstructs traditional hierarchical organization models in favor of worker voice and participation. This typically takes the form of equal (or more equitable) distribution of profit and shareholder power. To facilitate this rise, nonprofit organizations have stepped in to incubate social cooperatives that support marginalized communities by providing funding, staff, support, and resources to launch and develop fledgling worker cooperatives. This promising partnership model combines the social mission of nonprofits with the economic benefits of cooperatives. The U.S. could accelerate the development of a more equitable and sustainable economy by following the social cooperative models of countries such as France, Italy, and the U.K., that provide legal recognition and tax incentives for social cooperatives.  To learn more, check out our Social Collaborative & Nonprofit Partnerships resource handout from the Social Current Knowledge and Insights Center.

Social Current is Here to Help you Navigate Workforce Trends

We recognize that staff at nonprofit organizations are facing change, stress, and conflict on multiple levels. Political polarization, isolation, and vicarious trauma are contributing to staff feeling drained and disengaged. Our Workforce Wellbeing & Resilience During Times of Change Learning Series is a great place to develop crucial competencies that will help your workforce thrive.

This four-part webinar series will equip leaders and supervisors with foundational knowledge and skills to help their teams manage uncertainty and interpersonal conflict so they can create a healthy and resilient organizational culture. To empower their staff, participants will learn about core strategies and tactics that are based in brain science research and trauma-informed approaches.

Sessions in this series:

To go even deeper, Social Current offers consulting with workforce resilience experts, train-the-trainer opportunities, in-depth in-person training, and more to strengthen your workplace culture. Learn more about our expertise and solutions.

Success in today’s business world is often measured in numbers—productivity rates, operating margins, and outcomes. But what if the key to sustainability and growth lies not in traditional metrics, but in how well an organization understands and responds to the well-being of their employees? Trauma-informed care (TIC) has long been applied to clients and patients in treatment settings. However, it is not just a compassionate approach; it’s a strategic focus that transforms workplaces into environments where psychological safety drives innovation, loyalty, and stronger outcomes. This is the business of healing—a new paradigm in organizational strategy.

Trauma-informed care has traditionally focused on understanding the client or patient’s history to develop effective treatment plans. However, through the work of Children & Families First Delaware’s Brain Science Training Institute, we see greater opportunity for impact. We have found that staff also experience adverse events and struggle with their own mental health concerns. This is consistent with the data, with nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults experiencing one or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and one in five living with a mental health concern. Recognizing and addressing the well-being of staff, and building their resilience, supports a stronger workforce. Staff often feel validated and express gratitude when their organization acknowledges the importance of trauma-informed care in their training programs. While staff naturally want their well-being to be valued, from an organizational perspective, having regulated and supported staff leads to fewer mistakes, better project planning and implementation, and a more measured response to workplace stressors.

The traditional model of trauma-informed care views it as a linear journey from being trauma-aware to trauma-sensitive, responsive, and finally trauma-informed. However, our consultations have revealed that organizations don’t fit neatly into these categories. We assess various aspects during our consultation process, such as staff development, wellness, physical environment, policies, and client services. Often, an organization may be responsive in some areas, while only aware or sensitive in others. Conducting a comprehensive assessment helps identify key action points. However, it is clear that everyone—from administrative staff to facilities and finance—needs training. Leadership is crucial to this journey as well, as many TIC initiatives require their approval and implementation. Without leadership’s commitment, the success of TIC efforts will be limited.

“How do I balance compassion with accountability?” is a common and valid concern when discussing trauma-informed care in the workplace. Trauma-informed care is not about leniency; it’s about mutual accountability—holding both staff and leadership responsible for creating a respectful and supportive environment. In a trauma-informed organization, values and principles guide every interaction, not just with clients or consumers, but within the team. Leaders embrace mistakes as opportunities for growth, foster open dialogue, and create space for tough conversations. From the outset, clear boundaries and role expectations are established, ensuring transparency. When performance concerns arise, goals are explored collaboratively, and issues are addressed constructively to promote both individual and organizational growth.

To truly embrace this paradigm, leaders must ask themselves some crucial questions:

These questions are essential for shaping a strategy that ensures staff feel supported and valued as integral parts of the organization.

At the Brain Science Training Institute at Children & Families First, we believe the well-being of staff is the cornerstone of organizational success. Our comprehensive training and consultation services are designed to support organizations in implementing trauma-informed care practices that foster a supportive and innovative workplace. Whether you are in the social service sector or any other industry, a trauma-informed approach can transform your organization into a place where every team member feels values. Contact us today to learn about how the Brain Science Training Institute can support your journey.

