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Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images California's Legislature ended its special session on health care, meaning the state's assisted suicide will go into effect on June 9th. Under the law , signed by Gov. Brown in October , a patient who has been diagnosed as having six months or less to live can request that his doctor prescribe life-ending medication. The patient must make two oral requests at least 15 days apart, along with a written request witnessed by at least two people, one of whom...

For the first time in California, thousands of early-learning centers in most of the state, from preschools to licensed child-care centers and homes, are in the process of implementing a common system to rate the quality of their programs.   The...

In a 2014 report , the White House noted the immense potential of information available in large, public datasets to improve people’s lives. But these data are far too complex to use unless they’re filtered, curated, and presented in way that’s easy to grasp. To that end, the White House just kicked off its Opportunity Project , which offers several user-friendly data-based tools to help Americans gain knowledge they need to climb the economic ladder. “Using this data, we can put transit...

Summary What is already known about this topic? Sociodemographic factors and environmental influences in early childhood have been demonstrated to have significant impact on development, mental health, and overall health throughout the lifespan. What is added by this report? This report provides recent national data documenting significant associations of early childhood mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders (MBDDs) with sociodemographic, health care, family, and community factors.

Join this webinar to learn how to shift the way childhood trauma is discussed in the news.

Last Friday, February 26, 800 people filled the Laguna Honda Hospital & Rehabilitation Center in the beautiful Twin Peaks area of San Francisco. They were there for a Black History Month event coordinated by the San Francisco Health Network. The event featured presentations from two outstanding clinicians: Dr. Joy DeGruy, researcher, educator, and author of Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome : America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing; and Dr. Ken Hardy, professor at Drexel University...

This year’s conference has something for everyone! Opening the conference, Echo’s Co-Executive Directors will be joined by some very special guests, including Anne Hudson-Price, an attorney from Public Counsel. Anne will be speaking about the legal action taken by Public Counsel to bring trauma-informed services to Compton School District. “You have to address trauma in order to do anything about the achievement gap,” she says in this article . In addition to featuring the Public Counsel,...

Join me and my guests, John Brooks and Nancy Newton Verrier, on “About Health.” Monday March 7th from 2-3PM on KPFA.org or 94.1FM. We will discuss, The Girl Behind the Door, A Father’s Quest to Understand His Daughter’s Suicide , by John Brooks. It provides a profound look into adoption, teenage suicide, and attachment issues. When John and Erika’s daughter Casey jumped off of the Golden Gate Bridge in 2008, John began to unravel a heartbreaking truth—Casey had been in pain since birth,...

California boasts some of the highest wages and fastest rates of job growth in the nation but high housing costs are pushing many people out of the state, according to a trio of reports released Wednesday. The reports from Beacon Economics in Los Angeles address “Employment by Income,” the “Current State of the California Housing Market” and “California Migration.” Beacon notes that 625,000 more U.S. residents left California between 2007 and 2014 than moved into the state. The vast majority...

Admitting that a fragmented government system is responsible for rising homelessness across Los Angeles, city and county leaders joined state officials at a townhall meeting in Pacoima Thursday to discuss housing strategies they say will cost billions, but will help more people. State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon addressed a crowd of about 100 community leaders and service providers to garner support for his proposed $2 billion bond that will go directly to housing homeless people...

he waiting rooms for foster youths with nowhere else to go opened with great fanfare several years ago. Known as Youth Welcome Centers, they were hailed by Los Angeles County officials as an important way to address the chronic shortage of foster homes, especially for children hardest to place. They were the only facilities in the county system with a no-refusal policy and quickly became a place for youths who would otherwise be homeless. But in the next few days, the county plans to close...

Echo’s conference this year is jam packed with exciting workshops for teachers, parents and anyone who works with children and their families. In addition featuring to the landmark work of Ron Hertel and Mona Johnson in Washington State, we are proud to present: Attachment Trauma & Network Panel Workshop Spotlight: What Parents Wish Schools Knew About Our Traumatized Kids Are you struggling with a challenging child? Hearing the parents from Attachment Trauma Network ( ATN ) gives you a...