By Whitney Bunts and Kayla Tawa, The Center for Law and Social Policy, December 11, 2019
Recently the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published “Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Leveraging the Best Available Evidence.” The CDC defines ACEs as “traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years) such as experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect.” The report explains the prevalence of ACEs and provides a number of strategies to prevent children from experiencing them. The CDC’s strategies align with much of CLASP’s advocacy work; however, making equitable gains in preventing ACEs requires intervening at the structural level to address systemic racism and oppression.
More than 60 percent of adults in the United States have experienced at least one ACE, and over 15 percent experienced four or more. Children living in poverty are particularly likely to experience ACEs. In the United States, 16.2 percent of all children live in poverty, but that rate is nearly two time higher (29.5 percent) for Black children. Data from 2017 show that Black children are disproportionately represented among children with ACEs, with over 6 in 10 Black children experiencing an ACE.
The CDC’s strategies to prevent ACEs focus on changing norms, environment, and behaviors by strengthening economic supports for families; promoting social norms that protect against violence and adversity; and connecting youth to caring adults and activities.
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