Blog

By Celest Fremon, Witness LA, October 2, 2020 At approximately 4:42 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, September 30, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 823 , a budget trailer bill that will lead to the closure of the state’s troubled and violent youth prison system. Yet the bill is far more than that. It is also is designed as an historic reform measure intended to fundamentally transform the way that the state and its 58 counties approach youth justice. Furthermore, the bill includes the creation of...

By Brooke Sabia, MedCity News, September 30, 2020 Some may ask the question, “What does a care coordinator do for my personal well-being?” There is no short answer as to what a patient can benefit from by receiving assistance from a care coordinator. Their job is to connect with high-risk individuals to uncover and identify needs in a patient-centered manner and in a way that takes into account whether the patient has endured any trauma. When people think of care coordination, they typically...

From Immigrant Legal Resource Center, October 1, 2020 A new report, a collaboration between the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) and the University of San Francisco School of Law Immigration & Deportation Defense Clinic, has catalogued 100+ policies that have detrimentally affected countless immigrants. The report divides the policies into six categories: preventing entry; denying status; taking away status; destroying due process; detaining, deporting and terrorizing; and,...

With funding from the ACEs Aware Initiative, Education Training and Research (ETR), the California School-Based Health Alliance (CSHA), and consultants, Drs. Naomi Schapiro and Victoria Keeton, are partnering to host a 6-session, virtual professional learning collaborative with a cohort of 8 licensed Medi-Cal Providers from School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) across California operated by community health centers and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). Please see the attached...

By Samantha Young and Angela Hart, Kaiser Health News, October 1, 2020 Though COVID-19 forced California leaders to scale back their ambitious health care agenda, they still managed to enact significant new laws intended to lower consumer health care spending and expand access to health coverage. When Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom concluded the chaotic legislative year Wednesday — his deadline to sign or veto bills — what emerged wasn’t the sweeping platform he and state lawmakers had...

In recent days Governor Newsom signed into law three bills that take important steps to improve access to mental health care in California: AB 2112 establishes a state office of suicide prevention SB 803 will certify and train Peer Support Specialists that can bill Medi-Cal SB 855 increases mental health parity requirements commercial health plans Together these bills acknowledge our racialized crisis of despair (AB 2112), launch the formal integration and honoring of lived experience in our...

By Claudia Boyd-Barrett • Sep 29, 2020 As Karla Garcia of San Francisco watched her third child grow, she had a feeling something was different. At 4 months old, Brianna still couldn’t keep her head steady or lift it up when she was on her stomach, a milestone babies typically reach by 2 months old. She also didn’t hold her mother’s gaze or look intently at other familiar faces. That’s something babies normally do within their first month of life. But when Garcia raised her concerns with...

By Ashley A. Smith, EdSource, September 25, 2020\ Incoming California State University’s Chancellor Joseph Castro said he takes the helm at “a really special moment in time” when the 23-campus university system can address inequality. He was selected as the new chancellor Wednesday by the CSU Board of Trustees to replace retiring Chancellor Timothy White, and will take on the new role on Jan. 4. “Black lives matter and racial injustice exists. And I think the CSU has an opportunity to really...

From Youth Thrive, October 1, 2020 Youth Thrive of the Center for the Study of Social Policy is asking for your help to identify the best examples of community-based resources, partnerships, activities, or programs that give young people (ages 9-26 years old) the opportunities and experiences they need to fulfill their dreams in a safe, loving, and equitable environment. Youth Thrive, an initiative of the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), is conducting this Scan to identify the...

By Desiree Murray, Lina Guzman, and Melissa J. Perez, National Resarch Center on Hispanic Children & Families, September 23, 2020 Latino families have experienced a disproportionate burden from the COVID-19 pandemic. As of September 2020, Latinos have represented 29.5 percent of all COVID-19 cases for which race/ethnicity data are available (while representing only 18.5 percent of the total U.S. population). Latinos also have the second-highest mortality rate of all racial/ethnic groups...

By M. Rhonda Sneeringer, Tahoe Daily Tribune, September 25, 2020 We all face challenges and obstacles in life. Some, unfortunately, endure greater or ongoing trauma. Children are especially vulnerable to toxic stresses and traumatic events, and multiple studies show that adverse childhood experiences can have serious consequences on children’s health and well-being into their adult lives. The first and groundbreaking ACEs study was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Kaiser...

By Ashley Mackin-Solomon, La Jolla Light, September 28, 2020 A La Jolla pediatric office is one of a select few to pilot a new screening and treatment program for adverse childhood experiences, known as ACEs, as a way to lessen the possible long-term negative health effects associated with them. Through an initiative known as ACEs Aware, a first-of-its-kind effort led by the California surgeon general’s office and the Department of Health Care Services to cut ACEs and related stress in half...