September 2020

By Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News, September 28, 2020 At a time when the suicide rate among firefighters increasingly concerns officials, fire crews and their families have a new center in a former firehouse where they can go for behavioral health treatment. United Firefighters of Los Angeles City and Los Angeles Fire Department officially opened the Center for Health & Wellness in Arleta at Old LAFD Fire Station 7 on Monday, Sept. 28, during National Suicide Prevention...

I am often asked if I know of resources to educate youth about ACEs, I am excited to share with you that our next Better Normal- Education Upended will focus on just that! Join us Thursday 10/1 as we welcome our speical guest Samantha Wettje from the 16 Strong Project . 16 Strong is dedicated to empowering resilience to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) through educational workshops, school partnerships, and community outreach. 16 Strong strives to continue conversations that help young...

By Shoshana Kordova, The New York Times, September 28, 2020 When my youngest daughter was 3, her preschool teacher called me a few months into the school year to tell me she still had no idea what my daughter’s voice sounded like. This was not hyperbole: My daughter, now 7, had not said a single word to any of the teachers or children. She didn’t sing with the other kids or even speak in their presence, although she chattered, shouted, whined and laughed freely at home — at least when no one...

Transforming Trauma Episode 024: Dismantling Anti-Semitism and the Complex Trauma of Colonialism with Dani Ishai Behan In this next Jewish “High Holiday” episode, NARM Training Director Brad Kammer welcomes author Dani Ishai Behan to Transforming Trauma to discuss the nuances of the Jewish experience in Diaspora, and specifically the challenges around years of ethnic oppression, anti-Semitism and intergenerational trauma. Dani, a writer for the Times of Israel focuses his writing on the...

Service providers and the children, youth, and families whom they serve have long faced system barriers which often present more challenges than solutions. In today’s climate, the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated many of these issues, forcing child and youth-serving providers to find unique ways to meet the needs of individuals and communities. For many reasons, the relevance and timing of the arrival of the Virginia HEALS model of service delivery could not have been more perfect.

By Ann Diamond Weinstein, Psychology Today, September 28, 2020 The experience of life during the pandemic and the impact of COVID-19 guidelines for perinatal care have changed the maternal-fetal experience of pregnancy and birth, as well as the maternal-infant experience during the postnatal period. The neuroception (1) of danger and the potential threat to one’s own life and that of loved ones has been sustained since the magnitude and lethalness of the pandemic was fully appreciated.

By Theresa Vargas, The Washington Post, September 26, 2020 A 13-year-old girl sits in her home on the Northwest side of the nation’s capital, taps on her screen to get to class — and feels relieved. Relieved that she doesn’t have to sling her backpack over her shoulder and say goodbye to her mom and little sister. Relieved that she doesn’t have to step outside and make the 2-minute walk to her middle school. Relieved that at the end of the school day, she doesn’t have to walk home alone.

By Lauren E. Wisk, Alon Peltz, and Alison A. Galbraith, JAMA Pediatrics, September 28, 2020 Key Points Question Is the Affordable Care Act (ACA) associated with a change in health care–related financial burden for families with children? Findings In this cohort study of US families with children using a difference-in-differences design, low- and middle-income families experienced a larger reduction in out-of-pocket costs after initiation of the ACA compared with higher income families who...

By Paul Gorski, Educational Leadership, October 2020 "I have a story for you," Shari said as she jogged toward me. I had spent the day with her high school's administrative team discussing an equity assessment they hoped to conduct. A major challenge at this school, as in many schools, was the leadership team's habit of embracing shiny new program after shiny new program rather than addressing deep institutional problems. Their latest shiny new program was trauma-informed education. That...

Join us 9/29/20 @ 11:00 am PST to hear trauma informed policy experts discuss the state and federal legislative/budget context, and provide actionable information for California advocates who are working to advance policy on children’s resilience/adversity in 2021.

Morning meetings are a good place to start, but what you really need is a toolkit of strategies to meet your students’ social and emotional needs all day long. By Tom Berger September 23, 2020 “Maslow before Bloom”—we hear it all the time. The idea that educators should meet students’ basic needs for safety and belonging before turning to challenging academic tasks is one that guides the work of many schools. In this era of high-stakes testing and inflexible curricula, that’s not as easy to...

SAN DIEGO – The American Academy of Pediatrics, California Chapter 3 (AAP-CA3 ) together with YMCA of San Diego County , San Diego State University Social Policy Institute and San Diego Accountable Community for Health (SDACH) are joining forces as ACEs Aware grantees to assist San Diego Medi-Cal providers screen and treat Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress. The ACEs Aware initiative is a first-of-its-kind effort led by the Office of the California Surgeon General and the...