January 2017

I will take my oath of office today and have the honor of representing Silicon Valley in the U.S. House of Representatives. My political campaign succeeded because of the help of hundreds of students. Their ambition and drive will allow them to flourish, but I am concerned about their well-being. These students were volunteering because of a genuine passion for giving back to the community. But a few also told me that the campaign work was a release, or as one student put it “a respite from...

More than three years ago, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Director Erik Riera came to Santa Cruz County aiming to address the vast mental health needs of the community. Trauma informed care Using a grant to begin training all staff in trauma informed care, Riera started a year ago on a goal of training every employee in the health service agency with this model. Integrated Behavioral Health Program When the Affordable Care Act expanded Medi-Cal for the community, Riera was able...

David B. Cohen, a veteran English teacher at Palo Alto High and columnist for Education Week, spent a year crisscrossing California observing some of the state’s best teachers. The result was Capturing the Spark: Inspired Teachers, Thriving Schools, an insightful look at talented teachers, effective practices and promising schools, from Arcata to El Centro. Some interviewees were California Teachers of the Year or, like Cohen, have their national board certification, a distinguished...

As you contemplate your 2017 resolutions, consider investing time in the most vulnerable kids in our community. It might be the highest yielding investment of your life. Stories of neglect and abuse are tragically common. When the abuse ends, ramifications can, and often do, continue well into adulthood. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente conducted a study in the 1990s called the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACEs). Researchers found that in high...