Tagged With "California"
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Lawmakers Must do More to Fund Mental Health Care at the University of California [calmatters.org]
By Emily Estus, Special to CalMatters, October 28, 2019 This summer, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Legislature passed a $214 billion budget that includes $5.3 million earmarked for improving mental health services in the University of California system. Students returning to campus this fall might cheer that a long-underfunded issue is finally getting state attention and, more importantly, an injection of cash. Sadly, that’s not the whole story. Here’s why: This is only a stopgap, a...
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Lawmakers propose sweeping relief to homeowners, renters [calmatters.org]
By Matt Levin, Cal Matters, May 12, 2020 As missed rent payments and delinquent mortgages pile up across the state, California Democratic lawmakers Tuesday introduced a series of sweeping proposals aimed at shielding homeowners, renters and landlords from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. A plan put forward by Sen. Toni Atkins, Democrat from San Diego and leader of the state Senate, would grant qualifying renters 10 years to repay missed payments directly to the state, which...
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Legislature Votes to Ban Private Prisons, Sends Bill to Newsom [sfchronicle.com]
By Alexei Koseff, San Francisco Chronicle, September 11, 2019 The California Legislature has moved to phase out the use of private prisons in the state, giving Gov. Gavin Newsom an opportunity to fulfill a campaign promise. AB32, which would bar California from holding inmates in privately run facilities starting in 2028, received final approval in the Assembly on Wednesday, advancing to the governor’s desk. Newsom, who has not taken a public position on the bill, promised in his January...
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Let's work together to ensure everyone is counted! [childrennow.org]
By The Children's Movement of California, April 28, 2020 By now, every single household across the country should have received multiple mailers with instructions on how to fill out the 2020 Census. Many community organizations are grappling with how to engage members and families as on-the-ground, door-to-door outreach and engagement strategies -- that have proven to be effective in the past – have been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic at least until the end of May. Phone calls, text...
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Lost Days: A journey into chronic absenteeism in rural Butte County, California [EdSource.org]
By Jennifer Molina for EdSource Take a journey into rural Butte County, California where districts are confronting high rates of students missing school. [Read the accompanying article by David Washburn here. ]
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Map: Last Week Gov. Newsom Made 286 Sites Available For Homeless Solutions. Here's Where They Are. [capradio.org]
By Sarah, Mizes-Tan, CapRadio, February 25, 2020 In his State of the State speech last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom discussed an executive order that opened up 286 state properties across California to be used as sites for temporary housing for the homeless. But the sites aren’t evenly distributed throughout the state, and questions still remain about how these sites will be used and how they’ll be coordinated with various city organizations. According to the governor’s office, the sites were...
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Martha's Village and Kitchen Partners with Borrego Health to Provide Health Care to Homeless [desertsun.com]
By Nicole Hayden, Desert Sun, December 10, 2019 Borrego Health, the largest community health center network in California, announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Martha's Village and Kitchen, a shelter and resource center for homeless individuals in Indio, to provide expanded health care services. The Federally Qualified Health Center will provide primary care, pediatric services, vaccinations and laboratory services to Martha's clients. Eventually, a pharmacy will operate onsite.
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May 22nd is Trauma Informed Awareness Day in California!
California is one step closer to becoming a trauma-informed state. ACR 235 authored by Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula of Fresno designates May 22nd, 2018 as Trauma-Informed Awareness Day to highlight the impact of trauma and the importance of prevention and community resilience through trauma-informed care. Additionally, May 22nd is Policymaker Education Day hosted by the California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA) where stakeholders from all across California come to...
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Medi-Cal Expansion and Children's Well-Being [ppic.org]
By Paulette Cha, Shannon McConville, Public Policy Institute of California, November 2019 Under the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA), California expanded eligibility for Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, to most non-elderly, non-disabled low-income adults. Although this change focused directly on improving the health and well-being of adults, it is likely that Medi-Cal expansion has had a dramatic effect on households with children. In recent years, as the federal government has...
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Medi-Cal Healthier California for All [cachildrenstrust.org]
By Alex Briscoe, California Children's Trust, January 23, 2020 Since mid 2018, with your guidance and support, we have raised awareness and achieved a consensus about the need to address the escalating youth mental health crisis in California. In over 100 presentations across the state, we have made clear our position that solutions to this crisis must be centered on equity and justice and a reimagining of how we fund, define, deliver, and measure the social and emotional health of children...
