Tagged With "Healing NJ"
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Maternal Health in New Jersey: Pursuing Equity Through Systemic Change
About this Event Alarmingly, in the United States mothers are dying at the highest rate in the developed world with the crisis being most severe for Black moms, who are dying at 3 to 4 times the rate of their white counterparts. In New Jersey, Black mothers may be nearly twice as likely as white mothers to die from pregnancy-related complications and Black babies nearly three times as likely as white babies to die before their first birthdays. To address these tragic realities, initiatives...
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It’s called ‘the pandemic wall’ and it mostly affects children, psychologists say
JEN URSILLO | NJ1015 It's been over a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began and kids are hitting a breaking point that many developmental psychologists have coined "the pandemic wall." The pandemic wall refers to cognitive overload, said Jaime Arlia, vice president of Children and Family Services at CarePlus NJ. Kids have hit the point where their bodies and brains just can't take it anymore. They're exhausted and worn out. They're taking the brunt of this because their capacities were...
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Remodeling Healthcare for Children with New Jersey Family Care: Understanding How the Integrated Care for Kids Model is Changing Care for Kids in Monmouth and Ocean Counties
ATTN Monmouth and Ocean Counties Earn CME/MOC Part 2 credit! Join us Thursday, April 15th at 12 PM EST NJ InCK is a multi-sector collaborative child-centered local service delivery model aimed at reducing out-of-home placement as well as health care expenditures for children covered by Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). It operates through prevention, early identification, and treatment of priority health concerns like behavioral health challenges, physical health...
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Why Atlantic City’s minority neighborhoods are also its most flooded
ANDREW S. LEWIS | NJ Spotlight When Veronica Grant reflects on growing up in the Venice Park section of Atlantic City in the 1970s, regular nuisance flooding isn’t a memory that comes to mind. Yet these days, high tides spill across the neighborhood’s streets and yards so frequently that Grant can’t keep count. Flooding has been a reality in Atlantic City since its founding a century-and-a-half ago, but it has never been as frequent as it is today. Since 1911, the city’s tide station has...
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Advocates push for yearly screenings of NJ students for drugs, depression
Not many young students will volunteer information, unprompted, about feelings of depression or their recent experimentation with drugs. That's why advocates, school employees and lawmakers are pushing for regular screenings of students at the middle- and high-school levels, as long as their parents consent. With a caseload of 400 students, counselor Cristina Puri at Lincoln Park Middle School typically wouldn't end up seeing a troubled student until someone else sensed an issue or the...
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Conversation with Chief Mann of the NJ Ramapough Lenaape Nation
You don't want to miss this event. Active link to follow.
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Sen. Booker, Reps. Adams & Underwood Introduce Black Maternal Health Week Resolution
22 Co-sponsors in the Senate and over 47 in the House join resolution to raise national awareness of the state of Black maternal health in the United States. WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Representatives Alma Adams (NC-12) and Lauren Underwood (IL-14) introduced a resolution recognizing Black Maternal Health Week, “to bring national attention to the maternal health crisis in the United States and the importance of reducing maternal mortality and morbidity among Black...
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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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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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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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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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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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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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ACEs Training Opportunities
Building Self-Healing Communities – Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences Join us for a 3-hour session on the impact of childhood trauma and its implications across the life course. The session with be interactive and will include small and large group dialog, reflection and time for questions and answers. Come ready to actively participate and engage with others on this journey! The Office of Resilience is presenting 3 great opportunities for you to engage in this transformative...
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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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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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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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The part of healing NOT talked about.
"many people choose to stay where they are, because they don't know who they'll be when they're healed"
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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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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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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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Quote of the Week
"Healing begins, when you change the way you tell yourself your story" TD Jakes
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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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Cesarean deliveries decline in N.J., but childbirth complications rise for Black, Hispanic mothers
By Elizabeth Llorente | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Cesarean deliveries declined slightly in New Jersey, but Black and Hispanic mothers again experienced more childbirth complications than white women, continuing a long pattern in the state, according to a newly released report. Black women for years have had a maternal mortality rate seven times higher than white women in the state. The New Jersey Report Card of Hospital Maternity Care, released Monday by the state Health Department and...
