Tagged With "mental health"
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ACEs and Our Day with Dr. Vincent Felitti
“Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.” –Oprah Winfrey We think we can speak for all who attended the CA Department of Health Care Services Learning Series on January 17 th when we say we are immensely grateful to Dr. Felitti for sharing with us findings from the original CDC-Kaiser ACE study and inspiring us with his passion and heartfelt commitment to this body of work. Dr. Felitti, who turned 81 years old the next day on January 18 th , was the co-principal investigator on the...
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ACEs Aware Grant Application Update [acesaware.org]
From ACEs Aware, May 21, 2020 Dear Colleagues, Thank you for your ongoing interest in our ACEs Aware grants process. We have completed the grant application review and scoring process and have selected a group of finalists that will be considered in the final stage of the grant award process. Being a finalist is not a guarantee of funding. The final funding determination, in terms of how many organizations will receive funding and how much, will be determined after the state budget is...
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ACEs Aware: On Jan. 1, 2020, Medi-Cal Providers Can Receive Payment for ACEs Screenings
ACEs and toxic stress represent a public health crisis that has been, until recently, largely unrecognized by our state’s health care system and society, but there’s hope. Together, we can screen for ACEs, respond with trauma-informed care, and significantly improve physical and mental health across the state. All Medi-Cal providers are encouraged to get trained today . Beginning on January 1, 2020, eligible Medi-Cal providers can receive a $29 payment for conducting qualifying ACEs...
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ACEs Aware: Request for Proposal Issued – Applications Due on February 10, 2020 [acesawareorg]
A Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued today for the ACEs Aware initiative , California’s effort to screen, treat, and heal the harmful effects of childhood trauma. The RFP supports the work of the Department of Health Care Services and the Office of the California Surgeon General to implement ACEs Aware. Please visit the ACEs Aware Learning & Engagement Opportunities page for further updates. RFP applications are due on Monday, February 10, 2020, and should be sent in Microsoft Word...
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ACEs Aware Request for Proposal Q&A Released (Applications Due on February 10, 2020)
The Department of Health Care Services and the Office of the California Surgeon General today posted questions and answers (Q&A) about the ACEs Aware Request for Proposal (RFP). Please visit the ACEs Aware Learning & Engagement Opportunities page for the RFP Q&As and other materials. RFP applications are due on Monday, February 10, 2020 . Applications must be submitted in Microsoft Word format and emailed to info@ACEsAware.org . The ACEs Aware initiative is a first-in-the-nation...
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ACEs Aware "Stress Relief" Playbooks for COVID-19 and Beyond
Stress Relief Playbooks and other resources from ACEs Aware
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ACES Aware Webinar: Dec 13th, 12-1pm PT - Public Comments about soon-to-be-released Request for Proposal
The Department of Health Care Services and the California Office of the Surgeon General are hosting a webinar of the Trauma-Informed Care Implementation Advisory Committee’s Provider Education and Engagement Subcommittee. Subcommittee members will discuss a draft Request for Proposal (RFP) released for public comment as part of the ACEs Aware initiative. The draft RFP invites external organizations to apply for grants to support provider training activities, provider engagement activities...
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ACEs Aware Webinar: Trauma-informed practices to address stress from COVID-19
How can health care providers take care of themselves, their colleagues and their patients during this COVID-19 pandemic? First and foremost is recognizing how the pandemic can stir up trauma from the past, said Dr. Alicia Lieberman, a psychologist specializing in trauma. “COVID19 is reawakening traumatic reminders in many of us and in the families we work with. And that often makes it difficult for parents to protect themselves and their children,” she noted. Lieberman, the director of the...
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ACEs Champion Julie Kurtz Gives Every Child (and Adult) a Voice
Julie Kurtz hasn’t stopped creating ways to build and promote resilience in herself and others who have experienced trauma since she left her family home for college at age 18. Although she experienced four types of adversity during her childhood, the CEO of the Center for Optimal Brain Integration has traveled a complex journey to mitigate those adversities by recognizing her own internal resilience, building skills to buffer her toxic and traumatic stress, uncovering her voice through...
