Tagged With "Center for Youth Wellness"
Blog Post
10 ways to avoid ACEs (during the pandemic)
How can we reduce ACEs and toxic stress during the COVID-19 pandemic? Many of us are concerned that increased stress might increase the risk for ACEs. For example, most child abuse happens when adults reach their breaking point. However, we are not powerless in the face of these challenges. Using HOPE ( Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences ) as a guide, here are 10 suggestions to reduce ACEs now: Think about social connection and physical distance , not social distance. Continuing to...
Blog Post
12 Things I Wish My Doctor Understood About Childhood Trauma
It doesn’t happen that often anymore, but one place where I almost always get triggered with my Childhood PTSD symptoms is when I visit the doctor. I could never even put this into words before. But now that I’m mostly healed from my Childhood PTSD symptoms, I want to express what I wish my doctors – all the doctors of my life – had understood about the effects of Childhood trauma, about me. Note: This is one of my most personal posts ever. Unless you’re someone who really prefers text, I...
Blog Post
2014's Best and Worst States for Underprivileged Children
In an ideal world, children live carefree. They play with friends, eat nutritious food and receive a good education. They don’t worry about paying bills or searching for their next meal. They’re nurtured, protected and guided by caring...
Blog Post
2018 PREVENTION RESOURCE GUIDE - KEEPING CHILDREN SAFE AND FAMILIES STRONG IN SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITIES
The 2018 Prevention Resource Guide: Keeping Children Safe and Families Strong in Supportive Communities was recently released by the Office of Child Abuse and Neglect in the Children's Bureau of the US Department of Health and Human Services. This guide is designed to support service providers as they work with families to promote child well-being and prevent child maltreatment. It focuses on protective factors that build on family strengths to foster healthy child and youth development. In...
Blog Post
Introducing NEW Becoming Trauma-Informed & Beyond Community
Earlier this year @Dawn Daum wrote to us when she was ready to share ACEs science with people in the organization she works in to make a case for moving towards more trauma-informed care for the benefit of the staff and those they serve. She was frustrated because almost all the training and resources she found were geared towards schools, clinical staff or to organizations working with children and families rather than ACE-impacted adults in the workplace and who are...
Blog Post
Iowa project aims to have all pediatricians, family docs screen for ACEs
Dr. Amy Shriver is on a mission: to convince every pediatrician and family doctor in the State of Iowa to screen children for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Dr. Amy Shriver The Des Moines-based Blank Children’s Hospital pediatrician is not alone. She’s part of Central Iowa ACES 360, a regional cross-sector coalition formed in 2011 that is working toward that ambitious goal. And they’re making substantial inroads. Central Iowa ACES 360 has just developed a one-hour trauma-informed...
Blog Post
JAMA Forum: Building Blocks for Addressing Social Determinants of Health [newsatjama.jama.com]
Our health care system is waking up to the fact that the health of individuals and families does not depend solely on good coverage and good medical care; it also requires us to address social and other factors that are major contributors to a person’s physical and mental well-being. That’s why more and more clinics are screening incoming patients for challenges in areas ranging from housing conditions, nutrition, access to transportation, and even their ability to afford utilities . It’s...
Blog Post
January 2019 NPPC Announcements
The NPPC team at the Center for Youth Wellness is excited to share details about our second cohort of Pilot Sites, our ACEs webinar series with OptumHealth education and our new podcast series: ‘Voices from the Field’. Read on to find out more. Apply for the National Pediatric Practice Community Pilot Site Cohort 2! The National Pediatric Practice Community(NPPC) is pleased to open the application process for NPPC's second cohort of pilot sites. Participation will not only support your...
Blog Post
Join us in San Antonio for the 2019 AAP Trauma Informed Pediatric Provider course
The American Academy of Pediatrics will once again be holding the Trauma-Informed Pediatric Provider Course: Addressing Childhood Adversity and Promoting Resilience March 2-5, 2019 in San Antonio, TX. The Trauma-Informed Pediatric Provider course will assist health care providers and those working in or with child servicing agencies to identify children who have experienced adversity, trauma and toxic stress and will discuss their presentation and the risk factors involved. This three and...
Blog Post
Kaiser family medicine clinic launches 4-question ACE survey pilot for adults
In July, medical residents in family medicine at Kaiser Permanente in San Jose, CA, began screening adult patients for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). But it’s an ACE survey with a twist: it’s shorter, not the 10-question survey of the original CDC-Kaiser Permanente ACE Study , according to Dr. Kathryn Ridout who is leading the pilot along with Dr. Francis Chu and Dr. Alec Uy . Why a shorter ACE survey? Dr. Kathryn Ridout “When we were doing our initial discussions with stakeholders in...
