Tagged With "mental health"
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As Homelessness Rises in Many Parts of California, Counties Search for Solutions [calhealthreport.org]
By Alyse DiNapoli, California Health Report, July 17, 2019. Many California’s counties reported having more homeless residents this year, according to the 2019 Point in Time surveys, which aim to count the number of people experiencing homelessness on a given night. The surveys are completed once every year or two years depending on the county. San Francisco and San Jose counties reported increases of 17 percent and 42 percent in the last two years, respectively. Los Angeles County...
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As schools adopt social-emotional programs, a new guide offers help [EdSource.org]
Parents, teachers and students streamed into the library of Palo Alto’s Gunn High School on a warm evening this spring to hear about a new plan , coming this fall, to help high school students develop empathy and coping skills through “social and emotional learning.” For starters, the audience wanted the answer to a question that has dogged the jargon phrase for years: What is social and emotional learning and why should schools get involved in it? The term is bedeviled by abstractions, but...
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Assisted suicide: New California law to take effect June 9 (spcr.org)
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...
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At El Dorado ACEs Collaborative meeting, NPPC talks ACEs, new connections forged
More than 65 people showed up in person in Placerville or via teleconferencing from South Lake Tahoe on Feb. 21 to learn about the National Pediatric Practice Community on ACEs (NPPC), a program of the San Francisco-based Center for Youth Wellness . Among the discussion points made by NPPC Program Manager Leena Singh were the connection between ACEs and health outcomes, the need for doing universal ACEs screening, and the necessary infrastructure to implement ACEs screening, according to...
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Attending the 2018 ACEs Conference? Wondering how to Connect with ACEs Connection at the Conference?
Looking for your regional community facilitator? Seeking to meet and connect with people who are creating a more peaceful and trauma informed world? Have a book, webinar, conference to share? The ACEs Connection team will be at the 2018 ACEs Conference. We're eager to meet you, hear your ideas, support your work, and to learn and share the latest ACEs and Resilience Sciences. We'll be looking for you in San Francisco to help you Meet your Community Facilitator and others from the ACEs...
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Cal WORKs Training Academy: Compassion Fatigue
Front-line and case workers for the TANF program (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) are at high risk for compassion fatigue. They hear approximately 30 stories of trauma, abuse and hardship each day. Complaints from workers vary from “How many stories of torture will have to I hear.” “It feels like I am spitting at a forest fire.” “After 12 years in the field, I am now on blood pressure medication.” This year the Cal WORKs Training Academy featured a workshop on compassion fatigue...
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CalFresh food benefits available to seniors and individuals with disabilities receiving SSI/SSP beginning June 1 [Porterville Recorder]
The CalFresh food program in Tulare County and statewide is expanding to serve qualifying individuals who receive Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) benefits beginning June 1 . There is no change or reduction to SSI/SSP benefits. “A tremendous change in legislation means we can now provide CalFresh benefits to SSI recipients for the first time ,” states Vienna Barnes, deputy director, Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency (HHSA), TulareWORKs. “The...
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California ACES Learning & Quality Improvement Collaborative (CALQIC) - Opportunity to be a part of the Learning Collaborative!
Apply to be a part of ACEs Aware's California ACES Learning & Quality Improvement Collaborative (CALQIC) In partnership with the UCSF Center to Advance Trauma-Informed Healthcare and other key partners, we'll select 15 organizations across California to participate in this 18-month learning collaborative to support clinics in screening for and responding to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in children and adults. This is a challenging time, and we know that many of our health care...
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California ACR 140: Positive Parenting Awareness Month, Jan 2020
Child advocates across the State of California are working on the passage of Assembly Concurrent Resolution 140 (ACR 140) authored by Assembly Member Mark Stone (D-Monterey Bay). The initiative seeks to designate January 2020 as Positive Parenting Awareness Month across the state and build upon the county-level proclamations that have spread from Santa Cruz County where it was conceived and launched 8 years ago. Positive parenting is a known remedy for the public health problem of child...
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California Adds Health & Equity Recommendations to General Plan Guidelines (changelabsolutions.org)
Last fall, California's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) issued new guidelines for general plans , the documents created by the state's cities and counties to guide their future development. For the first time, the OPR guidelines include specific recommendations for how local general plans could address health, equitable development, and public engagement. ChangeLab Solutions, with many statewide partner organizations, helped drive this innovation by submitting a detailed set of...
