CONTACT: Amy Hasenberg, (608) 266-2839
WAUPACA – First Lady Tonette Walker with a delegation from Oslo, Norway today discussed Wisconsin’s leading role in practicing and implementing Trauma-Informed Care (TIC). The group visited the Waupaca County Health and Human Services Department, the Menominee Tribal Keshena School, and the Sojourner Family Peace Center in Milwaukee.
“No matter where you live—Norway or Wisconsin—you have a role to play with Trauma-Informed Care, which can positively shape life outcomes,” said First Lady Tonette Walker. “Wisconsin has been a leader incorporating Trauma-Informed Care and the science of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) into policy and practice. The Menominee Nation, Waupaca County Department of Health and Human Services, and the Sojourner Family Peace Center are just three of the leaders creating lasting change for Wisconsin’s children and families through Trauma-Informed Care.”
The Norwegian delegation consists of local government and organizational leadership interested in gaining knowledge about Wisconsin’s broad use of Trauma-Informed Care and the science of ACEs from early child care to health services.
In addition to several members of the delegation traveling throughout the state to visit practicing Trauma-Informed Care organizations, several also visited with Wisconsin state agency leadership to discuss the incorporation of Trauma-Informed Care into state policies and programs.
Through the First Lady’s leadership with Fostering Futures, six Wisconsin agencies, including the Department of Health Services, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Workforce Development, Department of Children and Families, Department of Corrections, and Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation are already implementing Trauma-Informed Care principles within their interactions with each other as well as in the services they provide.
Members of the delegation included:
- Inge Marta Thorkildsen, Vice Mayor of Oslo
- Tone Tellevik Dahl, Vice Mayor of Oslo for Primary Health and Social Services
- Tarjei Helland, Political Advisor to the Vice Mayor of Oslo for Education
- Bente Fagerli, Director General of the Department of Education
- Nina Backer-Røed, Assistant Director General of the Department of Education
- Hege Ophus, Special Advisor for the Section of Education
- Walter Frøyen, Director of the Educational and Psychological Support System and Special Schools
- Lasse Dahl, Senior Executive Officer in the Department for Pedagogical Development and Quality
- Anne Grethe Hole-Stensrud, Assistant Director of the St. Hanshaugen District
- Inger-Lise Walmsness Larsen, Managing Director of the Oslo Crisis Center and Competence Center for Violence in Close Relationships
- Iben Schier van der Berg, Assistant Director of the Agency for Child and Family Welfare Services
- Hilde Terese Hamre, Director of the St. Hanshaugen District
- Endre Sandvik, M.D., Director General of the Department of Primary Health and Social Services
- Ellen Rønning-Arnesen, Political Advisor to the Vice Mayor for Primary Health and Social Services
- Knut Egil Asprutsen, Assistant Director General of the Department of Primary Health and Social Services
- Janne Melsom-Hansen, Special Advisor to the Vice Mayor for the Department of the Elderly, Health, and Social Services
“It was an honor to host the delegation from Norway because Trauma-Informed Care is not unique to Wisconsin, it is something that affects everyone in every community in the world,” continued First Lady Tonette Walker. “I hope the delegation takes what they have learned from our state and becomes a Scandinavian leader in Trauma-Informed Care.”
For additional details about the First Lady’s efforts to incorporate Trauma-Informed Care in Wisconsin’s communities, please see attached.
