Tagged With "Adolescents in New Jersey"
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CDC director says racism is 'serious public health threat'
BY NATHANIEL WEIXEL | The Hill The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday declared racism a "serious public health threat," becoming the largest federal agency to do so. "A growing body of research shows that centuries of racism in this country has had a profound and negative impact on communities of color," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement published on the agency's website. Walensky noted the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt most severely...
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Students lead US push for fuller Black history education
By Mike Catalni, Miami Herald, April 8,, 2021 Ebele Azikiwe was in the sixth grade last year when February came and it was time to learn about Black history again. She was, by then, familiar with the curriculum: Rosa Parks, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and a discussion on slavery. Just like the year before, she said, and the year before that. Then came George Floyd's death in May, and she wrote to the administration at her school in Cherry Hill, in New Jersey's Philadelphia suburbs, to...
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Washington Lawmakers Look To Keep Families Together As Part Of Foster Care Reform
By Allegra Abramo | INVW.com Poverty, disability, homelessness wouldn’t qualify as sole reason to take kids away With tears in her eyes, Karen Osborne recalled the day in 2014 when police showed up to take away her 6-week-old daughter. Osborne hadn’t been accused of abuse nor neglect. Instead, social workers were concerned about Osborne’s “mental capacity.” They had already removed seven of Osborne’s previous children and made plans to remove her new baby before she was even born. Social...
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Basic Rights in Special Education - 4/14/21 @ 6PM
Whether you’re new to special education or have been involved for a while, this workshop is for you. This presentation provides families with an introduction to their rights and responsibilities as parents of children with special needs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the New Jersey Code, and Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. Parents begin to identify dreams and goals for their children, understand laws and learn advocacy strategies that will...
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Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM)
April is also Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). Currently, the Division on Women (DOW) supports statewide community-level primary prevention efforts to prevent sexual violence. To advance these efforts, we work with non-traditional partners and consider them as experts in their own lives and community pillars for change . We believe that impactful primary prevention efforts begin with community engagement and providing tools to communities so they can empower themselves. As such, our...
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NJ To Waive Mandatory Minimum Prison For Non-Violent Drug Crimes
NEW JERSEY – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal issued a statewide directive to law enforcement Monday, instructing prosecutors to waive mandatory parole disqualifiers—commonly known as mandatory minimum prison terms—for non-violent drug offenses. "We cannot stand by and ignore the unjust and racially disparate impact of these mandatory minimum terms on non-violent drug offenders—primarily young persons of color," Governor Phil Murphy said. "It's been well over a year since the Criminal...
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Most of Ford's remaining pollution to stay in Ringwood under cheaper cleanup deal with EPA
Federal environmental officials reached a $21 million settlement late Monday with Ford Motor Co. and Ringwood on a controversial cleanup of the borough's sprawling Superfund site that will leave tons of polluted soil in place under a barrier. The agreement filed in U.S. District Court is another step toward affirming a plan that would keep 166,000 tons of contaminated soil at the O'Connor Disposal Area despite the objections of residents who live nearby, including many members of the...
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The Newark Trust for Education Safe and Supportive Learning Environments (SSLE) Summit: May 10-13th
The Newark Trust for Education is proud to present the third annual Safe and Supportive Learning Environments (SSLE) Summit: Covid-19 & Beyond! This year’s summit will focus on working together with students and families to create safe and supportive learning environments post pandemic. Over the course of four days (May 10th – 13th) participants will hear keynote remarks delivered by experts including Karen L. Mapp, Ed.D. , Senior Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education;...
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"Resilience and the Human Spirit: Our Legacy to Infants, Children and Families!"
This year's conference is at no cost, but we are encouraging all to make a donation to the Todd Ouida Children's Foundation at: http://www.mybuddytodd.org/donation.htm Click HERE to register SEE AGENDA AND EVENT FLYER ATTCHED.
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Protect Our Children: Effects of the Pandemic
NEW YORK (WABC) -- On Saturday, May 8, WABC-TV will air a special entitled "PROTECT OUR CHILDREN: EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC" at 7 p.m. ET. The program is hosted by Eyewitness News Anchor Shirleen Allicot, and will focus on the continued impact the pandemic has had on youth, with advice from professionals on how we can address and improve the mental, emotional and physical health of youth. Despite the ongoing pandemic, the special shares stories of individuals who faced difficult challenges and...