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California Allocates $1 Million to Improve Mental Health of Native American Youth (calhealthreport.org)
While mental health resources for Native American youth are sparse throughout California, the state has taken a modest step to support Albers and his peers by earmarking more than $1 million for Native American youth as part of the first-ever statewide Youth Reinvestment Fund. The fund, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed into the 2018-19 budget, aims to keep vulnerable youth populations out of the criminal justice system by instead supporting more community and health interventions. While there...
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California Assembly Health Committee OKs ACEs resolution 16-0
The California Assembly Health Committee today approved, by a vote of 16-0, a resolution to encourage statewide policies to reduce children’s exposure to adverse childhood experiences. California took a page from Wisconsin’s playbook with the introduction of legislation ( California Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR) No. 155 ) on May 28. It drew upon ideas from Wisconsin’s legislation ( Senate Joint Resolution 59 ), approved by the legislature this early this year. Both...
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California Assembly unanimously approves resolution to reduce ACEs
On August 11, the California Assembly unanimously approved Concurrent Resolution (ACR) No. 155 to encourage statewide policies to reduce children’s exposure to adverse childhood experiences. The resolution passed with bi-partisan support and added 68 members as coauthors (there are 80 members of the Assembly). The California proposal encourages state policy decision-making to consider the impact of early childhood adversity on the long-term health and well being...
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California bill would fund trauma and mental health services for students [AsianJournal.com]
CALIFORNIA schools will once again be able to offer mental health programs for students in kindergarten and grades one to three who are struggling with anxiety and other trauma or stress related symptoms, if a bill introduced in the legislature earlier this week passes. AB 1644 was introduced by Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) and is co-sponsored by Children Now, a statewide youth advocacy organization headquartered in Oakland, and by state Attorney General Kamala Harris. “The...
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California Can Lead the Nation in Science-Based Juvenile Justice Solutions [napavalleyregister.com]
By Stephanie James, Napa Valley Register, January 2, 2020 California’s juvenile justice system has evolved as we have learned more about brain development, the effects of adverse childhood experiences and social, emotional, and mental health needs of our young people. While ensuring community safety, we have moved away from the old norms of an overly punitive system to one that follows research and science to fulfill the statutorily stated mission of juvenile justice: rehabilitation. I have...
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California Candidates for Governor Share Ideas on Children’s Issues [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
California gubernatorial candidates John Chiang (D), Delaine Eastin (D) and Antonio Villaraigosa (D) headlined a forum last night dedicated to the issues facing the state’s most vulnerable children and families. Before an estimated crowd of 600 in Los Angeles, the candidates offered their views on the state’s foster care and juvenile justice systems and also tackled other issues, such as child poverty, educational equity, children’s health and children’s access to technology. Leading...
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California Child Trauma Advocates Eye Policy Impact
Jeremy Loudenback from the Chronicle of Social Change posted a story about last week's California Policy Convening on Childhood Adversity that the Center for Youth Wellness (CYW) hosted in San Diego. Here's the beginning: Last...
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California Child Welfare Policy and Progress, Winter Issue [Insight]
The California Child Welfare Co-Investment Partnership Report This issue of in sights provides an overview of the latest legislative developments in California, including data and perspectives on the policy and practice transformation taking place with the Continuum of Care Reform (CCR). Beyond a comprehensive summary of child welfare state legislation, this issue also includes a discussion on the key provisions of the Family First Prevention Services Act. The issue concludes with...
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California Coastkeeper Alliance Releases Climate Change Plan For Coastal Areas [kpbs.org]
By City News Service, KPBS, November 13, 2019 The California Coastkeeper Alliance released its Ocean Climate Resiliency Action Plan Wednesday, a roadmap to mitigate the effects of climate change and sea level rise on coastal areas like northern San Diego County. The plan includes objectives such as recycling 100% of wastewater along the coast by 2040, requiring the use of nitrate removal technology at wastewater treatment plants, establishing a state program for wetlands restoration and...
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California colleges get funding to expand services to undocumented college students [edsource.org]
As the federal government increases immigrant detention and attempts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, many California colleges are finding new ways to help undocumented students succeed and get assistance to their families as well. The latest effort is the California Campus Catalyst Fund , established by a group of educators, funders and advocates, and administered by the nonprofit organization Immigrants Rising, which announced last week that it has awarded...
