This document discusses the key principles of trauma-informed care (TIC) and how a solution-focused approach can be used to implement each principle. The six TIC principles are safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, empowerment, and shift of perspective. For each principle, the document provides examples of solution-focused questions and techniques, such as scaling questions, miracle questions, and exception finding, that child welfare workers can use to respectfully engage with families and help facilitate realistic solutions in a collaborative manner focused on strengths rather than problems.

1. Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) Solution-Focused Approach
Berg & Kelly (2000); Bloom (2006); Christensen, Todahl & Barrett (1999); DeJong & Berg (1998); de Shazer & Dolan (2007); Harris & Fallot (2001); Hodas (2006).
Green, Krause & Muto (2010).
Susan Green - sagreen@buffalo.edu
Denise Krause - dkrause@buffalo.edu
Jesslyn Muto - jh62@buffalo.edu
Safety
(emotional &
physical)
This is the number one priority in child welfare, as well as in TIC. This
includes the respect and attentiveness to discomfort by all the personnel
who interact with the family or child.
When assessing for safety and creating a safety plan, a child welfare worker
can use solution-focused methods like scaling and relationship questions to
respectfully inquire about the family/child’s perception of safety and ways
they feel safety can be improved.
Trustworthiness To build trust requires the conveying of information in a clear, consistent
manner. The worker will strive to respect the boundaries of informed
consent in order to engage and build trust.
In solution-focused work, the worker is a partner, not an expert, so the
sharing and clarification of information about the child welfare process is
inherent in the relationship. The use of a “not-knowing” attitude, coping
questions, and exception finding are important components to building trust.
Choice Families and children should have the opportunity to exercise choice over
the services they receive. Part of having choice means the family/child
must be informed of their rights as responsibilities throughout the process.
The miracle question, relationship questions, an exception finding are all
useful solution-focused ways of providing families/children with choice over
their services in a way they can have ownership over and follow through on.
Collaboration This means being “with” rather than doing “for” or “to.” Families/children
will have a significant role in planning and evaluating services as well as
in the process of goal setting and service priorities.
In solution-focused work, the process is built on collaboration. The
family/child is the “expert” on their problems and the child welfare worker is
there is help facilitate realistic solutions. Coping and exception questions are
useful in helping maintain the sense of partnership. This may require work in
parallel process and scaling questions make tangible the evaluation of
progress.
Empowerment It is important to recognize the family’s’/child’s strengths and skills and
building on those to create hope for the future
Empowerment is a core philosophy of solution-focused work. Exception
finding, compliments, miracle question, scaling, and choice encourage the
family/child to find and own workable solutions to their problems without
force or coercion.
Shift of
Perspective
Away from the traditional problem-solving method, toward an approach
that asks: “What has happened to this person” rather that “What is wrong
with this person.”
Solution-focused work is not a pathological approach to service provision,
but rather one that focuses on strengths and resources of a family/child.
Language The use of “everyday” language, as opposed to legal or clinical jargon
facilitates a better connection and may encourage a shift toward more
positive thinking.
Solution-focused language is clear, helpful, and positive. The child welfare
worker will speak with the language of solutions to foster hope.