Tagged With "ACEs"

Recently, Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence partnered with Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina (PCANC) to host a community screening of the film Resilience in our Cleveland County-Partners Behavioral Health Management partnership. The screening provided the opportunity for the community to come together to learn not only about the impact trauma has on developing youth and their families but also on the importance of building resilient communities to support them. To introduce the film,...

By UNC TV, November 6, 2019 UNC-TV Public Media North Carolina presents the statewide broadcast premiere of the special documentary feature Resilience: The Biology of Stress & the Science of Hope, Tuesday, November 19, at 8 PM, as part of Resilience Week—a statewide initiative to build awareness of childhood trauma, prevention and resilience. The hour-long film focuses on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), what Dr. Robert Anda and Laura Porter of ACE Interface have termed, “the...

By UNC TV, November 6, 2019 UNC-TV Public Media North Carolina presents the statewide broadcast premiere of the special documentary feature Resilience: The Biology of Stress & the Science of Hope, Tuesday, November 19, at 8 PM, as part of Resilience Week—a statewide initiative to build awareness of childhood trauma, prevention and resilience. The hour-long film focuses on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), what Dr. Robert Anda and Laura Porter of ACE Interface have termed, “the...

Post by Carla Whaley- Partnering for Excellence Project Assistant This was my first ACEs conference. I did not know what to expect. Two days were ahead of me, full of Keynote speakers and breakout sessions, set in the beautiful backdrop of western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. The breakout sessions I chose were all very different, ranging from Exploring ACEs among Mothers and Daughters , to Creating Compassionate Schools Using Trauma Informed Strategies , to Yoga for Resiliency and...

We have known for some time now that trauma affects the physical and mental health of individuals, but a recent study shows that even unborn fetuses can suffer from trauma exposure. The linked study found that infants born to women who had been previously exposed to trauma in their lives gave birth to male babies with significantly lower birth weight than women not exposed to trauma. This should not come as a surprise to anyone but it does reinforce the general consensus that trauma exposure...

Trauma informed systems are great for the people that we serve but we also know that that they cause additional stress on the people who work in the system. Therefore, to have a trauma informed system, we have to pay attention to both burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress. We talk to workers during Trauma 101 about what they need from their employers and encourage knowing your workers better so that you can have better supervision and meet everyone’s needs. Praise is key to this work which...

Dr. Suzanne Frank has known about the impact of childhood adversity on young lives for decades. She’s seen the fallout in the faces of young people huddled in beds at a children’s shelter where she worked years ago. She’s seen it as the regional child abuse services and champion for the Permanente Medical Group. And she’s seen it in hospital examination rooms where, as a member of the Santa Clara County’s Sexual Assault Response Team, she’s been called in to examine shell-shocked children...

This was a WONDERFUL ACES Connections resource from the 2018 ACES Conference around education: "One of the first sessions of the 2018 ACEs Conference: Action to Access discussed the barriers and opportunities for increasing access in the field of education. The main question was: "How can one achieve systematic changes within the field of education?" The session was moderated by Michelle Flowers, a passionate advocate, and the principal of Kinney High in Rancho Cordova, CA, which is part of...

Saturday, PFE’s Program manager, Jasmine Cain was invited to speak at Cleveland County’s 12th Annual Minority Health Conference which was hosted by the county’s Public Health Department and put on by the local Minority Health Council. Each year the conference focuses on educating minority leaders and members in the community about issues facing African American and other minority groups locally. The conference also serves as a platform to address and discuss disparities faced by minorities...

Big CONGRATULATIONS to the PFE Team for another outstanding conference AND BIG thanks to all who joined us and supported our very exciting conference and project! We can hardly wait to see you next year. In the meantime, take a moment to watch our slideshow of highlights from our event!

Benchmarks' Partnering for Excellence Project Director, Jenny Cooper, had the opportunity to talk about everything from ACEs to Resiliency at North Carolina's Child Fatality Prevention Summit. The Summit was the first of its kind in the state and brought together Community Child Prevention Team and Child Fatality Taskforce Teams from throughout the state. While the morning plenary session spoke of ACEs and the high rates of ACEs in North Carolina, Jenny's presentation took the opportunity to...

"If you’re involved in a local ACEs initiative, or developing legislation, and you aren’t on this map, we want to connect with you. If we continue to show the world and each other how rapidly this movement is growing, more people will join."

Often we blame adults for their behavior or decision making without taking time to realize that they have untreated trauma that is affecting their lives. We all focus on children and have made great strides to identify and treat ACES but the system isn't perfect, which means sometimes it fails to identify a child in need. These children then grow up with trauma that affects their mental and physical health which makes relationships with others oftentimes difficult. This untreated trauma can...

Partnering For Excellence is excited to join ACEs Connection! Benchmarks' Partnering for Excellence (PFE) is an initiative in North Carolina which aims to align the Mental/Behavioral Health System and Child Welfare System to create better outcomes for children and families whom have experienced trauma and are now involved with the Department of Social Services. The Partnering for Excellence Model is able to assists these systems and others in collaborating to form trauma-informed...