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California Community Reinvestment Grants Program [business.ca.gov]
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) is pleased to announce the release of the California Community Reinvestment Grants (CalCRG) program Draft Grant Solicitation for public review and comment. The Draft Grant Solicitation consists of two sections: 1. The Guidance and Overview section provides an overview of the program, application requirements, application evaluation, and program administration. 2. The Scoring Criteria section provides an outline of the...
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California Community Reinvestment Grants Program Workshop
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GOBiz) recently announced a series of workshops on the new California Community Reinvestment Grants program. The goal of this new program is to provide grants to community based non-profit organizations and local health departments in order to serve communities disproportionately affected by past drug policies. The structure of the program and input and feedback from attendees will be discussed in order to further develop the...
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Coronavirus Complicates The Budget Picture for California Lawmakers [capradio.org]
By Nicole Nixon, CapRadio, March 27, 2020 There are a lot of uncertainties over the coronavirus, but for California lawmakers, one thing remains the same: Their constitutional mandate to pass a budget by June 15. Asm. Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, said lawmakers will “absolutely” meet that deadline, though the budget will likely look “very different” than the $222 billion proposal Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out in January. Ting chairs the Assembly’s budget committee. While the governor proposed...
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California considers investing $100 million in-home visits for new moms and their babies [SCPR.org]
A bill working its way through the state legislature would create a state-funded program to help new mothers in the first few months and years after the birth of their children. The CalWORKs Baby Wellness and Family Support Home Visiting Program would spend $100 million to offer home visits from nurses or social workers to new mothers who are living in poverty. Support for home visiting programs is grounded in research that has found regular postpartum home visits can improve the health of...
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California Could Create a Career Path for People With Mental Illness [kqed.org]
By April Dembosky, KQED, September 14, 2019 On her 21st birthday, Keris Myrick was in the cereal aisle of the grocery store. She was throwing boxes of Cheerios on the ground, yelling back at the voices in her head. Food is poison, they told her. If you eat you will die. “So I actually stopped eating for about four months,” Myrick said. “I just told my mother it was stomach pains.” It took years before Myrick admitted the problem was not in her stomach, but in her head. She was eventually...
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California could insure many more people — but it will come at a price [CenterforHealthJournalism.org]
State lawmakers are expected to receive a first look Feb, 1 at the costs tied to an ambitious plan to provide health insurance for more California residents. The report represents California’s response to the Trump administration’s retreat on the Affordable Care Act, analyzing how to provide more generous consumer subsidies to pay for costly health insurance, subsidies for insurance companies and a state penalty on residents who fail to maintain health coverage. The report, authored by a...
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California Counties Encouraged to Apply for Mental Health Wellness Grants [Sonoma County Gazette]
“There is no better investment we can make today than in the next generation of adults who will be the workers, parents, leaders, and caretakers of the world,” Treasurer Ma said. The deadline for counties to apply for grants is Thursday, February 28, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. Non-profit corporations also are encouraged to contact their counties to apply jointly. The California Health Facilities Financing Authority (CHFFA), chaired by Treasurer Ma, will distribute the funds through the Investment in...
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Child Adversity and Well-Being Dashboard: California
A product of the CA Essentials for Childhood Initiative, the California Data Dashboard contains indicators of child adversity, health and well-being, utilizing data available on Kidsdata.org. The dashboard below includes state-level indicators. We have also created data dashboards for California counties ( CLICK HERE ). For more information about this project please go here. The California Data Dashboard contains select indicators of child adversity and well-being. The dashboard is a product...
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California Department of Public Health has MCAH program that prevents ACEs!
In Federal-State partnership HRSA Maternal & Child Health the California Department of Public Health, MCAH have a home visiting program designed for families at risk for ACEs! The California Home Visiting Program (CHVP) is designed f or families who are at risk for adverse childhood experiences , including child maltreatment, domestic violence, substance abuse and mental illness. Home visiting is a preventive intervention that aims to promote maternal health, improve child development,...
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California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative’s “Enhancing the Collective Vision” Slides Are Available and Opportunity to Participate in an Orientation Webinar
The California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative convened more than 65 stakeholders on Friday, July 12, 2019 to assess the current state of collective action around adverse childhood experiences (ACEs); align EfC Initiative goals and project interventions with existing efforts; identify mutually reinforcing activities; and establish a collective agreement on how to strategically promote Safe, Stable, Nurturing Relationships, and Environments (SSNR&E), to prevent and reduce child...
