Appleby, Jo2025-12-102025-12-102025-07-17Australian Social Work, ISSN: 0312-407X (Print); 1447-0748 (Online), Taylor and Francis Group, 78(4), 458-470. doi: 10.1080/0312407X.2025.25262050312-407X1447-0748http://hdl.handle.net/10292/20390Reported in this article are research findings about effective mental health practices for young people involved with child protection services. Five care-experienced young people and 45 stakeholders were interviewed to gather stories of effective mental health practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. The results illustrated what trauma-informed practice can look like throughout the mental health engagement, assessment, and intervention stages. The foundation of trauma-informed mental health care for this population is a deep understanding of the impact of trauma upon young people, recognition of care-experienced young people as a priority population, and a commitment from mental health services to responsively serve these young people. IMPLICATIONS Well-resourced specialised trauma-informed mental health care is important for young people who have been involved with child protection services, many of whom face inequitable barriers in accessing quality mental health care. Trauma-informed clinicians, including social workers, recognise trauma responses as adaptive behaviours rather than a reason to decline mental health service provision. Trauma-informed mental health interventions are based on principles of choice and predictability. Systemic trauma-informed care aligns with critical social work perspectives and antioppressive practice.© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.4409 Social Work44 Human SocietyHealth ServicesClinical Research8.1 Organisation and delivery of services7.1 Individual care needsMental health3 Good Health and Well Being1303 Specialist Studies in Education1605 Policy and Administration1607 Social WorkSocial Work4407 Policy and administration4409 Social workYouthMental HealthChild ProtectionOut-Of-Home CareCare-Experienced Young PeopleTraumaSocial WorkNew ZealandJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.1080/0312407X.2025.2526205