Tagged With "san diego"
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Gail Kennedy, Dana Brown join ACEs Connection Network team
Thanks to the generous support of The California Endowment, we've added two new people who'll be working part-time with ACEs Connection Network -- Gail Kennedy and Dana Brown -- to increase support for the work we do in California. In addition,...
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“Get Out!” Report Breaks Down Black Male Suspensions During 2016-2017 School Year [witnessla.com]
A new study of race and school discipline in California counties has revealed that the black male student suspension rate decreased 5 percent between the 2011-2012 and 2016-2017 school years—from 17.8 percent of all black boys to 12.8 percent. Racial disparities remain intact, however. Black boys’ 12.8 percent suspension rate during the last school year was more than 3.5 times the rate of the CA public school population as a whole (3.6 percent), according to the report, which was created in...
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Join us on May 17, 2019 for the SoCal Learning Community!
Please join us for the conclusion of our four part series: Achieving Impact through Evaluation and Data for Family Strengthening Programs Know Your Audience: Program Participants, Potential Clients and Community Members Enroll Here! Date: Friday May 17, 2019 Time: Check in at 9:30am, begin at 10am, conclude at 12:30pm Enroll to join in person or remotely through one of the options below: Otis Booth Campus, Los Angeles Remote sites in Atascadero, Ventura, Lancaster, San Bernardino, Moreno...
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Judge: Pretrial Inmates in San Francisco Need Time in Sunlight [courthousenews.com]
By Maria Dinzeo, Courthouse News Service, February 3, 2020 For years, the city and county of San Francisco has housed inmates awaiting trial in tiny cells, letting them out for only a few hours a day for exercise and often depriving them of any time outdoors, but conditions are set to improve for some after a federal judge ruled Friday that pretrial detainees incarcerated for more than four years must be given at least one hour a week of access to direct sunlight. The order handed down by...
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Keeping Kids Out of Cells [sfchronicle.com]
By Jill Tucker and Joaquin Palomino, San Francisco Chronicle, December 29, 2019 The two-story brick building on a quiet street in Queens doesn’t stand out from the million-dollar homes scattered throughout the neighborhood. There are no signs on the former Catholic convent, nothing to indicate that inside are five New York City teens who committed felony assault, grand larceny, gun possession or another serious crime. Placed here by a judge’s order, each is spending an average of seven...
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Latino's coronavirus burden [sfchronicle.com]
By Joaquin Palomino and Tatiana Sanchez, San Francisco Chronicle, May 8, 2020 As people came into San Francisco General Hospital with chest pain, dry coughs and fevers — telltale signs of the new coronavirus — Dr. Vivek Jain noticed an unsettling pattern: The vast majority of people so sick that they needed to be hospitalized were Latino. Jain, an infectious disease specialist who is part of the team directing the hospital’s COVID-19 response, was prepared to see an influx of low-income...
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Launching a Revolution [hsph.harvard.edu]
By Madeline Drexler, Harvard Public Health, Winter 2020 In 2007, pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris, MPH ’02, set out on an idealistic mission: to deliver quality medical care to one of San Francisco’s poorest and most underserved neighborhoods—Bayview-Hunters Point, in the isolated southeastern corner of the city. Before Burke Harris arrived on the scene, only one pediatrician was serving the neighborhood’s 10,000 children. The community’s plight was starkly apparent in its ZIP code. In 17 of...
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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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Learning Community Recording Available: Building Family, Agency, and Community Resilience: Rural Policies to Improve Housing Affordability and Accessibility
The third Sierra Learning Community for the 2019-20 fiscal year focused upon Building Family, Agency, and Community Resilience: Rural Policies to Improve Housing Affordability and Accessibility. The power point and other materials distributed to attendees are attached to this post. View the recording by clicking here: 2.13.20 Sierra Learning Community ANNOUNCEMENTS Make sure to visit the Strategies2.0 YouTube Channel to access recordings of all the Strategies2.0 sponsored webinars and...
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Long Lives Cut Short [sfchronicle.com]
By Lizzie Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, May 15, 2020 He shuffled out of the house on Innes Avenue, shoulders hunched and legs trembling. The early spring day was clear and breezy. Sunshine baked the driveway. But Wilbur Morris didn’t notice. He settled into the front seat of his daughter’s gray Mercury Mirage, too weak to buckle the seat belt or shut the door, so she did it for him. Wilbur had been a healthy 80-year-old. His preferred drink was nonalcoholic beer. He jogged 3 miles every...
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Making Mental Health Needs a Priority [smdailyjournal.com]
By Anna Schussler, The Daily Journal, December 26, 2019 When San Carlos resident Suzanne Hughes formed a nonprofit offering mental health services four years ago, she started out with just three interns and a mission to make them affordable and accessible to anyone who might need them. Trained as a marriage and family therapist, Hughes drew from more than 20 years of mental health experience to identify what she saw as the most pressing mental health needs and build programs to address them.