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2021 Culture Conference
Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology School of Social Work Graduate School of Education Center of Alcohol & Substance Use Studies CLICK HERE REGISTER NOW Registration fees: Professionals: $99 Students: $ 15 If you're a student, please email a scan of your student ID to ce@gsapp.rutgers.edu to receive the discount code. Special rates for GSAPP/School of Social Work/Graduate School of Education alumni and supervisors! Special Group Rates! email ce@gsapp.rutgers.edu for...
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New Jersey Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference 2021
We’re back! The 2021 NJAEYC Annual Conference is scheduled for October 21 at the Hilton Meadowlands, New Jersey. We are changing the conference to one day this year and still plan on reaching as many early childhood educators as possible. The theme of this year’s conference is The Comeback Conference 2021. For additional information contact Helen Muscato, Conference Coordinator at (732) 329-0033 or online at mail@njaeyc.org Are you a student? Click here to apply to be an Annual Conference...
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New Jersey News
NJ Sees Uptick In Calls About Kids Mental Health Due To Pandemic Alexis Tarrazi | Patch.com NEW JERSEY — "It is OK, not to be OK," Governor Phil Murphy stressed on Wednesday as he reported the state is receiving an uptick in calls from New Jersey parents concerned about mental health issues in their children associated with the COVID pandemic and returning to school. "We know that numerous children and families continue to live under tremendous stress caused by the past 19 months," said...
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Princeton Area Community Foundation awards $275,000 to statewide principal and administrator group to help students exposed to trauma
Krystal Knapp | Planet Princeton The Princeton Area Community Foundation is giving $275,000 to a statewide organization for principals and administrators to fund a program to teach school staff members in Mercer County how to identify students exposed to stressful or traumatic experiences, and how to engage all students in a way that promotes healing from the mental health effects of the pandemic. The Foundation for Educational Administration (FEA) is the nonprofit arm of the New Jersey...
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National Coming Out Day - 10/11/2021
LGBTQ community members to 'celebrate who we are' with equality, love and healing in NJ New Jersey's LGBTQ+ Pride parade and festival isn't happening this year. But there is still be plenty of equality, love and healing to be found on the calendar this month. Event producers Jersey Pride announced in September that their 30th annual Asbury Park parade and celebration — canceled in 2021 and then planned for Sunday, Oct. 10 — has been postponed until June 5, 2022, due to COVID-19 concerns. But...
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Position Statement: Social Equity In New Jersey Demands Appropriate Use of The ACE Study
The New Jersey ACES Collaborative1 is committed to pursuing a standard of excellence in the engagement, partnering, and servicing of New Jersey residents and communities. This commitment demands we continuously review and assess the unique and comprehensive ways we provide that service. In 2019, the Collaborative released Adverse Childhood Experiences: Opportunities to Prevent, Protect Against, and Heal from the Effects of ACEs in New Jersey. This report identified five areas of...
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NJ ACEs Collaborative ACEs Screening Position Release - 10/14/2021
Trenton – New Jersey’s ACEs Collaborative today announced that screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) by care providers should be used as a means to provide assistance and referrals to children and families, not as a diagnostic or treatment tool. In a position paper released today, the Collaborative – a coalition of state-based foundations, the New Jersey Department of Children and Families, and its Office of Resilience – advised that ACE screening results are an opportunity for...
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October is Domestic Violence Awareness
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and while the unfortunate truth is that domestic violence occurs all year-round, this month offers us the opportunity to continue to engage others about the social, emotional and economic impact domestic violence has on individuals, families and communities. On Thursday, October 21 st , we’ll be raising awareness by wearing PURPLE , the color that represents support for domestic violence victims and survivors. Resources can be found here DCF...
