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In late May, Betsy Andersen’s 7-year-old son, Ezra, had a serious meltdown. He and his six-year-old sister Abby had been enjoying an online Zoom interaction with “Miss Eileen,” “Miss Savannah,” a couple of their colleagues, and a puppet. Betsy Andersen “I could see him trailing off and then he started crying,” says Andersen, who lives in Mundelein, Illinois. But before she swooped in, she heard Miss Eileen talking to him: “She was saying ‘Hey, I see you’re having some big emotions.” Speaking...

By Bay City News, July 23, 2020. The Santa Clara County Office of Education was awarded a $6 million grant from California's Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission on Thursday to create wellness centers on school campuses. The development of the wellness centers will provide mental and behavioral health services to students. [ Please click here to read more. ]

From California Department of Public Health, July 2020 In 2018, recognizing an alarming statewide gap in Black infant mortality, the state Legislature passed the Budget Act of 2018 which included the establishment of the California Perinatal Equity Initiative (PEI) within the Department of Public Health. While declines in infant mortality have been achieved, the statewide mortality rate for Black infants continues to be two to four times higher than rates for other groups. The PEI aims to...

By Dr. Kristin Beasley, Delusional Optimism, July 2020 Dr. B is a Keynote Speaker, Organizational Trainer, and Vlogger with a PhD in Clinical Psychology, a Specialization in Parent-Child Mental Health (PIMH), an MA in Early Childhood Development with a K-12 credential. [ Please click here for more information .] [ Please click here to listen to the podcast .]

The pandemic created an extraordinary legislative calendar beginning in the spring of 2020 in Sacramento. In addition to the legislature currently being out for summer recess and staff working remotely, a new budget shortfall ended many promising policy bills and budget requests. As of this writing, the legislature is planning on resuming at the end of July through the end of August with a compressed calendar. Regarding the budget, California had a surplus of $6 billion in January 2020 when...

By Judith Graham, California Healthline, July 23, 2020 Family gatherings on Zoom and FaceTime. Online orders from grocery stores and pharmacies. Telehealth appointments with physicians. These have been lifesavers for many older adults staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic. But an unprecedented shift to virtual interactions has a downside: Large numbers of seniors are unable to participate. Among them are older adults with dementia (14% of those 71 and older), hearing loss (nearly...

Webinar: Fundamentals of ACE Screening and Response in Adult Medicine Wed, Jul 29, 2020 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM PDT [ Please click here to register .] Panelists will discuss the components of screening adult patients for Adverse Childhood Experiences ( ACEs ) and toxic stress and developing comprehensive treatment plans. With distinct clinical viewpoints and a case-based format, this webinar will cover: The value of screening adults for ACEs and toxic stress and responding with evidence-based...

By Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, July 21, 2020 At least once a week in the mornings, Elsa Hernandez walks the mile from her apartment to the Mission Language and Vocational School, sometimes falling in line behind hundreds of other Latinos picking up groceries from the Mission Food Hub. But on a recent Thursday afternoon, she stood in a different line near the hub. Wearing a mask, her red glasses propped on her head, Hernandez, 44, a longtime resident of San Francisco’s Mission District,...

Now that the July 4 th congressional recess has ended, negotiations around the fourth major COVID relief bill are underway between the Congress and the Administration. How the chasm between Congress and the White House will be bridged is a path uncertain, with massive differences between the House and Senate complicating the work. As the pandemic rages across the U.S., there is now at least a consensus that action is needed. But no agreement exists on a payroll tax cut, unemployment...

*Training Extension* Since we had such high interest in our virtual trainings from March-June, we are happy to announce that we have been funded to provide additional sessions of our virtual trainings through the end of September. Please visit strategiesca.org to view dates and times and to register for the upcoming training! All instructor-led trainings will take place online. Enroll below, and check out our eLearning classes! Trauma-Informed Care: 8/12 & 9/3 Trauma-Informed Care:...

By Nadra Nittle, The Chronicle of Social Change, July 1, 2020 Highly trained, well-paid preschool teachers with low-student ratios, clean, safe classrooms with blocks, playdough, art supplies and outdoor spaces where kids can run and play could be key to closing the racial achievement gap, according to a new Rutgers University study. The June policy analysis by the university’s National Institute of Early Education Research concludes that preschools have more influence on the academic...

By Mallory Moench, San Francisco Chronicle, July 21, 2020 Dr. Robert Rodriguez’s anxiety rises and falls with the number of coronavirus cases and deaths. Fear that he could get infected at his San Francisco General Hospital job, or bring the virus home, affects his sleep. He doesn’t hug his 16-year-old son as much. Other worried family members avoid interacting with him. The stress isn’t sustainable, he said. “If day after day, you’re waking up and dealing with patients that are extremely...