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Law and Disability Conference 5/5 @ 9:30AM EST
The Law and Disability Conference is held each year at the New Jersey Law Center and is cosponsored with the Community Health Law Project . This year, we will be pivoting to an online format due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The topics for the 2021 Law and Disability Conference will include: supportive housing, special needs trusts, Medicaid eligibility and transition from children’s to adult system of care. The 2021 Conference will be held Wednesday, May 5, 2021 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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Marking National Mental Health Awareness Month, Governor Murphy Signs Legislation to Cover Expenses for Adolescent Mental Health Screenings
TRENTON – In advance of National Mental Health Awareness Month in May, Governor Phil Murphy today signed A3548 into law, which will require private insurers, the State Health Benefit Plan, and School Employees' Health Benefits Program to put into place policies and procedures to ensure coverage of expenses in mental health screening of a major depressive disorder for adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18. “The effects and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic has put the mental health of...
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YURI KOCHIYAMA
Yuri Kochiyama was a radical Japanese-American liberation activist and a pioneer of the intersectionality movement. Born in California to Japanese immigrants in 1921, Yuri lived what she felt was an “all American childhood”. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor her life would drastically change; Yuri’s father was arrested by the FBI, accused of being a “threat to national security”, was detained for six weeks and died just days after his release. Yuri, her mother and brother were some...
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QUEEN LILIʻUOKALANI
Liliʻuokalani, born Lydia Kamakaaeha, was the queen and last ruling monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. She was the first and only queen to rule the Hawaiian islands, reigning from 1891 until they were seized and stolen by the imperial government of the United States of America. Liliʻuokalani ascended to the throne in 1891 after the death of her brother. By the time she would rule, much of the monarchy’s power had been dissolved by a new constitution that favored mostly white wealthy...
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Hospital and Nurse Week 2021
We would like to say THANK YOU to all of our nurses and hospital staff here in New Jersey!! A Brief History of National Nurses Week 1953 Dorothy Sutherland of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare sent a proposal to President Eisenhower to proclaim a "Nurse Day" in October of the following year. The proclamation was never made. 1954 National Nurse Week was observed from October 11 - 16. The year of the observance marked the 100th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's mission...
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Mental Health Awareness Events in NJ 2021
Monday, May 17 – NAMI NYC-Metro invites you to their free online event: Family & COVID – No One Said It Would Be Easy. A conversation about families, lock-down, and mental health, focused on how families can support and have supported each other, how communities and workplaces factor in, and where we go from here. Presented by María Bautista, LCSW, and Pam Berman, Chief Talent Officer at Publicis Health on family relationships, COVID-19, and mental health. At 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Register...
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Yorm Bopha
Yorm Bopha is a Cambodian housing rights and land activist who was jailed for her opposition against a luxury development in her community that led to the ousting of thousands of local residents from their homes. The Boeung Kak Lake is centrally located in the Khmer capital of Phnom Penh, making it prime real estate for foreign developers to expand. When a foreign company was given a 99-year lease to develop in a central, urban area surrounding the lake, Bopha and her neighbors found...
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Interview with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris & Dave Ellis
We recently sat down with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California’s first surgeon general, and Dave Ellis, the first executive director of the Office of Resilience at the New Jersey Department of Children and Families. A pioneering voice on prevention, early identification, and treatment of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), Dr. Burke Harris gained national prominence with her viral 2015 TED talk on this topic. Dave Ellis made his name as a national leader in providing trainings and...
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THE POLYNESIAN PANTHER PARTY
The Polynesian Panthers were a liberation activist group that fought for Polynesian and Māori empowerment in New Zealand. Inspired by the Black Power movement in the United States, along with Māori protests within the country, inner city youth in Auckland were emboldened to stand against capitalism and to fight for visibility. Auckland’s urban areas were filled with Pacific Islander immigrants, and their Kiwi-born children, who were subjected to police brutality, faced harsh discrimination,...
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NJ spends $445K a year to lock a kid up. We’ve got a better idea. | Opinion By Charles Loflin | Star Ledger Guest Columnist
New Jersey plans to spend a staggering $445,504 per incarcerated youth in 2022 to house them in facilities that are almost 80% empty. The time is now for New Jersey to close its youth prisons and invest in community-based alternatives. The current system, with its focus wholly on punishment rather than rehabilitation, the current system leaves whole communities — as well as the families of both victims and offenders — with unresolved trauma that continues to reverberate long after the...
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Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month (LGBT Pride Month) is celebrated annually in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots, and works to achieve equal justice and equal opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) Americans. In June of 1969, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City staged an uprising to resist the police harassment and persecution to which LGBT Americans were commonly subjected. This uprising marks the beginning...