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ACEs champion pediatricians talk about life and practice in a COVID-19 world
With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers everywhere are changing how they care for their patients. I asked a few members of the ACEs in Pediatrics community what they’re doing differently. Dr. R.J Gillespie, pediatrician at The Children’s Clinic in Portland, OR. Dr. R.J. Gillespie Gillespie says that, as much as possible, they’re switching to virtual visits, which allows them “to comfort and reassure our patients face-to-face as much as possible without risking their...
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ACEs Connection “Map the Movement” now includes an up-to-date section on laws and resolutions
Photo credit: Texasarchitects.org An updated map of laws and resolutions addressing ACEs science and trauma-informed policies is now available in the “Laws and Resolutions” section of Map the Movement (you can also find "Map the Movement" on the navigation bar on the ACEs Connection home page). The earliest law on the map was passed in the state of Washington in 2011, creating an ACEs science public-private partnership. The data base of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is...
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ACEs Connection's COVID-19 resources for parents, educators & people practicing resilience (all of us)
We are in uncertain times. Homelife has changed. School schedules have changed. Our communities are not the same. Work, if we have it, has changed, too. The world is different and we don't know for how long. We don't know what our lives will look like on the other side, either. We are worried about health, housing, security, and our loved ones. We generally have more stress and less support, as we are taking care of our families, ourselves, and each other. It’s a lot, and for those dealing...
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ACEs Connection Webinar: The trauma toll on pediatric immigrants, refugees and their families
ACEs Connection Webinar: The trauma toll on pediatric immigrants, refugees and their families You’ll receive tips for health care providers in pediatric settings and beyond When: Friday, Dec. 14, 2018, 10:30-11:30 am Pacific Time/1:30-2:30 Eastern Time Please register here for this webinar. Our speakers include: Dr. Heyman Oo , MD MPH is a primary care pediatrician in Marin County and an Associate Physician/Clinical Instructor for the General Pediatrics Department at Zuckerberg San Francisco...
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ACEs in Public Policy
Did you know that California is currently considering 4 pieces of legislation that seek to address trauma and childhood adversity? ACE's Connection members recently (July 2017) participated in a P olicy Maker education Day on Childhood Adversity . Jessica Hackwell, Karen Clemmer, Carla Denner, Nick Dalton, and two youth from Sonoma County partnered with the California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA) to ensure our policymakers understand the terms "adversity," "trauma," and...
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ACEs Policy Briefs in Justice, Education, and Health
The Collaborative is pleased to share three policy briefs on the impact of ACEs in the health, justice, and education systems including promising practices and recommended actions for change. These briefs were developed by members of the Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative—system leaders in Illinois who are working from an ACEs-informed lens to improve systems to prevent and mitigate trauma across generations. Rooted in social justice, these briefs are a call to action to move upstream,...
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"ACEs Resilience and Recovery" presented at Marin Communications Forum
First 5 Marin Children and Families Commission featured Jane Stevens in a Marin Communications Forum event on Monday, May 15. Thanks to the hard work of host Michelle Fadelli of First 5 Marin, a full Embassy Suites ballroom of up to 180 Marin County service providers, from a variety of agencies, gathered.
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ACEs Science Champion Series: Dr. Angela Bymaster: This Faith-Based Physician Integrates ACEs Science with Healing Arts
Dr. Angela Bymaster, a family physician at Washington Elementary School in San Jose, CA, operates her clinic in a portable unit on the school property.
Because the unit faces students as they are dropped off by their families, she gets to “pick up the kids” before they are sent to the clinic, practicing “upstream medicine.”
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ACEs screening in CA — a Q and A with Dr. Dayna Long
Last year, the California Department of Health Care Services rolled out its plans for universal screening for trauma among its pediatric and adult Medicaid population. Beginning January 1, 2020, California physicians were able to receive an incentive payment of $29 for each pediatric patient screened for ACEs using the PEARLs ( Pediatrics Adverse Childhood and Resilience Study) tool. Dr. Dayna Long talked with ACEs Connection staff reporter Laurie Udesky about ACEs science, what led to the...
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ACEs Training for CDE staff
Gail Kennedy and Sue Delucchi from ACEs Connection Network presented to the CA Department of Early Education and Support Division on Monday, July 27th. The 50+ staff of CDE EES Division are monitors for state early childhood projects and...
