This article will outline a conceptual framework for Trauma-Responsive Engagement and Treatment (TREAT), which can be implemented as a model for organizational and programmatic transformation in a juvenile justice system. The proposed TREAT framework is designed to create juvenile justice programming that is not only trauma-informed, but is actually trauma-responsive with respect to all of the members of its community. That is, TREAT staff identify and respond to the outcomes of traumatic experiences in order to help people recover. They work to increase emotional and behavioral self-regulation of participants and help them to achieve self-identified goals. The article will discuss the evolution of this model in the context of recent and historical forces that have fueled juvenile justice reform efforts nationwide. The article will also describe how systemic changes in reaction to those forces should include a clear understanding of, and response to, the impacts of trauma on youth, staff, and systems, and will emphasize that true systemic transformation requires a model which engages, motivates, and benefits all members of a juvenile justice service delivery system—staff and youth alike.
Trauma-Responsive Engagement and Treatment (TREAT)