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Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope
In honor of National Foster Care Month, National Reunification Month and the League’s continuing mission to bring advocacy to young people within and who have aged out of the foster care system, the Junior League of Montclair Newark, in partnership with New Jersey's Office of Resilience, proudly present a virtual screening of the highly acclaimed documentary: Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope Researchers recently discovered a dangerous biological syndrome caused by...
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NJ got $6 billion in pandemic relief. But there are strings attached
JOHN REITMEYER, BUDGET/FINANCE WRITER JUNE 2, 2021 | BUDGET, CORONAVIRUS IN NJ New Jersey has received more than $6 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funding, and like other federal aid programs, there’s a long list of things the money can and cannot be spent on. Gov. Phil Murphy has yet to say exactly how the state plans to use its share of funding from the American Rescue Plan Act within those rules. But the governor has said recently that he’s been having “good conversations” with...
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Biden’s First Proposed Budget Puts Millions Toward Alternatives to Youth Incarceration, Equity in Child Welfare BY JOHN KELLY | Imprint News
Youth Services Insider will delve further into the first budget proposed by President Joe Biden in the coming weeks, but wanted to list off a few notable items that jumped off the page from child welfare and juvenile justice. Juvenile Justice Major boost to state grants: States receive a portion of what’s called the Title II formula grants each year in exchange for their participation in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). Biden is calling for $250 million under this...
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Women’s Prison Plagued by Sexual Violence Will Close, Governor Says [nytimes.com]
By Tracey Tully Published June 7, 2021 Updated June 8, 2021, 11:24 a.m. ET Just over a year ago, the Justice Department offered a scathing indictment of New Jersey’s only prison for women, describing a culture of sexual violence by guards so entrenched that it violated prisoners’ constitutional protections from cruel and unusual punishment. But the string of scandals continued. After a day of mounting tension in January that included prisoners flinging bodily fluids at guards, officers...
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NJ Community of Care Consortium
Join us for a discussion with Dave Ellis, Executive Director for the Office of Resilience with the NJ Department of Children and Families (DCF). Hear about New Jersey’s efforts to prevent, protect against, and heal from the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACESs) and opportunities for collaboration and family engagement. Date: Tuesday, June 22, 2021 Time: 10:00 am to Noon Location: Virtual Register: https://tinyurl.com/8dp4ruzm More detailed agenda will soon follow. For any...
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Reclaiming the Narrative of Black Fatherhood
Fathers play a critical role in the healthy development of children and families. This is why it's important to address structural and systemic barriers that prevent Black men from being fully present in their children's lives—so that all families have a chance to thrive. My wife and I have been married since 2019, but we’ve known each other since we were 14-year-olds. We are raising a blended family. She has a daughter who is 9 and a 7-year-old son. I have a son who is 8, and together we...
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NJ Spotlight News Virtual Roundtable: Back to School in New Jersey: What to Expect this Fall
The educational disruption to New Jersey students due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been extreme by all measures. But with increasing numbers of vaccinated adults in the state and new COVID-19 cases dropping, attention (and planning) is turning to how schools can begin returning to normal for the new school year this fall. A wide range of challenges deserve consideration: Instructional - How will teaching be different once virtually all students are back in the classroom? How will technology...
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Launching June 23: The Actions 4 ACEs Awareness Campaign [Actions4ACEs, NJ ACEs Collaborative]
Note: This notice was sent out today, Tuesday, June 22, from Dave Ellis, Executive Director, Office of Resilience, New Jersey. Since it may be of interest to others outside New Jersey, I'm sending it along. There will be a post about the event in PACEs Connection. Dear Colleagues and Friends, I am excited to share that the Actions 4 ACEs campaign will launch tomorrow! Actions 4 ACEs will raise public awareness about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the simple - yet powerful - actions...
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New Jersey’s Actions 4 ACEs Campaign Launch
New Jersey’s Actions 4 ACEs campaign will launch tomorrow! Actions 4 ACEs will raise public awareness about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the simple - yet powerful - actions that adults can take to make a positive impact in children’s lives. Join the press conference live on YouTube, Wednesday, June 23, 2021 at 11:15am, with the First Lady of New Jersey, Tammy Snyder Murphy, 2021 NJ State Teacher of the Year Angel Santiago, Chief Chris Leusner from Middle Township Police...
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Video: NJ Actions4ACEs Public Awareness Campaign Launch - 6/23/21
Watch the virtual press conference in which representatives from the NJ ACEs Collaborative, along with State and community leaders, kicked off an exciting new public awareness campaign designed to highlight how we all can play a part to reduce the effects of childhood adversity, through actions both large and small that demonstrate compassion and promote a sense of emotional safety. How will you act to address ACEs in your community? Visit https://www.actions4aces.com/ and help amplify this...
