March 2022

In 1994 Dr. Porges proposed the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that links the evolution of the mammalian autonomic nervous system to social behavior and emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral problems and psychiatric disorders.

South Dakota education officials have struggled to revise social studies standards that include guidelines for teaching Native American history and culture, but a new poll suggests state residents are very firm in their support for inclusion of Native studies in public schools. The poll of 500 registered South Dakota voters in October showed that 88% of respondents were very or somewhat supportive of teaching Native history and culture in South Dakota schools. The poll showed that 6.4% of...

By Laura Gallant, 3/11/22, https://positiveexperience.org/category/blog/ Today, Friday March 11, is the fifth and final day in our Week of HOPE. This week is intended to spread awareness of HOPE – Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences TM and help people learn about the difference that positive childhood experiences can make for children, families, and those who serve them. Today’s theme is HOPE and Faith Communities. HOPE is a flexible program that makes space for all practices that...

By Libby Watson, Photo: Rick Bowmer/AP Photo, The Daily Poster, March 10, 2022 Since the start of the pandemic, Medicaid, the federal and state program to provide health insurance to low income Americans, has been far more generous than in the past. Enrollment is higher than ever, at 77.8 million . This isn’t because of some nationwide change of heart in state governments; it’s because states were paid to stop cutting people from their Medicaid rolls. Under the Families First Coronavirus...

By Libby Doyle, Photo: adamkaz/Getty Images, Housing Matters, March 9, 2022 Research shows that in 2018, nearly 570 of every 10,000 formerly incarcerated people experienced housing insecurity upon release. And one study found homelessness is between 7.5 to 11.3 times more prevalent (PDF) within the population of people incarcerated in jails. This is largely because formerly incarcerated people face barriers to affordable and stable housing (PDF), including lack of income at release,...

By Jesse McKinley and Grace Ashford, Photo: Sara Naomi Lewkowicz/The New York Times, March 9, 2022 New York State will soon announce plans to usher in its first outlets for retail sales of marijuana by the end of the year, giving applicants access to stockpiles of the drug grown by local farmers and offering sweeteners like new storefronts leased by the state. The only catch? To be one of the state’s first licensed retailers, you or a member of your family must have been convicted of a...

By Sarah Varney, Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP/Getty Images, Kaiser Health News, March 10, 2022 Even as the war in Ukraine has prompted an exodus of international companies — from fast-food chains and oil producers to luxury retailers — from Russia, U.S. and global drug companies said they would continue manufacturing and selling their products there. Airlines, automakers, banks, and technology giants — at least 320 companies by one count — are among the businesses curtailing operations or...

Michael Skinner has represented male child abuse survivors on Oprah, spoken to the National Press Club, and been a keynote speaker at a conference presented by the United Nations and the State Department at Georgetown University on the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children and adults. He’s also been the advisor/consultant to SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) at the national level, helping to implement trauma informed care. Skinner’s professional...

By Alejandro Lazo, Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo, CalMatters, March 8, 2022 El gobernador Gavin Newsom es un raro campeón de las personas sin dinero de California. Sin embargo, el empresario del vino, que construyó su carrera política y su fortuna con la ayuda de la élite adinerada del estado, hizo campaña con la promesa de abordar las disparidades de California, y lo hizo con valentía. Desde su primer día en el cargo en enero de 2019, Newsom llamó a las manifestaciones de la desigualdad...

By Lily Bohlke, Photo: Teran/Adobe Stock, Public News Service, March 8, 2022 A program in Massachusetts aims to provide training on trauma-informed care for early educators. It's called Readying Educators and Developing Young Children for Great Outcomes (READYGO). The first cohort of early educators enrolled in the program is in the midst of the second of two courses on creating trauma-informed learning environments and behavioral-management skills. Joe Diamond, executive director of the...

By Adam Laskaris, Windspeaker.com, March 9, 2022 Over the past several years, calls have come from across Canada for the inclusion of Indigenous worldviews and knowledge in all levels of education in the country. Enter the teachers’ guide Resurgence : Engaging With Indigenous Narratives and Cultural Expressions In and Beyond the Classroom. Featuring works from such authors as David A. Robertson, Sara Florence Davidson, Lisa Boivin, Louise B. Halfe and Nicola I. Campbell, Resurgence will be...

By Neil Vigdor and Christine Hauser, Photo: Ash Ponders/The New York Times, The New York Times, March 10, 2022 The map dots, resembling a scattergram of America, point to snow-covered pinnacles, remote islands and places in between. Each of the 660 points, shown on maps of federal lands and waterways, includes the word “squaw” in its name, a term Native Americans regard as a racist and misogynistic slur. Now the Interior Department, led by Deb Haaland, the first Native American cabinet...