When your organization gets certified in trauma-informed care, this verifies that you have completed the process of evaluating your culture, policies and procedures in consideration of people who experienced trauma. 

The Certification Process

According to San Antonio Metropolitan Health, “an organization that is fully committed to becoming TIC certified is expected to be able to complete the certification process in 12-18 months.” However, this timeline may vary. 

The standard timeline for becoming TIC certified is:

• 1-2 months spent in training, assessment, and readiness
• 4-7 months spent building infrastructure and planning strategically 
• 4-7 months spent implementing organizational strategies
• 1-2 months to finalize certification with a TIC visit and follow-up

Certified TIC organizations will be required to recertify every three to four years.

Three Levels of Certification

Level I

• An organization has trained all of its staff on ACEs and the seven domains of TIC
• Implemented regular trauma training
• Uses feedback from consumers to create a safe environment

Level II

• An organization met the criteria established in Level I
• Implemented a set of trauma-informed EBPs
• Educated staff on secondary traumatic stress and compassion fatigue
• Promotes staff wellness

Level III

• An organization met the criteria established in Levels I and II
• Demonstrates that it has policies, procedures and practices in place that operationalize a plan for delivering TIC

The Ecumenical Center

The Ecumenical Center is the certifying entity for the Trauma-Informed San Antonio project. It is responsible for leading the community in developing and adopting three levels of culturally and demographically relevant trauma-informed certification standards. It also creates and implements a community-wide process for organizations and systems to achieve certification.
Apply to become a trauma-informed certified organization.