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Community listening session on white supremacy, domestic threats, & youth extremism with The Division on Civil Rights (DCR)
DCR listening Sessions on White Supremacy Extremist will cover groups in the state, with the specific focus on how youth are recruited to these groups, the role social media plays in that recruitment, and how individuals and the community are harmed by these groups' hateful actions. These listening sessions are part of uplifting our 27 Youth Bias Taskforce Recommendations. Register: Wednesday, July 14th 6:30pm – 8:30pm - Click Here for Zoom Registration For those that are unable to attend...
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Newark, NJ cop uses 'empathy, compassion' to save suicidal teen on roof
NEWARK — An officer was commended for removing a window and climbing out onto a roof to talk a teenage girl out of jumping. Newark Public Safety Director Brian A. O’Hara said Officer Elijah Melvin was part of the response to a report of "family trouble" at a home in the South Ward around 5 p.m. Wednesday. He spoke to the girl, who said she was upset about the loss of an older brother. Read More: NJ cop uses 'empathy, compassion' to save suicidal teen on roof | ...
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New Study Suggests Ending Group Care for Foster Youth BY JOHN KELLY | The Imprint
Astudy of life in institutions and group homes revealed firsthand testimony of poor nutrition, upended education and excessive use of psychiatric drugs, and urged an end to their use to house foster youth. A team of seven researchers produced “Away From Home: Youth Experiences of Institutional Placements in Foster Care,” some with lived experience in the child welfare system. “People can disagree about the extent of harm they do,” said Sandra Gasca-Gonzalez, the vice president of the Center...
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PACEs Champion Dwana Young navigates community-driven ACEs healing centers in New Jersey
In 2020, New Jersey, a state with about 9 million people spread over the rural countryside and dense urban areas like Newark, launched a new entity: the NJ Office of Resilience (NJOR). The NJOR is unusual because it is a public-private partnership. It brings together three private foundations as well as the NJ Department of Children and Families to provide community-driven strategies for preventing, treating, and healing from ACEs. Like a ship’s navigator laying out a course on charts, Dwana...
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Finding Peace in the Midst of Brokenness: Anonymous Blogger
In honor of mental health month I ask myself this question: What is something you need to start saying “yes” to? To most individuals the answer is very simple; minute. Unfortunately for an over thinker and self-doubter like I this is a loaded questions which constitutes a complex answer. My old self wants to run as fast as I can and hide until the question goes away, but the new me is ready to face it head on. So here it goes. I need to start saying yes to MYSELF! Over the past few months,...
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NJEDA ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL $75 MILLION FOR COMMERCIAL PROJECTS UNDER ECONOMIC REDEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH (ERG) PROGRAM
TRENTON, N.J. (July 29, 2021) – The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) today announced a $75 million extension of the commercial component of the Economic Redevelopment and Growth (ERG) Program. The Authority also announced that the extended Residential ERG Program, which began accepting applications in June, has been expanded from $50 million to $125 million. More information about the ERG Program is available at https://www.njeda.com/erg . “Thanks to the foresight of...
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Give NJ youth mental health treatment, not prison time, advocates say | Patrick Lavery | NJ1015
NEWARK — When gymnastics legend Simone Biles suddenly pulled out of Olympic competition last week, citing a need to focus on her mental health, it prompted two concurrent yet divergent conversations. One, was she neglecting her duty to team and country by refusing to push through and compete, and two, is mental health stigma in sports finally going to be broken down. Ashanti Jones, community engagement manager for the Newark-based New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, said someone does...
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RISE From Trauma Act - $4.8 billion grant program
We are in a full court press to support the bi-partisan RISE From Trauma Act and appreciate your engagement! This week’s national and state sign on letter to Senate leadership featured dozens of organizations from around the country. Now we need many voices from throughout your state to increase the number of Senate co-sponsors. Please reach out to your two U.S. Senators to co-sponsor the RISE From Trauma Act. There are two key actions: 1. At least one person from your state needs to make a...
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NJ teachers brace for more COVID trauma as pandemic lengthens Michael Symons | NJ1015
TRENTON – Take the regular societal challenges that lead to educational inequities in New Jersey, layer on COVID-related issues that aggravate those problems, and you’ve got the conditions for an even more imbalanced state school system. Then add to that the coronavirus delta variant that has dimmed the light at the lengthening pandemic tunnel and the complications teachers face in the approaching school year get compounded. The state Department of Education held its third annual Statewide...
