As we enter the new year, we can take a step back and look at the accomplishments made by trauma-informed care advocates across the United States. In the past year. Several states passed legislation related to trauma-informed care training in the workforce, including Illinois and Arkansas.
In August 2025, Illinois enacted Senate Bill 1195 (Act 104), also known as the First Responder Trauma-Informed Response Training Act or Anna’s Law. This legislation mandates first responders to complete a trauma-informed response training program designated by the Illinois Department of Public Health before onboarding new staff and then every 18 months after employment. It further prohibits first responders from carrying out trauma-related duties (such as responding to emergency calls, taking victim statements, or interviewing victims) if the retraining requirement has not been met, and allows decertification or license revocation for failure to comply. Additionally, the bill amends the Illinois Police Training Act and the Emergency Medical Services Systems Act of 1973 to require trauma-informed instruction in the curriculum for probationary law enforcement and periodic in-service training. The Governor of Illinois approved the First Responder Trauma-Informed Response Training Act on August 1, 2025, which takes effect January 1, 2026.
Illinois also passed Senate Bill 2323, the Illinois Statewide Trauma-Informed Response to Human Trafficking Act. This bill requires several Illinois state agencies to adopt a trauma-informed system for addressing human trafficking. Under the new law, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services must maintain a human‑trafficking unit to coordinate services, ensure youth in care are screened for trafficking risk, and integrate trafficking‑victim services into its community-based programs. The Illinois Department of Human Services must develop, together with advocates and survivors, a statewide strategic plan to identify survivors and recommend funding for trauma-informed services. The Illinois State Police and law enforcement training bodies must develop survivor-centered, trauma-informed training and response standards. Specific sections of the law took effect immediately, and the full law goes into effect on January 1, 2026.
A Colorado bill, Senate Bill 25-027, that passed in June 2025, directs the Colorado Department of Education’s Office of School Safety to form a workgroup to develop best practices for conducting trauma-informed school safety drills by September 1, 2025. The workgroup must issue recommendations on how schools should train personnel in trauma‑informed practices for drills, how to conduct drills with those practices in mind, and how to best respond to actual school safety incidents.
Washington signed Senate Bill 5356 into law in April 2025, which requires the Criminal Justice Training Commission to develop and deliver training across law enforcement, prosecutors, and investigators on a survivor-centered, trauma-informed approach to handling sexual assault and gender-based violence. It amends existing statutes so that patrol officers must complete specialized education (including for calls involving sexual violence and broader gender-based violence) within one year of assignment and every three years thereafter. Investigators and prosecuting attorneys must also undertake intensive, integrative training (including on the neurobiology of trauma, best practices for interviews, communications with victims, and alternative testimony arrangements for minors) designed to improve sensitivity, reduce additional trauma, and align across roles. The act takes effect July 1, 2026.
In April 2025, Arkansas enacted Senate Bill 458, “an act to require a court to consider the impact of factors such as trauma and involvement with the child welfare system on a person who committed a crime as a minor during a transfer or sentencing hearing; and for other purposes.” The bill requires courts to explicitly consider a range of developmental and trauma-related factors when a juvenile is being transferred to adult criminal court or sentenced for an offense committed as a minor. These factors may include the juvenile’s exposure to adverse childhood experiences, involvement with the child welfare or foster care system, and status as a survivor of human trafficking or other sexual offenses. The law also mandates sentencing courts to account for the differences between juvenile and adult offenders – specifically for diminished culpability and the impact of trauma on behavior – for persons convicted of offenses committed while under 18 years of age.
The passage of these legislative bills highlights how essential trauma-informed care practices are in supporting individuals, families, and communities affected by trauma. Similar to these other states, Louisiana introduced and passed the following bills supporting trauma-informed efforts during the 2025 Regular Legislative Session:
- House Bill 382 (Act 190): Requires insurance coverage for home visiting services for newborns and young children. Extensive research shows home visiting programs reduce parental and caregiver stress, ensuring a strong start for our state’s most vulnerable residents.
- House Bill 454 (Act 228): Requires Medicaid maternity‑benefit plans to include doula services and sets minimum service elements (e.g., five prenatal visits up to 90 minutes, three postpartum visits up to 90 minutes, attendance at labor/birth) for coverage. Research supports the role of doula care in reducing cesarean rates, labor pain, and postpartum depression, while also improving breastfeeding rates and a mother’s mental health and overall experience. Trauma-informed doula care is an evidence-based approach that integrates principles like safety, trustworthiness, and choice to support women with trauma histories.
- House Bill 337 (Act 275): Establishes an income tax credit for taxpayers claiming a dependent under age six. Earned income tax credits for parents and caregivers are an evidence-based strategy to prevent and reduce childhood adversity through reducing familial financial stress.
Together, these efforts illustrate how trauma-informed policies can create safer, more effective systems by embedding an understanding of trauma into everyday practices to improve outcomes across healthcare, education, child welfare, and beyond in Louisiana. These legislative actions underscore the ongoing commitment to advancing trauma-informed approaches statewide and fostering environments where individuals and families can thrive. As next steps, Whole Health Louisiana will continue to work with partners and policymakers to align implementation strategies, expand training, and ensure these policies translate into meaningful change in communities across the state.