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Medi-Cal To Expand Eligibility To Young Undocumented Adults. But Will They Enroll? [khn.org]
By Ana B. Ibarra, Kaiser Health News, November 21, 2019 Starting in January, young adults can sign up for California’s Medicaid program regardless of immigration status. But a fundamental question looms: Will they? Some young people already say they won’t enroll in public coverage because they fear federal immigration policies could later penalize them for participating — though that fear might be unfounded. Add to that their age. Young adults — both immigrants and non-immigrants — are...
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Mental Health Care Could Get Easier for New Moms Under New California Rules [capradio.org]
By Sammy Caiola, Capital Public Radio, December 18, 2019 When Susan Yee Kearns brought her son home from the hospital a year and a half ago, she started worrying about him almost immediately. She woke up thinking he might have died. She was afraid to be away from him. “There was a lot of anxiety,” the Sacramento mom said. So she sought mental health help through her Medi-Cal insurance. But Yee Kearns' provider told her that Medi-Cal would only cover 60 days of treatment. When it was over,...
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Merced College NextUp Center Celebrates Foster Youth Services with Grand Opening [yourcentralvalley.com]
By YourCentralValley.com Staff, February 5, 2020 Merced College celebrated the grand opening on Wednesday of the NextUp Center to support current and former foster youth under the age of 26. Merced College says it was one of 45 community colleges to receive a NextUp grant from California Community Colleges in the amount of $643,840 to establish the program which offers support and resources including academic and vocational counseling, meal and gas cards, educational supplies, and more.
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Millions Unclaimed: Behind California's Troubled Mental Health Care Funding System [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Claudia Boyd-Barrett, The Chronicle of Social Change, October 9, 2019 Alex Briscoe didn’t know much about how local governments pay for mental health care when he joined Alameda County’s Health Care Services Agency in 2004. But he knew there was a problem. Briscoe had come from a job at Children’s Hospital Oakland where he saw kids routinely turn up in the emergency room in serious psychological distress. These children had nowhere else to go. There was no support system to help kids...
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More Adolescents Seek Medical Care for Mental Health Issues [californiahealthline.org]
By Phillip Reese, California Healthline, November 11, 2019 Less than a decade ago, the emergency department at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego would see maybe one or two young psychiatric patients per day, said Dr. Benjamin Maxwell, the hospital’s interim director of child and adolescent psychiatry. Now, it’s not unusual for the emergency room to see 10 psychiatric patients in a day, and sometimes even 20, said Maxwell. “What a lot of times is happening now is kids aren’t getting the...
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Most Recent Spike of Toxic Air Pollution has Officials Rethinking Alert System [fresnobee.com]
By Cresencio Rodriguez-Delgado, The Fresno Bee, December 17, 2019 A sudden and dangerous spike in Fresno’s air quality last week has regional officials re-examining everything from burn-day approvals to public notification systems, authorities said. But officials with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District said the unexpected spike of hazardous particulate matter was the result of a perfect storm of circumstances in the Valley. “Unfortunately, mother nature took a turn. We...
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Native American Students Suspended at Higher Rates Than Peers. New Report Looks at Solutions [desertsun.com]
By Risa Johnson, Palm Springs Desert Sun, September 30, 2019 Native American students in California's public schools face higher-than-average suspension rates, according to a new report. A joint effort between California State University, San Diego, and the Sacramento Native American Higher Education Collaborative, the report outlines what it calls troubling trends regarding how school administrators discipline students. Racial disparities in school discipline, particularly for African...
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Nearly 124,000 sign up through Covered California; plans include free coronavirus testing [sfchronicle.com]
By Rusty Simmons, San Francisco Chronicle, May 20, 2020 Nearly 124,000 people have signed up for medical insurance through Covered California since March 20 as the state grapples with the coronavirus pandemic and startling unemployment numbers. According to the state health care marketplace, 123,810 people have sought insurance during Covered California’s special open-enrollment period. The exchange is generally open from Oct. 15 to Jan. 31, but it extended the period amid the crisis. “When...
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NEW: 2018-19 California County Scorecard of Children's Well-Being
Children Now is pleased to announce that we've just released our new 2018-19 California County Scorecard of Children's Well-Being! The latest edition is an interactive tool that provides a comprehensive snapshot of how children are faring in each of the 58 counties, over time, and by race and ethnicity. The tool's indicators cut across four domains of education, early childhood, child welfare and health. This updated edition of the Scorecard features significant enhancements including heat...
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NEW BRIEF! Screening for Trauma Birth to 5
In light of the Governor's recent budget proposal to invest $45 million into trauma screenings, Children Now wrote a new brief, Screening Kids for Trauma Birth to 5. It highlights the importance of screening for trauma and provides recommendations for the state of California and providers to prevent and treat childhood trauma. If you have any questions, please reach out to Lishaun Francis: lfrancis@childrennow.org
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New Hotline Available to Help California's Most Vulnerable During Power Shutoffs
The State of California, Health and Human Services Agency has established a non-emergency hotline to help medically vulnerable Californians and health and community care facilities find resources in their communities during power shutoffs. Please see the Word attachment for more information.
