Trauma-informed care is a relatively new construct in K-12 education, and districts across the United States are seeking avenues to meet the needs of their students. The COVID-19 pandemic elevated the need for districts to develop appropriate supports to address student and adult trauma. Traumatic events can affect a child’s mental, physical, social-emotional, and/or spiritual well-being (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, 2011). Furthermore, children with an elevated risk of trauma may not be able to access these supports outside of the school setting (Baweja et al., 2015). Therefore, educational systems need to develop trauma-informed care models for schools that furnish a sense of safety and community so that students receive the necessary support. This evaluation aimed to identify how the moderating factors of district administrators, site administrators, climate and culture, and teacher capacity affect trauma-informed care via a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework. It included a specific focus on Tier 1, universal access, to improve timely support for students. This formative program evaluation explored the impact of the moderating factors through the viewpoint of a newly created conceptual framework. I used qualitative and quantitative data sources to explore the multiple aspects of the phenomenon. The ARTIC-45 provided descriptive statistics about educators’ attitudes toward trauma-informed care. The observational data and analysis of the Panorama Education social-emotional learning (SEL) survey that assessed 3rd-12th students social-emotional well-being provided character to the evaluation. The data analysis yielded inconsistent results. The observational data strongly indicated a trauma-informed environment in which students were given clear expectations and engaged in positive reciprocal interactions with peers and adults. The ARTIC-45 data showed that administrators, teachers, and support staff responded favorably to trauma-informed care approaches. Though statistical significance could not be obtained due to the sample size constraint of being too small, the data provided context to the other data sources. For example, teacher capacity could not be quantified, but the data provided context to the overall staff capacity. The review of the archival and current SEL survey data showed that favorability among domains varied by site and grade level. The variations in students' social-emotional favorability can be related to their lived experiences and it is important to track over time to monitor how experiences, expressions, and feelings change over time. Students' perspectives regarding themselves and their environment differed from the observational data. This indicates that educators should not solely rely on observational data to determine students’ social-emotional well-being. Furthermore, an SEL survey can be used as a tool to understand students’ well-being and thus provide them with timely support. The evaluation determined that district administration, site administration, climate and culture and staff capacity can positively impact a multi-tiered, trauma-informed care environment. In these settings, student behavior and social-emotional well-being is viewed in a healing-centered manner. Districts can create a multi-tiered, trauma-sensitive culture and provide support to enhance teachers’ capacity to implement trauma-informed care, take advantage of administrative influence, develop community partnerships, and create a culture that is open to systematic change.

This study investigates the restructuring and alignment processes within the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation. The nature of the study was neither inclusive nor an exclusive study accommodate every input of the sub-directorate, and review the staff capacity to meet with set objectives of the Department. It also investigates some of the problematic areas shortsighted by the restructuring and alignment processes in the hub and areas of concerns which included: Accommodation (office space and sports fields); support of staff by senior managers; contracting and performance reviews; transport; progress review meeting of the hub system; budgeting and its implementation; equipment demand; administration tools leading severe problems; contracting of contract workers leading severe problems; and overtime and excessive workload in the hubs. It was showed in the research that problems occurred due to the inappropriate alignment of internal programmes complimented with inadequate human resources strategic planning and implementation. The problem of restructuring and alignment are due to oversight on the processes and implementation of the programmes at the foundational level, the lack of follow-ups on Service Level Agreement (SLA) with local government (still not signed), interdepartmental and intergovernmental integration strategy not in place, inadequate facilities for offices, consultation with community and stakeholders which only took place at the later stage. The respondents seriously commented regarding the organisational structure that has been changed thrice since its implementation. This led to overcrowding of staff hubs, with no career path strategy. Further causes are lack of alignment of human resource management strategy with programmes, and structural arrangement of all the departmental sub-directorates, confusing the implementation of programmes and the reporting systems. Considering the challenges of restructuring and alignment at the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation, the study concludes that there is a need for further restructuring and alignment of the human resource strategy to manage the objectives of the Department effectively and efficiently. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

This study investigates the restructuring and alignment processes within the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation. The nature of the study was neither inclusive nor an exclusive study accommodate every input of the sub-directorate, and review the staff capacity to meet with set objectives of the Department. It also investigates some of the problematic areas shortsighted by the restructuring and alignment processes in the hub and areas of concerns which included: Accommodation (office space and sports fields); support of staff by senior managers; contracting and performance reviews; transport; progress review meeting of the hub system; budgeting and its implementation; equipment demand; administration tools leading severe problems; contracting of contract workers leading severe problems; and overtime and excessive workload in the hubs. It was showed in the research that problems occurred due to the inappropriate alignment of internal programmes complimented with inadequate human resources strategic planning and implementation. The problem of restructuring and alignment are due to oversight on the processes and implementation of the programmes at the foundational level, the lack of follow-ups on Service Level Agreement (SLA) with local government (still not signed), interdepartmental and intergovernmental integration strategy not in place, inadequate facilities for offices, consultation with community and stakeholders which only took place at the later stage. The respondents seriously commented regarding the organisational structure that has been changed thrice since its implementation. This led to overcrowding of staff hubs, with no career path strategy. Further causes are lack of alignment of human resource management strategy with programmes, and structural arrangement of all the departmental sub-directorates, confusing the implementation of programmes and the reporting systems. Considering the challenges of restructuring and alignment at the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation, the study concludes that there is a need for further restructuring and alignment of the human resource strategy to manage the objectives of the Department effectively and efficiently. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.