Over the summer the Adoption Triad newsletter sent out a special edition on Blocked Care and Blocked Trust.
Within this they advised professionals to be aware of the signs of blocked care so that they can support parents and carers and help them to use PACE to connect with their children. They also linked to the What is meant by PACE? page on the DDP Network website.
Adoption Triad is from the Child Welfare Information Gateway service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Child Welfare Information Gateway connects birth families, professionals, and policy makers across states and jurisdiction with tools and resources. These tools provide insight, data, and evidence-based practices utilized in clinical work, training, and advocacy.
The inclusion of PACE and the DDP Network website in an official newsletter by the Child Welfare Information Gateway, is an important and exciting step to create greater visibility for PACE and DDP within the United States.
PACE is a way of thinking, feeling, communicating and behaving that aims to make the child feel safe. It stands for playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy. A detailed description can be found on our What is meant by PACE? page.
With little experience of safety, children who have experienced developmental trauma develop a habitually defensive state. Focused on self-preservation, blocking out pain to remain connected to caregivers, and vigilant for signs of threat, the child develops what Dan Hughes and Jon Baylin have termed blocked trust.
Providing care for a child who mistrusts due to their early experiences is difficult. Caregivers who lack reciprocity in their relationships with their children, experience persistent rejection or failure to respond to their care are at risk for developing blocked care. A caregiver’s defenses are activated and key neurobiological domains for caregiving are negatively impacted.
An article by Dan Hughes and Jonathan Baylin was also included as a featured resource on blocked care and trust. “Children’s Blocked Trust: How Compassionate Care Helps Reverse the Effects of Early Poor Care” can be read on the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC).
You can read this edition of the newsletter here: https://www.childwelfare.gov/news-events/adoptiontriad/editions/aug2022/
You can also sign-up to future editions on the Child Welfare Information Gateway newsletter page.