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New Law Says Employers Can't Ask Applicants About Criminal Past [laweekly.com]
An estimated one out of three California adults has an arrest or conviction record, according to the nonprofit National Employment Law Project. If employers weed out applicants who check "yes" for the Have you ever been convicted of a crime? question on a job application, they could be preventing millions of Golden State residents from getting a paycheck. These applicants also tend to be people of color, since African-Americans and Latinos are arrested at much higher rates , often for crimes...
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New Research Shows Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Toxic Stress Costs $112.5 Billion per Year to California [acesaware.org]
By Cate Powers, ACEs Aware, February 28, 2020 The California Surgeon General today shares new research from the Pacific Institute for Research & Evaluation (PIRE) that identifies the health-related costs of Adverse Childhood Experiences and toxic stress to California cost $112.5 billion annually. This estimate includes direct ACEs-related health care expenditures totaling $10.5 billion annually, with an additional $102 billion in the cost of disease burden, including premature death and...
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New Screenings for Childhood Trauma Raise Hopes, Questions [calhealthreport.org]
By Claudia Boyd-Barrett, California Health Report, December 20, 2019 California health officials are gearing up for the launch of a statewide screening effort that aims to help doctors measure children’s exposure to trauma and their risk of related health problems. Starting Jan. 1, California will become the first state in the nation to reimburse health care providers who screen patients enrolled in the Medi-Cal program for “adverse childhood experiences” or ACEs. The $40 million effort has...
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No more ‘cowboys and Indians’: Newsom wants Californians to learn Native American history (Sacramento BEE)
By Hannah Wiley, Sacramento Bee, September 27, 2019 Gov. Gavin Newsom at an annual celebration of Native American culture said he wanted greater “truth telling” of California’s indigenous history and a stronger acknowledgment of the state’s genocide of native people. The governor opened his remarks at the 52nd annual Native American Day in Sacramento by describing California’s first governor, Peter Hardeman Burnett , authorizing a “war of extermination” against the state’s indigenous...
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Not 'Just in Your Head': California Rolls Out Mental Health Guides for Coping With Coronavirus [kqed.org]
By Marisa Lagos Apr 7 Gov. Gavin Newsom opened his daily briefing Tuesday on the status of the coronavirus pandemic in California a bit differently than normal: With a mantra he says his mother used to repeat. "She said, 'Stand guard at the door of your mind,'" Newsom said. "Honestly, it took me a decade-plus to figure out what she was ultimately saying. But she was focused on, more than anything else, our capacity to be resilient and to meet challenges head-on, our capacity as human beings...
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Not So Golden: Struggles Facing California's Young Adults [notsogolden.org]
By Not So Golden, February 2020 There are lots of reasons to love the Golden State — from its stunning beaches and picturesque mountains to its entrepreneurial spirit, trailblazing laws and incredible diversity. But at what cost? For many young adults, living in the country’s most expensive state is not easy. California’s economy may be booming, but college students are facing rising tuition and struggling to find affordable housing. Teen suicide rates are up and lack of employment...
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OCAP Buzz: Child Abuse Prevention Month Materials
The California Department of Social Services, Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP) just released their newsletter with information about the upcoming Child Abuse Prevention month in April 2017. Please check out the attached PDF for more information on materials to help #unite4kids to prevent child abuse and neglect for all California children and families.
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OCAP has a new strategic plan! [cdss.ca.gov]
From Office of Child Abuse Prevention, California Department of Social Services, May 12, 2020 The OCAP Strategic Plan The OCAP would like to announce the release of our 2020 – 2025 Strategic Plan. This plan details the OCAP’s goals and objectives for the next five years. The vision for this plan is for public systems, private citizens, business and communities to work together in unity to improve programs and services throughout the state to strengthen children and families. The OCAP will...
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One California mayor has tried universal basic income. His advice for Trump: 'Think Big' [theguardian.com]
By Lois Beckett, The Guardian, March 21, 2020 As the Trump administration and lawmakers in Washington debate cash payments to support Americans during the coronavirus crisis, the mayor of one California city that has experimented with universal basic income has advice. Early findings from Stockton, California, which launched a basic income experiment last year, may offer American policymakers some reassurance – and a few notes of caution. It’s “heartening” to see a national focus on...
