CHD Executive Director, Bill Steele
CHD Executive Director
Dr. Steele began working in residential settings in 1967 for Don Bosco
Home in Detroit, Michigan. In 1988 he was awarded a grant by the Michigan
Alliance of Children's Agencies (MACA) to develop and write a 5-day
childcare training curriculum for childcare workers. He provided this
training the following year to numerous residential programs throughout
Michigan, including: Starr Commonwealth, Adrian Training School, Maxey,
Boysville and many others.
The National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children
In 1990 Dr. Steele
founded and directed The
National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children (TLC), until
his recent appointment as the Executive Director of Children's Home
of Detroit (CHD) in August of 2008. He actually brought TLC to CHD
in 1995 to continue to work with residential programs. Over the years,
he has trained many staff in residential settings which eventually
led to his development of the evidence-based residential trauma treatment
program for at-risk adjudicated adolescents. He also developed a
similar evidence-based trauma intervention school-based program for
at-risk children who have experienced multiple traumas. Click
here to read the article.
Dr. Steele's TLC Institute has certified over 5,000 professionals as Trauma and Loss Specialists who use the TLC interventions in settings across the country every day. As Executive Director of CHD, he uses his trauma expertise to provide a trauma-informed environment for both children and staff.
Profound Impact
Dr. Steele's trainings, intervention programs and research
speak to his focus on excellence in outcomes related to assisting troubled
children. With degrees in education, social work and psychology, he has
long insisted that it is the responsibility of the childcare field to
be flexible in its efforts to help children as there is no one intervention
that fits every child. He is quick to add that this responsibility extends
to providing evidence-based documentation. Whatever intervention
programs are selected, their outcomes must demonstrate that they have
had a profound impact on the lives of the children they are intended
to help.
Trauma-Informed Care
"With what we now know today about trauma, it is imperative
that our systems integrate trauma-informed practices in every aspect
and level of care,"
said Dr. Steele. "The children of today are not the children of ten
years ago," he insists. "It is our responsibility to bring to
children the best of care that each discipline offers as long as that
care is supported by its outcome."
The Children's Home of Detroit carries on a 172 year legacy of having a profound impact on children. Dr. Steele's efforts are directed at continuing that legacy for the children of today.