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Here's what a return to school means for student mental health and what to do to help
Aedy Miller & Josh Friedman | Cherry Hill Courier-Post With South Jersey students back in school — some for the first appreciable time in 18 months due to the pandemic — educators are once again seeing the effects of a different public health emergency: the ongoing mental health crisis. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of mental health issues — such as anxiety, depression, suicidality and substance use — had already been getting worse. Between 2009 and 2019, overdose deaths increased...
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Prison mandate for teen killers fought at top NJ court
Juveniles as young as 15 can be tried as adults in New Jersey, where they face a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison if convicted. EMILEE LARKIN / October 26, 2021 TRENTON (CN) — The New Jersey Supreme Court pushed prosecutors on Tuesday to defend the constitutionality of a mandate that sends juveniles convicted of felony murder to prison for 30 years. Fighting the scheme is James Comer who was 17 years old in 2000 when one of his accomplices to four armed robberies shot and...
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Event: Resilience, The Biology of Stress & the Science of Hope
Join us for an online screening & interactive discussion of the documentary: Resilience, The Biology of Stress & the Science of Hope About this event When: November 17, 2021, 4:00pm-5:00pm ET Click here to register You will receive the link to watch the film on your own between November 12-16. Then, join us for an interactive, virtual discussion about how New Jersey can address Adverse Childhood Experiences(ACEs) in our children. Speakers: Robin Cogan , MEd, RN, NCSN, FAAN - New...
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Register now! Building the Movement in the Child Welfare and Justice Systems February 4, 2022
Starting February 4th, 2022 - 1pm-5pm ET/10am-2pm PT - Building the Movement in the Child Welfare and Justice Systems UP NEXT: Workshop #4 Building the Movement through Transformative Justice and Faith-Based Communities February 18, 2022 - 1pm-5pm ET/10am-2pm PT Breakout Zoom Room Info: Click here to join Meeting ID: 817 9558 1220 Passcode: 177960 Making these sectors trauma-informed, prevention-focused, and healing-centered You’re invited to participate in the third of eight remarkable...
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Connections Matter NJ Facilitator Training Announcement
Everyday connections are more important than we ever believed. Science tells us that relationships have the power to shape our brains. Relationships help us learn better, work better, parent better. When we experience tough times, they help us heal. With each connection, we develop a healthier, stronger community. Connections Matter is a healing-centered curriculum that teaches adults how to use the power of connections to help develop healthy brains and supportive relationships, prevent and...
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Webinar: ACEs - A Promise or A Peril: To Screen or Not to Screen, That Is the Question [njaap.org]
Join us Wednesday, March 9th at 9:15 - 10:30 AM ET Agenda: · Commissioner welcome · National debate about whether to screen for ACEs in the clinical setting. · Risks associated with ACEs screening in pediatric primary care settings · ACEs through an equity lens Click Here To Register! Christine Norbut Beyer, MSW has been Commissioner of the NJ Department of Children and Families since 2018. She is redefining the agency as a prevention-focused, child and family serving department, with a...
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Highlights from the 2021 Building a Culture of Health in New Jersey Conference
Afternoon Keynote Speaker — Dave Ellis: “What’s Strong With You? A Conversation About Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) versus (ACEs)" Dave Ellis, executive director of the NJ Office of Resilience, gave an enthralling talk about community and what it takes to build it meaningfully, inviting audience members to get to know each other better. "I know a whole bunch of folks who don't agree with the world according to data, and the biggest conversation that I like having with them is, 'Help...
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Plan advancing for NJ to establish school desegregation office
Michael Symons | NJ1015 Photo credit: here TRENTON – Legislation advancing in the state Senate would create a Division of School Desegregation in the state Department of Education, responsible for identifying instances of racial and socioeconomic segregation and ways to ensure diverse enrollment in New Jersey public schools. The division would compile statistics on the racial, ethnic and economic composition of each public school and do a comparative analysis of the educational outcomes of...