CFF is the winner of Social Current’s 2024 Innovative Impact Award. To learn more, read our article and watch their video interview.

About the Authors

Kiera McGillivray, LMFT
Kiera McGillivray is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and serves as the chief program officer for school-based initiatives at Children & Families First Delaware. Kiera is trained in several trauma-focused modalities including Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Trauma-Informed Yoga, Trauma Focused Expressive Arts Therapy, and Child-Centered Play Therapy with a Neurorelational Emphasis. Kiera has been published in internationally peer-reviewed journals on the topics of trauma and child development, and has presented on topics such as trauma, resilience, and ethics to diverse audiences, including military personnel, clinicians, educators, law enforcement, and victim service professionals. She is a graduate of Social Current’s Executive Leadership Institute. Kiera serves as a clinical supervisor and co-director of the Brain Science Training Institute.

Shannon Fisch, LCSW
Shannon Fisch is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Delaware and is the director of operations and risk management for Children & Families First Delaware. She received her post-graduate certification in trauma from Widener University, received her nonprofit management certification from University of Delaware, and graduated from Social Current’s Executive Leadership Institute. Shannon is trained in several evidence-based treatment models, including Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TFCBT). She is an avid volunteer in her profession, previously serving as president, secretary, and treasurer for the National Association of Social Workers – Delaware Chapter. Shannon is also a clinical supervisor and co-director of the Brain Science Training Institute.

Brain Science Training Institute Logo

Social Current has selected Children & Families First Delaware (CFF) as the 2024 Innovative Impact Award winner for its Brain Science Training Institute (BSTI). The organization, based in Wilmington, Delaware, provides a continuum of child-centered and family-focused services throughout the state.

BSTI is a professional and organizational development program to embed brain science, trauma-informed principles, and related concepts into service delivery and staff, organizational, and community development. The institute is aimed at training internal staff to provide trauma-responsive care, and to help other organizations in the state and country begin their trauma-informed care journey.

CFF began by training all staff in trauma-informed care, brain science, resilience, and self-care. Its internal trainers provide quarterly training to all new staff in the foundational principles of brain science and trauma-informed care, as well as provide regular retraining and advanced training to all CFF staff. In preparing to offer training and consultation externally, the organization began building capacity of internal trainers to provide foundational training and advanced training modules.

“I am thrilled to recognize CFF for their work to accelerate the adoption of brain science within the human services sector and beyond,” says Jody Levison-Johnson, president and CEO of Social Current. “We know that applying trauma-informed approaches is critical for healthy child development and workforce resilience, and CFF is at the forefront of this innovative work.”

Since inception in 2020, BSTI has trained more than 1,500 individuals, including K-12 educators, early childhood providers, child-welfare professionals, law enforcement, social services providers, and victim service advocates.

BSTI conducts post evaluations of the training provided to agencies. Most attendees include educators and school staff (39%) and human services and mental health professionals (32%). Across 10 questions on the understanding of trauma and toxic stress and methods to promote resilience and reduce compassion fatigue, 92% of participants in 2022 and 2023 felt they strongly agreed or agreed. In addition, 99% of participants felt they could apply the skills and information learned to their professional work and personal goals.

Video Interview with CFF

In this video interview with Karen Johnson of Social Current, Shannon Fisch and Kiera McGillivray, who co-lead the BSTI at CFF, discuss its impact on their organization and how they’ve been able to support other community organizations in embracing brain science.

Learn More at SPARK 2024

CFF will be recognized at the SPARK 2024 conference, Oct. 21-22 in Denver, and staff will share their expertise in their workshop on trauma-informed performance management.

Brain Science and Trauma-Informed Approaches is an area of focus for SPARK 2024 workshops. Other sessions in this focus area address creating a healing-oriented culture, somatic and embodied approaches, nature-connected wellness, and employee engagement.

Register for SPARK 2024 by Sept. 20 to receive the early bird rate.

Social Current’s Knowledge and Insights Center is now offering access to the Next Big Idea Club. This virtual book club, curated by bestselling authors Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Susan Cain, and Daniel Pink, delivers the most important nonfiction books of the year. Through our online forum, you can dive deep into impactful ideas with 45-minute audio and video lessons. These lessons distill the essence of groundbreaking books, offering you a comprehensive understanding in a fraction of the time.

