Interagency Task Force on Trauma-Informed Care
Learn about the Interagency Task Force on Trauma-Informed Care and its work in addressing trauma.
What is trauma?
Trauma happens after an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that someone experiences as physically or emotionally harmful or threatening. It can have a negative effect on a person’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being. Entire generations, communities, or cultures can experience trauma collectively.
What is trauma-informed care?
Trauma-informed care is a way to create safer environments for people who have experienced trauma. Programs and organizations that use trauma-informed care:
- Realize how trauma affects people and understand potential paths for recovery and healing
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma in clients, families, and staff
- Respond by creating policies, procedures, and practices that reflect knowledge about trauma
- Resist or avoid retraumatization
What are the goals of the Task Force?
The Task Force identifies, evaluates, and makes recommendations about:
- Best practices for supporting children, youth, and families affected by trauma
- How Federal agencies can better respond to trauma, like substance use disorders, in families
Task Force History
The Task Force was established on October 13, 2018 — of Public Law 115-271, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act of 2018. It was reauthorized in the new 2025 SUPPORT Act Section 206.
Learn more about the Task Force’s structure.