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California Family Resource Association [strategiesca.org]
From Strategies 2.0, April 2020 The California Family Resource Association (CFRA) is pleased to announce a partnership with the state Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP) to provide $3M in emergency relief funds for Family Resource Centers (FRCs) to respond to COVID-19. The purpose of the fund is to support FRCs to provide emergency services and supplies to children and families most at need and as soon as possible. Many FRCs are reporting that the gap in prevention services and supports...
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California Fires Illuminate Trauma and Resilience [khn.org]
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester, Kaiser Health News, October 29, 2019 Dorothy Hammack had planned to wash her thick, dark hair in the kitchen sink Friday morning. She couldn't yet shower, due to the incision on her breast from a biopsy a few days before. Her doctor had already called to let her know the results: She had breast cancer. She was supposed to be researching treatment options and organizing doctor appointments. Instead, Hammack, 79, was standing in her pajamas in the parking lot of a...
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California Governor Signs Flurry of Health-Related Bills On Topics Ranging From Abortion Medication to School Start Times
California Governor Signs Flurry Of Health-Related Bills On Topics Ranging From Abortion Medication To School Start Times : Gov. Gavin Newsom capped the end of the legislative session with a bill signing marathon over the past few days. And some of the most notable measures from the year were health-related. Here’s a look at some of them: ― Students at California’s 34 California State University and University of California campuses will have access to medication-induced abortion — commonly...
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California Guidelines for the Use of Psychotropic Medication with Children and Youth in Foster Care [CADHS&DSS]
California Department of Social Services and Department of Health Services Care (The California Department of Health Care Services and Department of Social Services released this guide to best practices for the treatment of mental...
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California has Begun Screening for Early Childhood Trauma, But Critics Urge Caution [sciencemag.org]
By Emily Underwood, Science, January 29, 2020 On 1 January, California became the first U.S. state to screen for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)—early life hardships such as abuse, neglect, and poverty, which can have devastating health consequences in later life. The project is not just a public health initiative, but a vast experiment. State officials aim to cut the health impacts of early life adversity by as much as half within a generation. But critics say the health benefits of...
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California has millions of good-paying jobs for workers without a bachelor’s degree (edsource.org)
Workers who want to earn at least $35,000 a year increasingly need to have some training beyond high school but not necessarily a bachelor’s degree. That’s the conclusion of a Georgetown University study on the nation’s workforce that goes beyond the narrative that all students need to aim for a four-year college degree. In California, the best prospects for workers without a bachelor’s degree are in manufacturing, health services, financial activities, real estate, construction and the...
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California healthcare providers adapt ACEs screening from in-person to virtual environment
Dr. Amy Shekarchi, a pediatrician based in Los Angeles, CA, was helping to lead the rollout of ACEs screening among 50 health care providers at six clinics affiliated with the L.A. County Department of Health Services when the COVID-19 pandemic hit—days before she was set to launch the effort. “We had trained everybody in doing face-to-face [ACEs screening], and when COVID-19 happened we thought, let’s not throw the screening out. Everybody was ready,” says Shekarchi, who is the pediatric...
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California Healthy Places Index
The California Healthy Places Index (HPI) is a powerful new tool, developed by the Public Health Alliance of Southern California, to assist in exploring local factors that predict life expectancy and comparing community conditions across the state. The HPI provides overall scores and more detailed data on specific policy action areas that shape health, like housing, transportation, education and more. Climate change exposure, social vulnerability, and adaptive capacity indicators have been...
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California improves in children's health but slips to 49th in financial security [KPCC]
The annual KIDS COUNT report on the welfare of the country's children tells a mixed story of how California is faring in providing for its kids. Looking at all measures, the report gives California a relatively low ranking of 38th among 50...
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California is failing our kids [SactoBee.com]
California’s economy is the seventh-largest in the world, and home to global industries that have revolutionized our way of life. Yet when it comes to caring for our children, we are failing to provide the essential services they need to thrive and succeed. The facts are disturbing and unacceptable. California ranks 49th among the states for standard of living for kids; roughly half of children are in families in or near poverty; nearly three-fourths of our youngest kids don’t receive health...