Social Current’s access includes highlights from the Next Big Idea Club’s collection of books, with a particular emphasis on:

In this forum, featuring lessons from the books below, you’ll learn strategies and techniques that improve relationships with coworkers, clients, community members, and partners, in addition to your personal relationships away from work.

Access to the Next Big Idea Club is an exclusive benefit for Social Current Impact Partners.

Learn more about the benefits of becoming an Impact Partner online and by joining an upcoming informational webinar.

How to Access

Go to Next Big Idea Club: Better Relationships In and Out of the Workplace.

Social Current Impact Partners can access these lessons for free by logging into the hub. Log in to your existing account or create one if you are a new user. Once logged in, check out the resources list and click on the individual records to view.

Learn more about the Social Current Knowledge and Insights Center.

Social Current looking for a consultant with expertise in curriculum design to support our Recruiting and Developing Peer Recovery Coaches initiative. The consultant will guide the project team in developing a workforce curriculum and train-the-trainer model and process for the sub-awardee organizations supported through this initiative. They will write content, as needed, for the curriculum.

The completed curriculum will include core content, activities, handouts, videos, and other interactive strategies. The consultant will also co-lead a curriculum working group including other initiative partners. In addition to expertise in curriculum development, we prefer that the consultant has subject matter expertise in two or more of the following areas: Substance use peer recovery, family-centered care, trauma-informed approaches, equity, diversity and inclusion, and workforce resilience.

The expected term of engagement is six months and will require approximately 35 hours per month.

If interested, please send your cover letter and resume to Karen Johnson, senior director of Change in Mind at Social Current.

We have long been aware of the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on our long-term health and well-being. Because toxic stress from ACEs can change brain development and how the body responds to stress, their occurrence in childhood has a direct correlation to increases in substance abuse, mental illnesses, and poor health outcomes.

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recently published a new study that puts a staggering dollar figure on that impact. Researchers found that ACEs cost our nation $14.1 trillion annually because of related adult health conditions, including direct medical spending and lost productivity.

However, the study is limited, in that it doesn’t identify the disparities in the number of ACEs impacting children and families of color, and the exponentially higher costs for this segment of our population. In fact, a recent Child Trends report indicates that 61% of Black children in the U.S. have experienced at least one ACE, as compared with 40% of white children and 23% of Asian children.

Researchers have long identified ACEs based on the Felitti scale, which identifies 10 items under two categories:

What’s missing is the impact of generational and historical trauma, especially racism.

Impact of Generational Trauma and Systemic Racism

Racism has a direct and measurable impact on children’s health. More families of color live in poverty than white families, which can lead to food insecurity, lack of safe housing, and reduced access to health care and education. All of these increase chronic stress in children and can have long-term health consequences, with African Americans at a higher risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer, asthma, influenza, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS. This disproportionality also is evident in incarceration rates, child welfare system involvement, and educational outcomes for African American youth, and disparities are often linked to systemic biases.

Research backs this up. A study from Princeton University sociologist Devah Pager showed that young Black men with similar education and no criminal record were much less likely to be offered a job than similar white men. It went on to show that white men with criminal records had an equal or better chance of being hired than Black men with no record. We see the same biases in housing discrimination, child separation rates in child welfare, and more.

There has been some progress in expanding the ACEs scale to reflect the toxic stress that bias and racism impart on children. For example, the team at RYSE Youth Center in Oakland expanded the original ACEs pyramid from the CDC, adding layers of collective and multigenerational thinking, layers of historical, cultural, and social context, to highlight the deeper roots of trauma and explore why these traumatic experiences occur in the first place. The CDC has since adopted the more complete picture offered by this pyramid.

For those of us who work in health and human services, it is critical that we expand our understanding of trauma and adversity beyond the 10 ACEs questions, and work to integrate both trauma-informed and antiracist efforts across the systems we support.

Embracing a Trauma-Informed Approach

One example can be found in Zero to Three’s Safe Babies Court Team™ (SBCT) approach, which focuses on minimizing trauma and its impact on early development by improving how the courts, child welfare agencies, and related child-serving organizations come together to partner with families to support their young children. This approach recognizes that some families experience great stress while raising their children due to environmental conditions—community violence, systemic racism, trauma, or health issues—that make it difficult to provide safety and stability. The Safe Babies Court Team approach does not promote a “one-size-fits-all” solution to the challenges faced by families within the child welfare system or by the system itself. By addressing the needs of each family, through housing, work opportunities, job training, transportation, substance use counseling, and more, Safe Babies Courts are showing that their children are reaching permanency three times faster than infants and toddlers in the general foster care population. Almost two-thirds of babies and toddlers are reunified or find permanent homes with members of their families.