Blog Post
Latest ACEs science research from PubMed, May 7, 2019
Clinic and park partnerships for childhood resilience: A prospective study of park prescriptions. Razani N, Niknam K, Wells NM, Thompson D, Hills NK, Kennedy G, Gilgoff R, Rutherford GW. Health Place . 2019 May 3;57:179-185. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.04.008. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:31060017 Family Resilience And Connection Promote Flourishing Among US Children, Even Amid Adversity. Bethell CD, Gombojav N, Whitaker RC. Health Aff (Millwood) . 2019 May;38(5):729-737. doi:...
Blog Post
Launching a Revolution [hsph.harvard.edu]
By Madeline Drexler, Harvard Public Health, Winter 2020 In 2007, pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris, MPH ’02, set out on an idealistic mission: to deliver quality medical care to one of San Francisco’s poorest and most underserved neighborhoods—Bayview-Hunters Point, in the isolated southeastern corner of the city. Before Burke Harris arrived on the scene, only one pediatrician was serving the neighborhood’s 10,000 children. The community’s plight was starkly apparent in its ZIP code. In 17 of...
Blog Post
Leaders in SF public housing deal with their own and community trauma head on
Sengthong Sithounnolat, Jeris Woodson, Donald Greene, Ashley Blanco On a recent Saturday, 10 people gather around a table at the offices of Trauma Transformed in Oakland, Calif., where quotes from figures like Frederick Douglas, Nelson Mandela, and Coretta Scott King grace one wall as light streams in from a skylight above. The group is known as the Resident Warriors, which meets weekly. One participant talks of her recovery from addiction and her mother’s murder. Another mentions being...
Blog Post
LGBTQ, Traumatized Homeless Youth More Vulnerable to Being Trafficked, Report Finds [jjie.org]
By Stell Simonton, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, October 21, 2019 Understanding how homeless youth are trafficked is important information for the organizations offering them services. That’s the conclusion of a report released today based on a 2018 count of homeless and runaway young people ages 14-25 in Atlanta. “Clearly, talking about trafficking is critically important,” said Eric Wright, chairman of the sociology department at Georgia State University, who led the survey and...
Blog Post
LGBTQ + Youth - a book reviewed in Journal of GLBT Family Studies
LGBTQ youth are most vulnerable to the school to prison pipeline, which is a very severe ACE (Snapp et al, 2015.) To combat this problem, I wrote a clinical manual for educators and mental health clinicians. The book addresses the need for sensitive engagement with, and advocacy of, LGBTQ+ youth. LGBTQ+ Youth: A Guided Workbook to Support Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity was released in June 2018, endorsed by Jenny Finney Boylan, and #1 NEW RELEASE on Amazon in Teen and Young Adult...
Blog Post
List of Free Courses (if you create a Login) from the NCTSN
I have done many of these courses over the years. I think the National Child Traumatic Stress Network is a real gem, so I just wanted to put a link to their list here, so that you would all have access too and could share with others. Thanks...
Blog Post
Love in the Time After Covid-19 [positiveexperience.org]
By Dr. Robert Sege, positiveexperience.org, April 23, 2020 A lot has happened in the month since we first published “ Love in the Time of Coronavirus ” in this blog space. We are now publishing regularly and have featured the perspectives of Drs. David Willis , Danielle Laraque-Arena , Heather Forkey, and Moira Szilagyi . We have also established our own community at ACEs Connection , and post contributions there frequently. Visit our blog to read all posts, our publications page for media...
Blog Post
Love in the time of Coronavirus: HOPE-informed thoughts for parents
This has been quite a week, and we are now facing major disruptions in our own family lives. There is no doubt that the events of this winter and spring will be memorable for children. In that spirit, here are a few ideas to help make those memories (at least somewhat) happy.
Blog Post
Love in the TIme of Coronavirus: Inequities and Supporting Children
This blog is re-posted from positiveexperience.org/blog/ Link there for associated resources, and for the other blogs in the series. Having safe, stable, and equitable environments to live, learn and play forms the second of the 4 Building Blocks of HOPE. Children need homes where they feel safe and secure and have their basic needs met. Children thrive in an environment that encourages curiosity and provides opportunities for learning to play and interact with other children. Today’s blog...