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ACEs Within Tribal Communities
Mechuksus, As I write this I am trying to overcome the taboo's within California Tribal Communities that come along with asking the ACE questions. Our traditional societies had very strict factors on what we talked about between male and female relationships as well as outside of the community unit. Unless you work within the wellness realm or you have pursued your own healing many Tribal Communities are unaware of what ACEs are. This is something that my family has pledged to change. My 15...
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Action Alert! Campaign for restorative discipline in schools deadline TOMORROW!
The Children’s Movement is helping to promote restorative justice practices in schools by eliminating suspensions or expulsions for “willful defiance” through Senate Bill 607 authored by Senator Nancy Skinner . You can view the letter at this link here , and sign on before the deadline tomorrow, Wednesday 2/21, at 5pm. Five years ago, California schools issued an astounding 709,702 suspensions, nearly half for “defiance/disruption,” a catch-all category used to justify disciplinary action...
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ACTION NEEDED: Oppose Adjusting the Federal Poverty Line
A proposed rule change to the Official Poverty Measure by the Trump Administration will negatively impact millions of children and families in our state, where, according to 2016 California Poverty Measure estimates, 21.3 percent of California's children live in poverty. If approved, the change would affect children and families' eligibility for federal programs that provide health care, nutrition and basic assistance, effectively reducing or eliminating their access to these needed...
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Addressing Childhood Trauma, Center for Learning & Resilience [actionnewsnow.com]
By Deb Anderaos and Julia Yarbough, Action News Now, April 15, 2020 Butte County health representatives say they have long realized the need for coordinated mental health services for family and children dealing with trauma. The Camp Fire drove that point home and now the coronavirus crisis. Julia Yarbough recently spoke with the Executive Director of the new Center for Learning and Resilience. It’s a resource to help meet community needs. First of all, thank you for joining us, and tell me...
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Addressing Homelessness Is High on Governor Newsom’s Agenda [chcf.org]
By Xenia Shih Bion, California Health Care Foundation, March 2, 2020 Governor Gavin Newsom made an unconventional move in his second annual State of the State address — he devoted almost the entire speech to California’s housing and homelessness crisis. It is clearly on the minds of many Californians. A recent CHCF and SSRS statewide poll found that more than 8 out of 10 state residents say addressing homelessness is an “extremely important” or “very important” issue. “The problem has...
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Addressing the Educational Gap in Whittier [kcet.org]
By Neighborhood Data for Social Change, February 10, 2020 The California Department of Public Health reported in 2017 that completing a formal education is a crucial step on the pathway to securing fulfilling employment that can provide food, housing, transportation and other livelihood improvements essential to a healthy life. However, educational attainment differs across economic and racial lines. Since 2003, the achievement gap in California between low-income students and their more...
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Adult Courts Degrade Health of Juveniles, Their Families, California Study Finds [JJIE.org]
A wide-ranging study of youth incarceration in California outlines what it calls the debilitating effects on the health of teens, their families and society when youthful offenders are tried and sentenced as adults. “ Juvenile Injustice ,” from Human Impact Partners , concludes that laws designed to try youth in adult courts not only fail to curtail recidivism but are so inherently flawed and biased that the entire approach must be scrapped. Researchers found that youth tried in adult courts...
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Adult Health Burden and Costs in California During 2013 Associated with Prior Adverse Childhood Experiences [journals.plos.org]
By Ted R. Miller, Geetha M. Waehrer, Debora L. Oh, et al., Plos One, January 28, 2020 Abstract Objectives To estimate the adult health burden and costs in California during 2013 associated with adults’ prior Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Methods We analyzed five ACEs-linked conditions (asthma, arthritis, COPD, depression, and cardiovascular disease) and three health risk factors (lifetime smoking, heavy drinking, and obesity). We estimated ACEs-associated fractions of disease risk...
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Advancing a Plan for Addressing Trauma and Building Resilience within L.A. County Systems [prnewswire.com]
LOS ANGELES , Oct. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- First 5 LA, the California Community Foundation, The California Endowment, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation along with other local, state and nationally-recognized expert organizations today released a report to advance a comprehensive trauma and resiliency-informed approach in Los Angeles County . Building on research and the experience of experts from Los Angeles , the report defines trauma as the effects of a...