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Op-Ed: California's Forgotten Slave History [latimes.com]
By Sarah Barringer and Kevin Waite, Los Angeles Times, January 19, 2020 Separated by just 60 miles along the I-10, Los Angeles and San Bernardino feel worlds apart. The former boasts some of the richest urban developments and residential pockets in the nation. The latter — a “broken city,” as this newspaper put it in 2015 — struggled through five years of bankruptcy and municipal dysfunction. But their roles in this California tale of two cities were once reversed. Before the Civil War, San...
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Opinion: All Doctors Should Practice Trauma-Informed Care [calhealthreport.org]
By Bob Erlenbusch and Drew Factor, California Health Report, November 21, 2019 “Adverse childhood experiences are the single greatest unaddressed public health threat facing our nation today,” Dr. Robert Block, former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, has been widely quoted as saying. According to the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, conducted in the 1990’s by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and Kaiser Permanente, adverse childhood experiences are common,...
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Oppose the Citizenship Question!
Plans for the 2020 United States Census are already underway to count every person in the country, as defined by the Constitution. Ensuring an accurate count of all persons in the United States is not only essential to the basic principles of a representative government but also to make certain that federal funding is allocated fairly and efficiently for programs such as special education, Child Care and Development Block Grant, Head Start, and Early Start. California has a lot at stake in...
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Over half of California Children with a Special Health Care Need has one or more ACEs
More than one million children in California have a special health care need. These children have chronic physical, developmental, behavioral or emotional conditions that require more than routine health and related services. Sixty-one percent of children with special health care needs (CSHCN) have had one more adverse experience. Understanding the factors that impact these children and their families is crucial to lifelong health and wellness. Kidsdata.org , a program of the Lucile Packard...
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Overcrowded Housing and COVID-19 Risk among Essential Workers [ppic.org]
By Marisol Cuellar Mejia and Paulette Cha, Public Policy Institute of California, May 12, 2020 Some Californians face substantial risk of illness within their own households under the state’s shelter-in-place order. Physical distancing and self-isolation can be virtually impossible in crowded homes, threatening the health of entire households. In crowded living conditions, individuals are at higher risk of transmitting infectious diseases , a factor that may challenge the state’s efforts to...
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Program offers hundreds of young men, boys safe space to heal from ACEs
Dennis McCollins recounts some of the experiences that caused him to harden against the world as a teenager. “There were times I went to more funerals than birthdays,” says McCollins, who is the clinical director of the School Based Health Center at Greenwood Academy in Richmond, Calif. And it took its toll: “I spent time homeless. I got expelled [from school]. I was so angry and upset and mad,” he says. Dennis McCollins Then a man that he met when he was sent to Job Corps as a teen turned...
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Push to Increase the Number of Teachers of Color in California Classrooms Gains Momentum [edsource.org]
By Diana Lambert, EdSource, October 11, 2019 Increasing the number of teachers of color in California classrooms has been a top priority for State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond since he started the job in January. Now, he’s planning a statewide task force focused on improving teacher diversity in California schools. “The data shows when kids see a teacher who looks like them it makes a huge difference,” Thurmond said in an earlier EdSource interview. Hiring a diverse...
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Quincy Charter School Participates in Trauma Responsive Training
Plumas Charter participates in trauma training January 22, 2020 Ingrid Burke, Special to Feather Publishing Facebook Twitter Email Share In response to growing awareness of the ways trauma can lead to behavioral problems and poor academic achievement in children, Plumas Charter School’s staff recently participated in a two-day Trauma-Responsive Schools training. Held on Nov. 25 and Dec. 20, the sessions were led by Julie Hatzell, an advanced certified trauma practitioner with Plumas Rural...
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Racial Minorities More at Risk in the Workplace and the Economy [escholarship.org]
By Institute of Governmental Studies, University of California, Berkeley, May 6, 2020 The latest Berkeley IGS Poll reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic is having especially large effects on the safety and economic well-being of people of color in California. Racial minorities are significantly more likely to report having jobs that place them in regular contact with others and they are more concerned that their jobs place them at risk of contracting the disease. When it comes to safety in...
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REGISTER NOW AND SAVE! 2020 Child Health, Education, and Care Summit, February 3, 4, 5, 2020 [apps.ccfc.ca.gov]
2020 Child Health, Education, and Care Summit Hotel Irvine Irvine February 03, 2020 - February 05, 2020 Room Block Sold Out We invite you to join us for another outstanding Summit at the beautiful Hotel Irvine in Irvine, California, on February 3–5, 2020. The Summit theme, “Equity in Action: Elevating Children, Families, and California’s Workforce,” represents the natural evolution of this statewide event – from building partnerships, to promoting collective impact, to providing leadership...
