Florida State University has launched a new online certification in human trafficking prevention and intervention to help professionals develop skills to better understand the dynamics of the various types of human trafficking.

Colleges are increasingly seeking ways to promote the behavioral health and wellbeing of their students. The current study conducted at a large public university in Florida identified a significant relationship between students’ (N = 1,043) adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their self-reported resilience. Across the entire sample, as the number of reported ACEs increased, resilience scores, an indicator of wellbeing, decreased.

Targeted training has resulted in increased identification of human trafficking (HT) by hospital staff. Such initiatives have not been replicated in Emergency Medical Services (EMS), which is problematic since these professionals are uniquely positioned to identify and intervene. To address this gap, this study evaluates the efficacy of an online training module designed for EMS personnel to recognize and intervene with human trafficking.

The curriculum series, developed by the Clearinghouse on Trauma and Resilience within the college’s Institute for Family Violence Studies in conjunction with the FSU Center for Academic and Professional Development, enables professionals to develop the knowledge and skills they need to understand the impact of adult and child trauma, along with the keys to resilience.

This paper describes how supervised visitation programs in a Florida rapidly transitioned from in-person supervised visits to virtual, online visits during the COVID-19 pandemic to protect the health of families and staff. Structured telephonic interviews and an online survey revealed that although most program directors had not previously developed guiding policies or hosted such visits, within weeks they were providing hundreds of online “virtual visits” between children and their non-custodial parents to maintain the crucial parent-child relationship in a safe manner.

Oehme, K., Perko, A., Altemus, M., Ray, E. C., Arpan, L., & Clark, J. (2020). Lessons from a student resilience project. Journal of College Student Development, 61, 396-399. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2020.0037  

Ray, E.C., Arpan, L., Oehme, K., Perko, A., & Clark, J. (2019). Helping students cope with adversity: The influence of a web-based intervention on students’ self-efficacy and intentions to use wellness-related resources. Journal of American College Health. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2019.1679818 

FSU has launched a Professional Certification in Trauma and Resilience. Click here for the full press release. 

The College of Social Work's Dean Clark accepts the John L. Blackburn Award for solutions to campus problems from the American Association of University Administrators in Detroit, Michigan. For the full press release click here. 

Ray, E.C., Arpan, L., Oehme, K., Perko, A., & Clark, J. (2019). Testing restorative narratives in a college student resilience project. Innovative Higher Education, 44. doi: 10.1007/s10755-019-9464-4.