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Advancing a System of Prevention to Achieve Health Equity [preventioninstitute.org]
What does it take to realize the vision of health, safety, and wellbeing for all? Drawing from successful initiatives that dramatically increased the length and quality of people’s lives, Prevention Institute developed the System of Preventionframework to support health leaders and their partners to delve into systems-level work as they innovate, build practice, advance policy and systems changes, and generate momentum for comprehensive prevention and health equity. Now available in print...
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Adversity and resiliency: The case for integrating ACEs and Strengthening Families approaches
Attached is the PowerPoint that was presented by Diane Kellegrew, Jane Stevens and Katie Albright in a webinar April 16. And below is the slide that ID's the presenters.
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Advocacy tools for influencing policy at the national, state, and local levels
The level of policy activity at all levels relating to ACEs-trauma-resilience has increased significantly over the last few years. The California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA) held its third Policymaker Education Day this year and has created a number of resources (included in this widget) designed to expand legislators’ knowledge of ACEs science and promote approaches to reduce and heal childhood adversity. In addition to California specific information on legislative and...
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Advocate for Early Childhood Programs in Your School District
California’s funding model for school districts is known as the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Under LCFF, school districts have flexibility—and an unprecedented opportunity—to spend district dollars on early childhood education. Researchers, economists, and educators all agree: early childhood programs set kids up for success in school and in life. Now is the time for district leaders to make sure that students in your community are getting off to a strong start. And you can help...
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Affordable Housing, Healthcare for All Among Atkins Bills Advancing in Legislature (eastcountymagazine.org)
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed nine bills authored by Sen. Toni Atkins, including SB 2 – the Building Homes and Jobs Act – which would create a permanent source of funding for affordable housing. Also advancing out of the Appropriations Committee were SB 179 – the Gender Recognition Act – which would make it easier for transgender, nonbinary and intersex Californians to obtain state-issued identity documents that reflect who they truly are, and SB 562 – the Healthy...
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AG Kamala D. Harris Seeks to Better Serve Foster Youth (sdvoice.info)
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Issues New Guidelines to Encourage Secure Sharing of Information Between Schools and Child Welfare Agencies to Better Serve Foster Youth Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Children’s Justice (BCJ), the California Department of Education (CDE), and the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) have jointly developed statewide guidelines for school districts, county offices of...
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Agencies Combine to Provide some Health Services for Pescaderans [hmbreview.com]
By Ashlyn Rollins-Koons, Half Moon Bay Review, December 26, 2019 There are no dentists, primary care doctors, psychologists or pediatricians in Pescadero. The nearest emergency room is at least 30 minutes away. For some who don’t have the resources or time, that could mean doctor appointments are few and far between. Puente de la Costa Sur has been working to fill this gap by partnering with San Mateo County and health providers to provide critical services to the South Coast that residents...
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Aiming to Help Homeless, UCLA Residents Practice ‘Street Psychiatry’ (californiahealthreport.org)
New programs begun in the last two years at UCLA include a resident-faculty group focused on community psychiatry, as well as health-system and community mentorships. There are also new clinical electives for psychiatry residents at the Los Angeles County Jail and the county’s Office of Diversion and Reentry . The Diversion office was created by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors in 2015 to develop and implement alternatives to the criminal justice system for people with mental illness and...
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All hands on deck (from a distance): remote care for traumatized moms and babies
Dear colleague, Coronavirus is forcing providers and allied professionals serving mothers and babies to make unprecedented decisions. Should pregnant women needing care go through our hospital quarantine entrance? Should moms deliver without partners, family or doulas present? Be sent home early before key screenings or jaundice treatment are completed? To make matters worse, our systems aren't ready for basic remote care of mothers and infants now "socially distanced". Prenatal, post-partum...
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All too often, California’s default mental institutions are now jails and prisons (calmatters.org)
Perhaps nowhere is California’s mental health crisis more evident than in its criminal justice system. After decades of failure to create and fund policies that effectively help people with serious mental illnesses, many now say the jails and prisons have become the state’s default mental institutions. Close to a third of California’s inmates have a documented serious mental illness, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. A few decades ago, fewer than half...
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ACEs Science Champions Series: Allen Nishikawa: ACEs Storyteller Helps People Develop Their Resilience
Sonoma County ACEs Connection members Allen Nishikawa and Lena Hoffman at California Policymaker Education Day, 2018 Allen Nishikawa, a sansei, or third-generation Japanese American, majored in political science and American history at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he participated in antiwar (Vietnam) marches. But it was his experience as a military brat — moving from school to school across the U.S. and even to Japan as a child — that shaped his own childhood experiences and...
