Learning and Leadership Collaborative
We recently certified our first cohort of trauma-informed care professionals — but they are only the beginning.
The Office of Wellness and Resilience (OWR) Learning and Leadership Collaborative is a network of certified state employees positioned across executive departments to put trauma-informed practice to work every day, in their day-to-day work with colleagues and the people of Hawaiʻi.
State departments represented in the inaugural cohort include: Office of the Attorney General, Department of Budget and Finance, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of Human Resources Development, Department of Human Services, Department of Law Enforcement, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Education, Department of Health, Hawaiʻi State Public Library System, Hawaiʻi State Judiciary, the University of Hawaiʻi, and the City and County of Honolulu.
What the Collaborative Does
Collaborative members carry trauma-informed, resilience-centered approaches into how agencies lead their teams and best serve the people of Hawaiʻi. They serve as ambassadors for trauma-informed practice within their departments, and connect across a peer network to share wins, challenges and solutions. As the Collaborative grows, OWR also plans to draw on members as future trainers statewide.
“This training gave us good insight and practical tools to use with each other and with our clients, helping us listen and respond in ways that don’t add to someone’s trauma.”
— James Walther, Deputy Attorney General, Department of the Attorney General
How to Join
The Collaborative is open to state employees who complete the Certification in Trauma-Informed Care — the first of its kind in Hawaiʻi and a cornerstone of Gov. Josh Green’s 2024 executive order committing Hawaiʻi to becoming a trauma-informed state.
The certification is an eight-module hybrid program co-created by OWR and champions of the trauma-informed care movement from state agencies and community-based organizations. Employees complete online video trainings through the Department of Human Resources Development (DHRD), then attend a one-day, in-person session to earn their certification.
Coursework covers the science of trauma and resilience, the principles of trauma-informed care and their application in the workplace, and was shaped by Hawaiʻi’s culture and the realities of historical and intergenerational trauma in our communities.
To maintain certification, certified employees will be enrolled in the Office’s Learning and Leadership Collaborative to continue their trauma-informed care journey with access to ongoing training, technical assistance and leadership development, as well as various wellness activities.
Growing the Network
The inaugural cohort represents employees from departments across state government — and additional cohorts are already underway. Our goal is to grow the Collaborative across most major public-facing executive state departments over the coming year.
Questions? Email us at [email protected].