This approach calls for practitioners to ensure all equity efforts include knowledge and practices that embed brain science concepts, including understanding the areas of our nervous system that are activated when we discuss, experience, or perpetrate racism, and how that activation creates barriers for connection.

A core concept of the trauma-informed approach is, “healing happens in relationships.” The development of safe, stable, and nurturing relationships can help build greater resilience in individuals. In its July 2021 policy statement, the Academy of Pediatrics emphasized the need to shift from toxic stress to building relational health. As Dr. Andrew Garner with the American Academy of Pediatrics notes: “The concept of drawing on positive relationships as a shield against the toxic stress caused by adverse experiences has never been more relevant. Over the past few years, we’ve experienced a socially isolating pandemic and reckoned with centuries of structural racism. We must take steps to help kids form close, healthy, and nurturing bonds, whether it is within family, school, or community.”

Policymakers have a role to play as well, by promoting concrete, economic supports and family strengthening policies, such as expanded family medical leave, child tax credits, access to safe and affordable housing, access to early childhood education and mental health services, and more. Research from Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago has demonstrated that connecting families to a well-resourced, community-driven prevention system can meaningfully address the root causes of adverse experiences, including racism, child abuse and neglect and trauma. 

Despite the terrible cost of ACEs, both in economic dollars and lifelong negative impacts, the latest research has demonstrated the potential for safe, stable, and nurturing relationships to act as a protective buffer against the harm of toxic stress on children. When we expand our view of ACEs to include the impact of generational racism, and lift up community efforts focused on building relationships and an understanding that our diversity as a nation is our strength, we have a better roadmap to addressing disparities and incorporating trauma-informed approaches that can help provide all children with a foundation for building resilience that leads to safer, healthier outcomes throughout their life.

According to OSHA’s 2019 statistics, “healthcare and social assistance workers in private industry experienced workplace-violence-related injuries at an estimated incidence rate of 10.4 per 10,000 full-time workers – for a total of 14,550 nonfatal injuries.” The rates are even higher for psychiatric, substance abuse, and residential mental health care facilities. Despite these staggering statistics, OSHA does not have a specific standard on workplace violence for employers. Currently, the General Duty Clause found in Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH ACT of 1970 is enforced in situations involving workplace violence. Most citations issued by OSHA’s compliance officers due to workplace violence typically involve the health care industry.

This has led OSHA to focus on the early development stages of a new workplace violence standard. In March 2023, OSHA called together a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel. They received representation from organizations in industry sectors such as hospitals, residential behavioral health facilities, residential care facilities, home health care, emergency medical services, social assistance, correctional health settings, ambulatory mental health care, ambulatory substance abuse treatment centers, and freestanding emergency centers. OSHA identified potential topics in the draft standard to be considered by the panel, including:

While the exact rollout date of the new standard is unknown at this time, employers can proactively begin evaluating their organization’s current prevention program. The following measures can be implemented or reviewed for effectiveness:

Written Procedures: Organizations should begin by developing a policy on workplace violence containing zero tolerance. The policy can be a standalone policy, part of the organization’s safety manual, or it can become part of the employee handbook. The policy should begin by expressing management’s commitment, as well as stressing the importance of employee participation. Other items to be included in the written policy include hazard identification, hazard prevention and control, training, and recordkeeping.

Hazard Assessment: Consider all possible hazards that may lead to an instance of workplace violence, including recent terminations that may have been particularly difficult. Conduct a walkthrough inspection of your facility and grounds to determine the security of all entry points. Are doors left propped open during breaks? Are windows latched and locked? What areas need further securement?

Physical Controls: These are referred to as ‘engineering’ or physical controls used to reduce or eliminate workplace violence hazards:

Administrative Controls:

For more information and helpful resources, OSHA provides guidance on workplace violence prevention programs, or please reach out to Lisa Bellis, senior vice president of risk management & loss control at Brown & Brown, at 610-348-7986.

Social Current’s Strategic Industry Partners, like Brown & Brown, offer specialized products or services that benefit our network. To learn more about partnering with Social Current, contact us.