Blog Post
Managing Post-Traumatic Stress in a Pandemic: Practices & Resources Updated Regularly
[Ed. note: Cissy posted this in the Practicing Resilience community, and it's cross-posted here to make sure everyone sees it. We don't want anyone to miss out on these resources!] Are you looking for new ways to get connected, supported, or to manage stress while managing post-traumatic stress during this pandemic? I am. No matter what our past or present life circumstances, it's safe to say a whole bunch of us are feeling more stressed and if we live with chronic post-traumatic stress to...
Blog Post
Marin Community Clinics in California screen babies for ACEs, provide support in effort to prevent trauma
When Marin Community Clinics (MCC) first considered screening their patients for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) they already had decided that if they were going to prevent children from acquiring ACEs, they had to take a radical approach.
Blog Post
Mark your calendar for March 10 tweet chat on CA ACEs screening!
Hey ACEs Connection communities! Please join us for a boisterous tweet chat about ACEs screening in California on March 10 at 10 am Pacific/ 1 pm Eastern for #SaludTues, hosted by @saludamerica and co-hosted by @CYWSanFrancisco, @acesconnection and @CHCShealth. Get your thumbs ready, and spread the word! What: Tweet chat Who: Salud America, co-hosted by Center for Youth Wellness, ACEs Connection and Center for Health Care Strategies. When: Tuesday, March 10, 10am Pacific/ 1 pm Eastern Why:...
Blog Post
Maternal Depression and Intimate Partner Violence: Impacts on Children [aappublications.org]
Among the many adverse childhood experiences, one must consider are the effects of maternal depression and of mothers being the victim of physical or sexual violence. What is the toll of these on children? Neamah et al. ( 10.1542/peds.2017-3457 ) decided to evaluate this by looking at the strength of such an association on the cognitive development as well as physical growth of over a thousand toddlers between 18 to 36 months living in Tanzania. These children underwent developmental testing...
Blog Post
May 10: SAMHSA Hosts Town Hall on Helping Children Who Experience Trauma
Nearly half of the nation’s youth report having experienced at least one traumatic event. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day 2018 event in Washington, DC, will feature an interactive town hall on strategies to create an integrated health approach to support children, youth, and young adults who have experienced trauma. Awareness Day 2018: “Partnering for Health and Hope Following Trauma,” will take place on...
Blog Post
Medical emergency department visits can indicate increased suicide risk among teens and young adults [medicalxpress.com]
A new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine provides detailed insights on the increased risk of self-directed violence that patients aged 15-29 years visiting the emergency department (ED) for medical complaints subsequently experience. This underscores the importance of EDs in suicide prevention. The broad number of physical health conditions associated with an increased risk of self-directed violence may serve to support expanded or broader screening among teens...
Blog Post
Medical students' ACE scores mirror general population, study finds
A national survey published in 2014 revealed a disturbing finding. Compared to college graduates pursuing other professions, medical students, residents and early career physicians experienced a higher degree of burnout. Citing that article, a group of researchers at University of California at Davis School of Medicine wondered whether medical students’ childhood adversity and resilience played a role in their burnout, said Dr. Andres Sciolla, an associate professor of psychiatry and...
Blog Post
MIndful Healthcare Speakers Series: Resources for Healthcare Workers_Begins May 19
As healthcare workers continue to support us in the most crucial ways, it is our hope that we can support them as well at this time. If you or somebody you know is a healthcare professional, please check out our new free initiative, The Mindful Healthcare Speaker Series . We've created this series, in partnership with Mindful.org, to support healthcare workers during this challenging time. Please help make a difference by letting those you care about know that this free resource is available...
Blog Post
Modifiable Resilience Factors to Childhood Adversity for Clinical Pediatric Practice / Abstract Link
I learned about a new research paper entitled, "Modifiable Resilience Factors to Childhood Adversity for Clinical Pediatric Practice" co-authored by Flora Taub and Renée Boynton-Jarret (pictured above). It was just published in Pediatrics which is the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics). Here's the link to the abstract. I'm not going to pretend I subscribe to Pediatrics. I don't. However, I have been interested in the work of Renée Boynton-Jarret ever since writing a...
Blog Post
More Clinicians Need to Address Postpartum Depression and other Postpartum or Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders
“It’s okay to tell me that you’re not okay.” Postpartum depression (PPD) and postpartum or perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) are the most common medical concerns for women after childbirth. Yet few medical and mental health professionals really know how prevalent and serious PPD and PMADs are. There is a great need for better screening to identify women struggling with postpartum disorders. Likewise, more therapists and mental health providers need to know about treatment...