Another great resource from the 2018 ACES Connection conference in San Francisco: This was a panel with four individuals that "do varied work around trauma in prenatal, infant care and early childhood. Julie Kurtz, the Co-Director of Trauma-Informed Practices for Early Childhood Education at the Center for Family & Child Studies at WestEd, started off by giving a tour of the neurobiology of trauma." ...

Earlier this month, Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) Program Manager, Jasmine Cain and Ollie Harris Behavioral Health Center's Director, Katie Munger presented in collaboration at the 32 nd Annual Research and Policy Conference on Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Behavioral Health in Tampa, Florida. This collaboration began in an effort to assess the need for trauma-informed behavioral health services for adults in Cleveland County. As a result of Benchmarks’ PFE goal to...

Authored by Keesha Corbin, Partnering for Excellence Project Coordinator Walking through the doors of the Renaissance Hotel in Asheville, North Carolina, there was a bustle of excitement. Everyone came to life during the first presentation by Mary Lynn Barrett as we sung together as an audience. Next came the presentation that everyone had been waiting for, Dr. Felitti, the researcher that gave a new meaning to the work of so many in the audience. Looking around the audience, I saw many...

To start off Mental Health Awareness month I attended a screening of the film Suicide: The Ripple Effect. The film is a documentary that explains the events and mind frame that led to Kevin Hines—known widely as “The Golden Gate Jumper”—to attempt death by suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. The film focuses on Kevin’s life, advocacy, and influence after surviving such an attempt and the healing process that followed. As someone who is immersed in ACEs science, I could not help...

Jasmine!!! I love reading this and wish I heard you!! How have parents reacted to sharing ACEs? What gelding options are available for 2 and 3 gen approaches. Lots of us debate the use of screening in kids and adults but I love hearing from those doing it and those it’s been done to. Can I share on rider ACEs home page? Cis

Jenny & Keesha: It's great to read this and to hear about Judge Tepper's work as well as how exciting it was to hear Dr. Felittl! I hope I can hear each of them speak some day! Thanks so much for sharing! Cissy

Carla: This is AWESOME!!!!!!!!! This line is so concise and clear. "ACEs increase risk but resiliency brings healing." It's wonderful to hear your take on the summit and to hear that are doing yoga. YAHOO!!!!!!!!! GO you! Great piece! cis

The Healthy People Initiative, launched in 1979 by the Surgeon General of the United States, was the nation’s first comprehensive health promotion plan. But prior to Healthy People 2030, the newly released plan, there had not been one objective that was specific to childhood trauma, ACEs, trauma-informed care, or toxic stress. Even with decades of research confirming the impact childhood adversity has on development, it has not been included until now! Since the inception of the Health...

Benchmarks' Partnering for Excellence (PFE) project works to connect youth and families involved with the child welfare system, who screen positive for trauma, with a trauma-intensive mental health assessment known as the TiCCA. The TiCCA, or trauma-intensive comprehensive clinician assessment, is a 6-10 hour holistic assessment where specially trained clinicians dive deep to assess for the impact trauma has had on their client’s functioning and identify any related needs. The goal of the...

Trauma has a significant impact on many aspects of a child’s life. Trauma exposure has an effect on overall health and well-being, contributing to complications and concerns with emotional and physical health throughout the life span. Over the past twenty years, there has been more research and acknowledgement of the overall impact that trauma has from childhood through adulthood. At Benchmarks, we strive to develop and implement innovative programs and processes that mitigate the effects of...

While many of us involved in this work are aware of the importance of understanding the impact that diagnoses like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—a mental health condition which results in coping difficulties following traumatic experiences—and other trauma related disorders can have on people’s lives, the reality is that many still lack necessary awareness. As we, in our roles as professionals, allies, advocates, and educators celebrate PTSD awareness month and work to engage those...

September is Suicide Prevention month, and the theme for this year’s World Suicide Prevention campaign is “Creating Hope Through Action.” Perfectly situated only a couple of months after the United States launched the new National Suicide Prevention and Crisis Line. The new line, 988, was designed to be an easy to remember way for people to access help in times of need. While a new crisis line increases the availability of needed mental health assistance, the stigma surrounding mental health...

This month, for our partner spotlight, Benchmarks’ Center for Quality Integration (CQi) is highlighting our partners at WellCare of North Carolina, one of the five Managed Care Organizations selected to provide statewide healthcare coverage to NC Medicaid recipients through Standard Plans. Standard Plans offer physical and mental/behavioral health coverage to individuals experiencing mild to moderate behavioral health concerns. WellCare works to provide its beneficiaries with access to...

As we head into our full CRC curriculum this January, we invite current and future CRC Accelerator participants to join us with collective care and self care in mind.

For many, February is the month of "love “due to its association with Valentine’s Day; red roses and pink hearts are everywhere. However, February is also Heart Health Awareness Month. The state of one’s mental health can have either a positive or negative impact on their physical health and can be considered a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Constant stress is a contributing factor for many people who have poor mental health. Stressful situations set off a chain of events within...