Community networks in the state of Washington have been effective in reducing the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), according to a study released this month by respected policy research firm Mathematica.
ACEs are childhood traumas — such as child abuse and neglect, domestic violence or substance use at home — that can have lifelong health consequences, a connection that was first documented with the groundbreaking 1998 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study.
The three-year study was organized by ACEs Public-Private Initiative (APPI), a group of government agencies, philanthropic foundations and community organizations in Washington that formed with the hope of finding and promoting effective interventions to address ACEs in the state. The group has built on existing work of the state’s Family Policy Councils in order to cultivate partnerships and leadership around strengthening families and preventing violence.
In looking at efforts to reduce the impact of ACEs in Washington, the study looked at the work of five mostly rural community-based networks there: the Coalition for Children and Families of North Central Washington, Okanogan County Community Coalition, the Skagit County Child and Family Consortium, Walla Walla County Community Network and Whatcom Family and Community Network.
According to Kathy Adams, a member of APPI who has also worked with the Whatcom Family and Community Network, community networks offer an appropriately broad lens to address the plethora of health and well-being issues raised by ACEs.
[For more of this story, written by Jeremy Loudenback, go to https://chronicleofsocialchang...-approach-aces/20653]
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