A bill introduced by Baltimore City Councilmember Zeke Cohen and championed by local youth would help ensure that city employees are properly trained to help youth that have experienced traumatic events.

Under the proposed measure, the Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success would be charged with identifying and delivering services to the affected youth.

The Baltimore Brew reports:

The Trauma-Responsive Care Act, introduced last month by Cohen, seeks to train government employees – first responders, health professionals, teachers and more – in “best practices” for counseling youth who have gone through traumatic incidents.

A task force would be established by the bill, comprised of four young people along with school parents, community leaders, a clinician, a medical researcher and others.

Meeting at least six times a year, the group is expected to prepare an annual report assessing how well city agencies, ranging from Homeless Services to Public Works and Law, are undergoing “an organizational culture shift into a trauma-responsive city government.”

To learn more about the bill as well as the youth-led advocacy by Bryonna Harris that helped spur its drafting, read the full article in The Baltimore Brew.