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California Is Giving Doctors Incentives To Ask Patients About Childhood Trauma [capradio.org]
By Sammy Caiola, Capital Public Radio, December 9, 2019 California health officials want children and adults on Medi-Cal to get screened for traumatic childhood events that can cause negative health effects down the line. Now the state has started giving doctors and nurses tools to do the screenings. People who experience adversity early in life have much higher chances of substance abuse, depression, or chronic diseases than their peers, according to national research. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s...
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California is Right to Focus on Adverse Childhood Experiences. Other States Should Follow [calmatters.org]
By Chuck Ingoglia (Guest), Cal Matters, February 2, 2020 It’s time to change the conversation in health care. Rather than asking, “What is wrong with this person?” medical professionals might ask, “What happened to this person?” California Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris and an increasing number of practitioners are changing the conversation because they recognize that trauma early in life—child separation, racism, neglect, abuse or poverty, for instance—can manifest itself years later...
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California issues update on state residents' ACE scores from 2011 & 2013 surveys
The latest adverse childhood experiences survey from the California Department of Public Health shows that 42% of the population has an ACE score of 3 or higher; 16% have an ACE score of 4 or higher. Those with an ACE score of 4 or higher are: 3x more likely to be current smokers 4x more likely to have a depressive disorder 2x more likely to have asthma 2x more likely to be obese 4x more likely to have COPD 3x more likely to have a stroke Here are a few other highlights from the six-page...
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California Lags In National Report On Child Well-Being [KPCC Public Radio]
Priska Neely | June 17, 2019 The 2019 edition of the annual KIDS COUNT Data Book shows that California is behind a lot of other states when it comes to education, health and well-being for its children. The report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, shows that the state ranks 35th overall, 46th for economic wellbeing -- with high rates of child poverty and high housing costs -- and 36th for education. Listen to full audio report
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California Launches New Comprehensive, Consumer-Friendly Website and Public Service Announcements to Boost COVID-19 Awareness [gov.ca.gov]
From Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, March 18, 2020 New, one-stop state website: www.covid19.ca.gov New PSAs feature California Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sonia Angell and California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris SACRAMENTO – California Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the launch of a new Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) public awareness campaign to provide useful information to Californians and inform them of actions they can take to further prevent the spread of...
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California lawmakers propose $2 billion plan to aid homeless [OCRegister.com]
SACRAMENTO – California would spend more than $2 billion on permanent housing to help the nation’s largest homeless population, under a proposal outlined by state senators on Monday. The housing bond would be enough to construct more than 10,000 housing units when it’s combined with other federal and local money, estimated Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles. The bond would be repaid with money from Proposition 63, the 2004 ballot measure that added a 1...
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California leaders must act to extend progress on school discipline [edsource.org]
California students and parents have been at the forefront of a national movement to promote common-sense school discipline policies, and their hard work is paying off. According to data recently released by the California Department of Education , our state is suspending fewer students, promoting alternatives to harsh school discipline and helping more young people stay in school. Many education and health leaders are jubilant. Limiting suspension-first approaches to handling discipline...
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California Leads Multistate Lawsuit Over Migrant Children Detention Rules [politico.com]
By Angela Hart, Politico, August 26, 2019 California will lead a multistate lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging a proposed federal regulation that would lift court-granted protections for young migrant detainees, allowing immigration authorities to detain children indefinitely — in quarters they see fit. The lawsuit, to be filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, challenges the Trump administration rule seeking to invalidate the 1997 Flores...
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California Legislative Update – Fall 2019
Five of the bills that the California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA) was tracking this legislative session were signed or incorporated into law! They are: Assembly Bill 741 (Kalra), which requires the Department of Health Care Services to provide trainings for personnel who administer trauma screenings in a pediatric or primary care providing setting for children in Medi-Cal. The substance of this bill was included in the Governor’s May Revise budget, and funded at $50 million...
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California Legislature Approves Bill To Reduce Maternal Mortality Rate For Black Women (Podcast) [kpbs.org]
By Jade Hindmon, KPBS, September 12, 2019 California has the lowest maternal mortality rate in the country, according to the United Health Foundation's health rankings. But black women in California continue to die at a rate three to four times higher than white women from pregnancy or delivery complications. Several advocacy groups believe racial bias in the health care system in to blame. To address the disparity, California lawmakers approved Senate Bill 464, the California Dignity in...