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Alternative IHEBA with ACEs for California (and Other) Pediatricians
If you are a pediatrician serving Medicaid managed care patients in California, then you are required to use the Staying Healthy Assessment or an alternative IHEBA (Individual Health Education Behavioral Assessment) at all well-child visits. The bad news is that getting approval to use an alternative IHEBA is a tedious process. The good news is that as of October 27, 2016 the Whole Child Assessment (WCA) is available for use in English and Spanish. Most importantly, the WCA has been...
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Amador County builds community college pipeline for mental health workers (calmatters.org)
Amador, along with a handful of other counties, is leveraging state funding to grow the ranks of peer mental health providers. The scholarship program relies on workforce development funds from California’s Mental Health Services Act, which established a millionaire’s tax for mental health prevention and intervention in 2004. Monterey and San Bernardino counties also use the funds to train community members with real-life experience, with the goal of hiring them in county-run mental health...
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'An invisible crisis': Toxic stress is helping to shorten life spans in many Kern County communities [
People who live in Oildale, Kern River Valley and Taft — three impoverished, majority-white communities — have the highest premature death rates across Kern County, dying four to 17 years sooner than those in other parts of Bakersfield. Residents in those three communities have an average life expectancy of between 68 and 72 years old — roughly eight to 10 years less than the national average, according to data analyzed by the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center for Human Needs. It’s...
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An Opportunity the Office of Surgeon General Can't Pass Up
I don't know about you, but I've talked to dozens of people applying for the ACEs Aware RFP, due Feb. 10. Watching myself and my colleagues hustle and brainstorm on how to work together to submit ideas for this opportunity has been very inspiring. Although we have no idea how many grant awards will be made, we know that only a fraction of what must be hundreds of RFP submissions will be funded this year. It would be a tragedy to waste the efforts of those who will have spent many hours on...
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An opportunity to shape the Children's Bill of Rights in California
The ACEs/Resilient Sacramento community is ideal for providing insightful feedback about the needs of California's children!
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Announcing a New Parenting and ACEs Blog from Stress Health, an Initiative of the Center for Youth Wellness
Research shows that the right kind of support and care can mitigate the impact of toxic stress in children and help them bounce back.
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Archived Webinar: Childhood Adversity – Data to Help Advocate for Change
The recording and slides for the March 29 webinar, Childhood Adversity: Data to Help Advocate for Change , are now available. In this webinar, panelist Marissa Abbott of the California Department of Public Health discussed how to describe the burden of childhood adversity in your community, how to frame your message most effectively, and how to engage and mobilize your community to address the roots and effects of childhood adversity. In addition, panelist Lori Turk-Bicakci of kidsdata.org...
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Are California’s Mental Health Dollars Helping Kids? [CaliforniaHealthline.org]
California schools get hundreds of millions of dollars a year from the state to identify and assist disabled children who have mental health problems. But we don’t know how the money is spent or if it is helping the kids perform better in school. That’s the main finding of a recent report by the California State Auditor, and it will be on the agenda Wednesday at a hearing of the Senate’s mental health committee. “It appears we give all this money to the schools,...
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Children’s mental health a cause for concern in report on California youth policies
According to the 2020 California Children’s Report Card California from Children Now, California is doing a better job serving children in some areas like health insurance, discipline, and absenteeism. However, CA received an 'F' grade for its school mental health services. https://edsource.org/2020/childrens-mental-health-a-cause-for-concern-in-report-on-california-youth-policies/623070?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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As California Fire Seasons Worsen, First Responders And Their Loved Ones Navigate Difficult Terrain (capradio.org)
As California fire seasons worsen, organizations serving first responders are trying to spread the word about the need for mental health services. And they’re encouraging family members and loved ones of firefighters to seek help, too. “It’s that vicarious trauma,” said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Nikole Schutz, speaking during last year's Camp Fire. “Seeing things on social media or being exposed to it all the time, knowing they’re gone for a length of time, just those exposures or the...
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As California Moves to Screen Children for Childhood Trauma, Poverty Has To Be Part of the Equation
In California, we are coming full circle in recognizing the connection between poverty and health.