New Jersey HIV Trauma-Informed Care Project

The New Jersey HIV Trauma-Informed Care Project is a multi-year, statewide initiative that aims to integrate trauma-informed care into the culture and service delivery of HIV-service agencies, with the goal of improving client and staff experience and client health outcomes.

There is growing understanding of the relationship between exposure to trauma and increased likelihood of HIV transmission, low adherence to medication, treatment failure, substance abuse, and poor mental health among people with HIV.

The State of New Jersey recognizes that while it has been highly successful in addressing the HIV epidemic, addressing the profound impact of trauma on people’s health and quality of life is a critical part of ending the HIV epidemic. Studies have shown that utilizing a trauma-informed care approach reduces health disparities, treatment costs, clients’ alcohol and drug use, and the risk of hospitalization while increasing client engagement and improving workplace participation.

The initiative

The NJ HIV Trauma-Informed Care Project emphasizes education and awareness for staff and clients to establish a trauma-informed healing culture in HIV service agencies across New Jersey. CAI’s work in this area is grounded in an implementation science framework.

  • We use a strengths-based approach that begins with leadership as a foundation and examines how to best integrate trauma-informed care into existing systems.
  • We provide customized technical assistance to support reviews of policies, procedures, and baseline assessments to identify trauma-informed care strengths, opportunities, readiness, and action planning.
  • We provide training in trauma-informed service delivery, using evidence-based treatment models for supervisory, clinical, mental health, and non-mental health staff.
  • We strive to develop staff skills that create a trauma-responsive healing environment, supporting evidence-informed care that is compassionate, comprehensive, and skills based.
  • We work with agencies to implement trauma-informed patient services, including systematic screening, client education, referrals, and psychoeducation to address the ongoing symptoms of trauma experienced by clients.

Throughout the process, CAI helps providers use real-time data to monitor progress and conduct continuous quality improvement, and we offer continuing education credits, allowing health care professionals to expand their skillsets.

The impact

This trauma-informed care initiative continues to actively support agencies in assessing, action planning, and implementing trauma-informed care to ensure that they are places for health and healing that actively avoid re-traumatization. In the last year, CAI delivered 26 trainings to nearly 700 participants across the state. To date, the project has offered trauma-informed care services to 2,607 clients during 3,648 encounters.

The core curriculum training, Trauma 101, offered to all staff, has led to increases of up to 22 percent in staff’s self-efficacy or confidence to integrate trauma-informed care into their day-to-day work.

Project funder and key partners

The project is funded by the New Jersey Department of Health, Division of HIV, STD, and TB Services.

Leadership and contact

Beth Hurley, NJ Trauma-Informed Care Project Director: njhivtic.contact@caiglobal.org

Training Calendar

New Jersey HIV Trauma-Informed Care Project trainings are offered to organizations that are currently working with CAI to build a trauma-informed culture in their organization.

If you are working with CAI and are interested in a training that is not listed below, please use this form to request a training for your organization.


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Take 5 Webinar Series

The Take 5 webinar series was created during the height of the COVID pandemic to help health care professionals stay connected to trauma-informed care work and to each other. In more than 20 short webinars, CAI staff and guest experts address topics including:

  • Developing a trauma-informed lens
  • Creating physical environments that are welcoming to people who have experienced trauma
  • Understanding the intergenerational effects of trauma

While the initial COVID crisis has passed, the information presented in this series of videos remains relevant to anyone working with people who have or are experiencing trauma.

Browse a playlist of Take 5 webinar recordings