Blog Post
Nadine Burke Harris debuts "The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity" in Philadelphia
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris debuted her book, The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity , at the Philadelphia Free Library this evening in a talk and book signing. This first stop in an ambitious book tour that crisscrosses the country reflects a mission that Burke Harris has pursued for nearly a decade: to spread the knowledge about the science of adverse childhood experiences, and about how people can use this knowledge to help solve our most intractable problems.
Blog Post
Nadine Burke Harris' new book, The Deepest Well, weaves ACEs science and personal stories
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, MD, MPH, FAAP/Courtesy of Center for Youth Wellness In this short interview , pioneering pediatrician and author Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, the founder and CEO of the San Francisco-based Center for Youth Wellness , discusses her pivotal new book The Deepest Well. In the book Burke Harris weaves together the hard science behind adversity and trauma with personal stories. It was a particular patient, Burke Harris explains, that led her to shift her research and practice.
Blog Post
National Homeless Youth Awareness Month (November 2014) Resources from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Each year more than 1.6 million children are homeless at some point in their lives, and that number is increasing ( The National Center on Family Homelessness ). Along with losing their home, community, friends, and routines as well as their sense of...
Blog Post
National Mandate for ACE Testing for ALL New Parents!
It was about three years ago when I first heard about ACEs on NPR. It truly legitimized everything I had written about family and relationships with the outside world. I read The Teenage Brain and Childhood Disrupted. We are making huge strides in sharing the scientific findings about childhood trauma in as many avenues as we can it appears. Yet, I have a deep sadness at times that ACEs is an after the fact scorecard of traumas inflicted on our children. My most significant moment in reading...
Blog Post
National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (Adverse Childhood Experiences in NSCAW # 20)
Why We Should Assess for ACEs in kids in the child welfare system. I don't know exactly how old this brief from the Administration on Children and Families from HHS is but the graphs say it all. However I will add a few points: 1....
Blog Post
New Federal Opportunities to Advance Two-Generation Approaches to Improving the Lives of Children and Parents [ascend.aspeninstitute.org]
Because of recent legislation passed in February and March of this year, the federal government will be providing significant new funding to state and local governments in 2018 and future years through an array of programs serving low-income children and parents. These new funding streams, and the legislations’ increased focus on improving outcomes using evidence-based approaches, create a remarkable opportunity for path-breaking governors and local leaders to transform how government...
Blog Post
New Grant Opportunity & Program for Bay Area Health Centers: Resilient Beginnings Collaborative
In partnership with Genentech Charitable Giving, the Center for Care Innovations is excited to launch the Resilient Beginnings Collaborative . We’ll select 5-7 Bay Area organizations to participate in this 24-month learning and action community dedicated to addressing childhood adversity in pediatric safety net care settings. We’ll provide access to technical expertise, in-person convenings, site visits to exemplars, and coaching, as well as $80,000 grants to each participating team. If you...
Blog Post
New Health Resiliency Stress Questionnaire debuts for pediatricians, family practice, internal medicine...but anyone can use it
There's a new ACEs-resiliency survey in town! It came out of a conversation between two physicians having a conversation on a bus. Here's the story about how it was developed, and how to use it. Pilots were done in a pediatric clinic, internal medicine, addiction treatment center, group therapy, and psychiatric practice. It's now being used in two community clinics.
Blog Post
New organization calls all pediatricians to end crisis that's "hiding in plain sight"
When the question of screening patients for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) was first raised a couple of years ago, Santa Barbara pediatrician Andria Ruth had mixed feelings about it.
Blog Post
New Report Calls for Statewide Coordinated Response to Protect New Jersey's Children from Adverse Childhood Experiences [finance.yahoo.com]
By PR Newswire, Yahoo Finance, July 30, 2019 NEWARK, N.J., July 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report released today details the challenges New Jersey faces in addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and sets forth opportunities and actions for a coordinated statewide response to mitigate their lasting effects on children's health and well-being. ACEs are stressful or traumatic events, including abuse, neglect, domestic violence, household mental illness, household substance misuse,...
Blog Post
New Sesame Street Tools Help Build Resiliency [rwjf.org]
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Sesame Workshop share a common vision of giving all children—especially the most vulnerable among us—a strong and healthy start in life. We know that childhood experiences lay the foundation for children to grow into productive and successful adults, and promoting healthy behaviors and supporting families from the very beginning can help kids thrive. But it’s equally important to address challenges that can undermine their healthy development. That’s...
