Federal Commission Releases Recommendations to End Child Abuse Fatalities [YouthToday.org]

One item I do not see addressed is the financing of the army of practitioners that it's going to take to initiate a national program. I propose a two tier system. First of all entice people into the field by forgiving their student loans after 6 years of service. They will be almost burned out from second hand trauma exposure. Step 2: Then transition the first groups that are the boots on the ground into follow up services to the success story's they cultivated during their initial tour. So on and so forth for ever long it takes. Put into practice right out the gun "Reflective Management". Keep the practitioners as health as long as possible.  

I only read the outline because in my experience government documents tend to be long winded and repetitive. The "Attorney General's Advisory Committee on American Indian/Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence: Ending Violence so Children Can Thrive" hits the problems of the rest of the nation right on the head. Now mind you I'm only on page 90 of 300+ because it's filled with the excess use of words to leave the back door open to keep from being responsible. Credit to them; It demands the use of TIC not only in the community, but also with anyone in the DOJ involved in working in the system, to be also TIC trained. It proposes the elimination of bid competition for grants each year and just lay out of long term funding for programs. And recognizes the fact that children and family need to be kept together as much as possible. It recognizes foster care as being damaging to the child. It recognizes the importance in supporting cultural systems that work in local areas. The Near@Home system of parent education is just one in this nation that takes ACEs and TIC right into the home environment and treats the problem of violence at the source. A new parent(s).

I just attended a meeting and presentation of Paper Tigers sponsored by Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York on Thursday.  Representatives from 15 various community agencies and 20 key staff members of various Buffalo Public Schools were in attendance. Sara Komoroske organized the event and should be commended for her efforts in getting the word of the TIC movement into the Buffalo School System and local community. 

Sara saw my post on Health Leader Ship Fellows and messaged me on Wednesday midnight. Bringing to light that she was unaware of a WNY Coalition for TIC.  She states "We have been working for years with community partners to educate and inform educators, providers, first responders, etc., about ACEs and trauma-informed care." I responded at 2 am that I would like to attend her meeting that morning. At 5 am she sent me an invite and at 9:15 am I met her for the first time. Thank you Jane Stevens for you endless efforts with ACEs Connection Network. I have connected Sara with WNY Trauma Initiative.

I believe there are many out there working in the same direction for TIC and we cannot wait for Government (By the way, we are the government. Someone should tell Washington) to implement systems.. Politicians do not work in the trenches of trauma. Most show up with check and a picture. 

You're right, Lucien. We have a long way to go in educating people about ACEs, and how to create systems that don't traumatize already traumatized people!

Why are child physical discipline / corporal punishment/ controlling children's behavior not even alluded to in the report. I searched and could not find any references. It is impossible to deal with the problem of child abuse and neglect fatalities unless some national commission starts to examine the gateway behavior and experience of corporal punishment of children / child discipline in the context of these deaths. Though it is easy to find descriptions of what happens to the bodies of children that are killed the contexts within which these horrible things happen are ignored. In spite of being asked to examine this issue (I sent three different requests), the commission ignored the child discipline/control/punishment contexts. I guess the commission is as afraid to confront parents / caretakers as are the children who eventually lose their lives. Stopping these violations of children's physical integrity should be a main primary prevention strategy to stop child abuse and neglect fatalities, yet ii is one the commission chose to ignore. I fear its report will end up on a shelf, while the problem of injured and dead children will continue to confront us!