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$500 million in assistance to renters in NJ
Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation today providing $500 million in assistance to many renters who are behind in their payments due to the coronavirus, in addition to $250 million to help pay off their past-due utility bills. The funding, drawn from federal stimulus allocations to the state, is available to those whose incomes are not more than 120% of the median for the area. Payments can be made for rents that came due and remain unpaid from March of last year through the end of August.
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Simone Biles, ACEs and PCEs [positiveexperience.org/blog]
By the HOPE Team, 7/28/21, positiveexperience.org/blog Like so many people, we spent part of the weekend transfixed by the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Despite COVID, no crowds, and troubles with the Tokyo organizing committee, the athletes dazzled us with their speed, endurance and grace. In particular, Simone Biles seems superhuman – a woman who seems to defy gravity and performs gymnastic feats that had been thought to be impossible. She wears her past on her body and outfit: her collarbone bears...
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DEP urged to set tough limit on likely carcinogen in drinking water
JON HURDLE, CONTRIBUTING WRITER | AUGUST 6, 2021 | NJ SPOTLIGHT NEWS A science panel Thursday urged the Department of Environmental Protection to set one the nation’s strictest standards for a likely carcinogenic chemical in drinking water, in New Jersey’s latest initiative to protect public health from water-borne contaminants. The Drinking Water Quality Institute, a group of scientists and water company executives that advises the DEP, unanimously recommended that the level of 1,4-dioxane,...
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Just 9% of Newark students met state math standards this spring, data show
PATRICK WALL, CHALKBEAT NEWARK | AUGUST 6, 2021 | NJ SPOTLIGHT NEWS Only 11% of students met expectations in reading Newark students suffered extensive learning loss last school year, according to spring 2021 test scores that show for the first time how profoundly the pandemic disrupted students’ academic progress. Just 9% of students in grades 2-8 met state expectations in math based on the results of end-of-year tests taken this spring, according to Newark Public Schools data Chalkbeat...
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Preparing Your Child to Go Back to School In-Person
After a year of remote and hybrid learning, getting back to normal may be a challenge Caroline Miller - Child Mind Institute For many families, two important events will be happening at about the same time this fall: Kids will be going back to in-person school full-time, and parents will be expected to return, at least part-time, to their offices. From one perspective, it’s just a return to what was normal before the pandemic. But from the point of view of families that have adjusted to...
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Willis & Friends—The New AAP Policy Statement Advances Relational Health
Date and time Wed, August 18, 2021 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PDT This livestream series, hosted by David Willis, MD, FAAP, a Senior Fellow at CSSP, will explore Early Relational Health About this event In our third conversation in this live stream series, we will discuss the American Academy of Pediatrics’ updated policy statement "Preventing Childhood Toxic Stress: Partnering with Families and Communities to Promote Relational Health." Building beyond the toxic stress framework, this seminal...
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New NJ program to keep youth out of juvenile justice system
New Jersey is launching a pilot program to help young people transition back into their communities after being incarcerated; the pilot program also will be aimed at preventing their involvement with the criminal justice system in the first place. Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver signed the legislation for the program Wednesday. https://www.njspotlight.com/
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Oprah Winfrey & Dr. Bruce Perry in Conversation # WhatHappenedToYou
Oprah Winfrey and leading child psychiatrist and neuroscientist Bruce Perry, MD, PhD explore the impact of childhood trauma on who we become, the decisions we make, and how healing must start with one question 'what happened to you?' in anticipation of a new co-authored book of the same name. Winfrey and Dr. Perry focus on understanding how shifting the approach to trauma and allowing understanding of the past allows for an opening of the door to resilience and healing in a proven, powerful...
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2021 National Community Leadership Summit - Virtual
We invite you to join us for the 2021 National Community Leadership Summit , hosted by Vital Village Networks. We seek to connect with and learn alongside a national assembly of visionary and collaborative leaders, like you, who are dedicated to the fundamental social transformation necessary to ensure that all children succeed and that families are welcomed as partners and change agents. The summit features two signature conference days, on Monday, October 18th, and Friday, October 22nd,...
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Bolstering Police-Youth Trust Program
PUBLIC NOTICE LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Notice of Availability of Funds Bolstering Police-Youth Trust Program Take notice that, in compliance with N.J.S.A. 52:14-34.4, the Department of Law and Public Safety (DLPS), Office of the Attorney General announces the anticipated availability of the following grant program funds: a) Name of the Program: Bolstering Police-Youth Trust Program. This program is supported by the Federal Fiscal Year 2020 (FFY20) Edward Byrne...