Blog Post
New Study Reveals Annual Cost of Childhood Adversity in California Is Approximately $113 Billion [prnewswire.com]
SAN FRANCISCO , Jan. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ The Center for Youth Wellness announces the release of an in-depth study on the health-related cost of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the state of California . A number of studies have investigated the cost of child maltreatment, but the current study, entitled " Adult health burden and costs in California during 2013 associated with prior adverse childhood experiences ," is the first to examine the cost associated with adult health...
Blog Post
New Website Provides ACEs Screening Resources for Pediatric Practitioners
The Center for Youth Wellness (CYW) has launched its new National Pediatric Practice Community on ACEs (NPPC) member website ( nppcaces.org ). The website supports CYW’s efforts to grow a national, co-designed peer group of pediatric-serving medical practitioners interested in ACES screening and in expanding knowledge, building capacity, accessing resources and shaping the field of ACEs research and trauma-informed care. NPPC’s goal is to support pediatric medical providers in making ACEs...
Blog Post
Next "A Better Normal" community discussion series: April 3, 2020/ Maternal health and pediatrics in the time of COVID-19
Steve Sack • Star Tribune The "Better Normal" community discussion for Friday, April 3, 2020, features two wonderful staff members from ACEs Connection: Karen Clemmer, community facilitator for the Northwest, Far Northern California, Alaska and Hawaii; and reporter Laurie Udesky, who is also community manager for the ACEs in Pediatrics community on ACEsConnection.com. Karen Clemmer Join them at noon PT/ 1 pm MT/ 2 pm CT/ 3 pm ET and share your thoughts, ideas, questions, concerns, and...
Blog Post
NJ medical school program requires all first-year students to learn about ACEs science
In 2015, Dr. Beth Pletcher, a pediatrician and associate professor specializing in genetics, was at the annual conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Washington D.C. when she heard two speakers that forever changed her work with medical students. Dr. Beth Pletcher “I went to two talks on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that were so mind-boggling to me that I decided on my drive back to New Jersey that I had to do something about it,”says Pletcher, director of the Division...
Blog Post
Nominate a Trauma-Informed Care Champion: #TICchampion
Becoming a trauma-informed organization requires clear communication about the transformation process, and support from staff at all levels of an organization. Often these efforts are spearheaded by “trauma-informed care champions”— individuals committed to raising awareness regarding the health effects of trauma and toxic stress and improving care for people who have experienced trauma. This week, the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) invites you to recognize people around you who...
Blog Post
NPPC News and Resources
As 2019 comes to a close, we wish you a peaceful and healthy holiday season. As trauma-informed healthcare practitioners, this is also a time to acknowledge that the holidays can trigger loneliness and anxiety -- so please take time to care for yourself and perhaps provide extra support for your patients and families. As always, below you’ll find other news, webinars and resources we hope you find helpful for your ACEs screening efforts. Medi-Cal Funding Available for ACEs Screening Starting...
Blog Post
WEBINAR - NPPC's Pilot Site Case Studies: Lessons Learned from ACEs Screening Implementation
The Center for Youth Wellness' National Pediatric Practice Community on ACES (NPPC) is a co-designed community committed to collaborative learning. To promote this learning, we have been working with six pilot sites over the last year, representing practices of various sizes and service delivery settings, to implement ACEs screening and intervention. On Monday, December 2nd at 1pm PT , we will be holding a webinar to discuss the findings of these pilot site case studies. To attend, please...
Blog Post
NPPC shares lessons learned and results from ACEs screening pilot sites
For Dr. Mercie Digangi, a pediatrician at Kaiser Southern California in Downey, CA, ACEs screening provided a crystal clear before-and-after in how she changed treatment plans for her pediatric patients, she explained to attendees of a December 2 webinar organized by the National Pediatric Practice Community on ACEs (NPPC) and cosponsored by ACEs Connection. Dr. Mercie Digangi One case that turned ACEs screening into a never-go-back moment for her was a three-year-old who was speech-delayed.
Blog Post
Nurturing relationships in childhood boost adult mental health, relationships
We're proud to announce major research that suggests that positive childhood experiences — such as supportive family interactions, caring relationships with friends, and connections in the community — are associated with reductions in chances of adult depression and poor mental health, and increases in the chances of having healthy relationships in adulthood. This association was true even among those with a history of adverse childhood experiences.
Blog Post
Overdiagnosis: How Our Compulsion for Diagnosis May Be Harming Children
Overdiagnosis occurs when a true abnormality is discovered, but detection of that abnormality does not benefit the patient. It should be distinguished from misdiagnosis, in which the diagnosis is inaccurate, and it is not synonymous with...