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Release of 2018 In-Hospital Breastfeeding Data [cdph.ca.gov]
By California Department of Public Health, Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health, October 2, 2019 The California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Center for Family Health is pleased to announce that the 2018 in-hospital breastfeeding data have been posted to the CDPH In-Hospital Breastfeeding Initiation Data website . We encourage all hospitals to utilize these data to integrate Quality Improvement (QI) efforts within the perinatal unit to ensure policies and practices are supportive of...
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Researchers Call for Quality-Improvement Changes in Medi-Cal Plans [chcf.org]
By Xenia Shih Bion, California Health Care Foundation, October 7, 2019 California should move swiftly to improve the quality of care in the managed care plans that serve 80% of Medi-Cal’s nearly 14 million enrollees, according to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Led by Professor of Medicine Andrew Bindman, MD, with support from CHCF, the researchers examined 41 quality measures and found that more than half of the quality measures stayed the same or declined...
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Child Care Providers in California Learn How to Help Children who have Experienced Trauma [edsource.org]
By Zaidee Stavely, EdSource, October 3, 2019 It only takes one healthy relationship with a caring adult to help a child heal from trauma. That’s one of the main messages in a series of classes given to child care providers across California that help them work with children who have experienced abuse, violence, family separation or other trauma. The classes are part of a state program called the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children, which California began in 2018 to help...
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Childhood trauma a crucial public health issue [CapitolWeekly.net]
Preventing childhood trauma should be one of the top goals of California policymakers, a coalition of child advocates say. About 150 of the advocates came to Sacramento last week to educate legislators about the devastating effects of adverse childhood experiences. The goal was to help legislators create policies that will better protect kids. Adverse childhood experiences, known as ACEs, are experiences that are so harmful to children’s developing brains that they affect their lives decades...
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Children to be Screened for Toxic Stress, Trauma Under new State Initiative [bakersfield.com]
By Stacey Shepard, Bakersfield.com, January 11, 2020 Children in Kern County and throughout California may be screened for childhood trauma and toxic stress during routine pediatrician visits starting this year. The screenings are part of a new state initiative to identify adverse childhood experiences, known as ACEs, which a growing body of research shows can significantly increase the risk of poor health outcomes later in life, ranging from suicide, alcohol addiction, depression and drug...
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Chronic absence is widespread in California schools
Educators consider chronic absenteeism a red alert — a blaring sign that a student might be academically at risk. Chronic absence is defined as missing 10 percent or more of school days for any reason, a level educators say puts students at risk of falling behind academically, failing classes, and dropping out. Schools and parents now have a new tool to investigate the problem, in the form of open-source data from the California Department of Education. The patterns that emerge from this...
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Coronavirus: First look at California's hospitalization data [mercurynews.com]
By Emily Deruy, Bay Area News Group, April 2, 2020 Santa Clara County trails San Diego and Los Angeles counties when it comes to the number of confirmed coronavirus patients who have been hospitalized. That’s according to a new searchable dashboard from the state , which offers a first look at how intensely COVID-19 is hitting hospitals in counties across the state. As of Wednesday, hospitals reported a total of 1,855 patients confirmed to have the virus. Los Angeles County, by far the...
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Coronavirus shutdown in California: What are the rules [mercurynews.com]
By Bay Area News Group, March 20, 2020 The executive order issued Thursday night by California Gov. Gavin Newsom orders all California residents to stay home, except as needed for certain essential activities. There was no end date on the order. Restrictions will be in place “until further notice,” it said. The official order is displayed at the bottom of this article. [ Please click here to read more .]
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Counting all California kids for census a new challenge under stay-at-home order [edsource.org]
By Zaidee Stavely, EdSource, April 15, 2020 As thousands of California residents stay home in response to the coronavirus pandemic, children’s advocates, preschool teachers and social workers have had to get creative to make sure everyone gets counted in the census. “Now that we’re in shelter-in-place, we have really had to pivot,” said Ditas Katague, director of the California Complete Count — Census 2020 office, which was set up to lead outreach efforts in the state. Katague said with the...
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COVID-19 and Boys and Men of Color, Their Families and Communities: A Spotlight on Health Disparities [shfcenter.org]
From Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, May 11, 2020 Alliance for Boys and Men of Color in partnership with California Funders for Boys and Men of Color and Executives’ Alliance for Boys and Men of Color invite you to join a video conversation. Join advocates on the front lines and philanthropy for an in-depth look at how leaders are working to mitigate health disparities during COVID-19 and are addressing the systemic racism that has led to the harrowing inequities our communities are...