{"id":236453,"date":"2026-06-22T15:33:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T01:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=236453"},"modified":"2026-06-22T15:34:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T01:34:19","slug":"trauma-informed-certification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/06\/22\/trauma-informed-certification\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> faculty help lead statewide trauma-informed certification effort"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"cohort
Kevin Thompson, Georgia Lodes, Tasha Meyer, Allan Froa, Tia Hartsock, Aimee Chung, and Michael DeMattos at the State Capitol ceremony honoring the inaugural trauma-informed care cohort.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is advancing its commitment to becoming the nation\u2019s first trauma-informed state—a systemic shift that prioritizes government policies and services that recognize the pervasive impact of trauma. To support this effort, the State\u2019s Office of Wellness and Resilience (OWR<\/abbr>) worked with faculty from the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa\u2019s Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health<\/a> to develop a new certification program.<\/p>\n

In May, Gov. Josh Green recognized the inaugural cohort of more than 100 individuals who completed this training. Created following Green\u2019s 2024 executive order, the OWR<\/abbr>\u2019s program equips professionals with strategies to recognize trauma, respond effectively to stress, and build trust within state systems, helping integrate trauma-informed practices into workplace culture, policymaking and public services.<\/p>\n

A collaborative model for governance<\/h2>\n

The curriculum was developed under the leadership of OWR<\/abbr> Director Tia Hartsock, a Thompson School alumna and adjunct faculty member of the Department of Social Work<\/a> (DSW<\/abbr>). Hartsock collaborated with a statewide team of experts, including DSW<\/abbr> faculty members Aimee Chung and Michael DeMattos.<\/p>\n

This training increases effectiveness, reduces harm and fosters long-term resilience across the state.
—Aimee Chung<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Our collaboration with the Office on Wellness and Resilience creates a partnership that will lead to systemic shifts needed to equip a workforce that is empathic, sustainable and trustworthy,” said Chung. “This training increases effectiveness, reduces harm and fosters long-term resilience across the state.”<\/p>\n

In recognition of his contributions to the program, DeMattos served as a keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony. His remarks highlighted the essential role social workers play in community healing.<\/p>\n

“Trauma-informed care offers a way of being that prioritizes care for those we love,” DeMattos said. “It teaches us not to ask, ‘What is wrong?’ but rather, ‘What happened?’ It helps us move beyond the belief that people are broken. Most importantly, it helps ensure that instead of suffering alone, we heal together.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UH<\/abbr> faculty helped develop a statewide certification program advancing trauma-informed care across Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":236467,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[679,241,244,596,9,603],"class_list":["post-236453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-alumni-recognition","tag-public-health","tag-social-work","tag-myron-b-thompson-school-of-social-work","tag-uh-manoa","tag-workforce-development","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/manoa-social-work-trauma-informed-cohort.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236453"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236474,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236453\/revisions\/236474"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}