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Mapping Trauma Informed Care throughout First 5 Associations
On April 15th, representatives from 6 counties met on a conference call to discuss recent First 5 activities around Trauma Informed Care (TIC). Since our first gathering at last year's Association Summit, we have been meeting quarterly via conference call and have learned that there is a lot going on with TIC. So much is going on that we decided to send out a survey gathering data to map all our TIC efforts across the state. Please let us know if you are at a First 5 and are interested in...
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Harmonium CEO Rosa Ana Lozada “walks the talk” of trauma-informed, resilience-building practices
Harmonium staff pictured (left to right ) Front row: Brian Newcomer, Rosa Ana Lozada, Heidi Echeverria, and Janice Tangback Back row: Amy De Meules, Natalie Kessler, and Justin Campbell There’s almost a Zen-like feeling when you walk into the office of Rosa Ana Lozada, chief executive officer of Harmonium, Inc. The deep red accent wall, large corner windows, and small Japanese fountain send a message that a trauma-informed, resilience-building mindset starts at the top of this...
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March 14th Hearing at State Capital (Extended Cal Grant funding for foster youth) Educational opportunity on SB 940 - Bring foster youth.
Senator Jim Beall's office that on Wednesday, March 14, 2018 at 9am, a bill will be presented at the Capitol. The SB 940, (Extended Cal Grant funding for foster youth) will be addressed. Senator Beall's office would like to see as many foster youth present, as well as, supporters of foster youth to learn more. SB 940 will improve post-secondary achievement among foster youth by increasing access to California’s largest and most important financial aid program, the Cal Grant. This bill has...
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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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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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New bill to guarantee health care access to transgender foster children (kusi.com)
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — Transgender foster children would be guaranteed access to health care specific to their unique needs under a bill announced Monday by San Diego Assemblyman Todd Gloria. The Democrat’s bill would amend the list of foster youth rights to include “access to gender-affirming health care and gender-affirming behavioral health services,” such as counseling to cope with gender identity issues or gender confirmation surgery. That list includes such freedoms as accessing the...
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New Coalition Created to End Child Poverty in San Diego County [kpbs.org]
By Maya Trabulsi, KPBS, February 5, 2020 KPBS Evening Edition anchor Maya Trabulsi talked with Erin Hogeboom, the director of San Diego For Every Child, about a new initiative launched to end child poverty in San Diego County. Q: Research is showing that San Diego families are struggling and, more specifically, the basic needs of some children are not being met. Can you talk to us about what the current state of child poverty is here in San Diego County? A: Yes. So, in San Diego County, 40%...
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New documentary focuses on trauma faced by first-responders (sandiegouniontribune.com)
“Keeping the Peace,” a new documentary that recently premiered at the University of San Diego, brings to light the trauma often faced by first responders and encourages police officers, firefighters and others in the field to seek counseling when dealing with emotional issues. They’ve lost colleagues to suicide, had people die in their arms, seen horrifying injuries and had to tell family members about a loved one’s death. It takes a toll on law enforcement officers, firefighters and other...
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New Housing for Formerly Homeless Residents Opens in Downtown San Jose [mercurynews.com]
By Emily Deruy, The Mercury News, Decemeber 2, 2019 As a fierce rainstorm drenched San Jose a few nights ago, Ericka Avila slept soundly in her new studio apartment just steps from St. James Park. Several weeks ago, that would have been out of the question. The 42-year-old spent years sleeping in her car, parked mostly at a Walmart on Story Road and sometimes at a library on Tully Road. When rain poured down or lightening flashed, Avila would peer out her windows, frightened and alone. “I’m...
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New initiative to house, treat low-level offenders [SanDiegoUnionTribune.com]
The City Attorney’s Office and various city and county partners are launching a program to house and rehabilitate people who repeatedly commit misdemeanor crimes such as public drunkenness or trespassing downtown. The offenders often are homeless people who commit quality-of-life crimes, meaning offenses such as disorderly conduct, public drunkenness and trespassing. City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said the SMART initiative — the acronym stands for San Diego Misdemeanant At-Risk Track — is an...
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New Resource! Secondary Traumatic Stress in Child Welfare Practice: Trauma-Informed Guidelines for Organizations
The Chadwick Center for Children & Families at Rady Children's Hospital San Diego has just released a set of trauma-informed guidelines with concrete strategies for approaching secondary traumatic stress (STS). While these guidelines were created for intended use within child welfare systems, they may be easily adapted into other child-and family-serving organizations. These guidelines were created as part of the Chadwick Trauma-Informed Systems Dissemination and Implementation Project...
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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 needs you! Apply now to become a member of their 2019 Citizen Review Panels
Make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children in California. Use your voice to change the child welfare system in California! Convened by the Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP), they are seeking citizen (YOUR) input at their quarterly meetings. Now is your chance to make recommendations to the State! Apply now t o become a member of the California Child-welfare Citizen Review Panels (CRPs). Meetings are held 4 times a year. Participation can be by phone, computer, or in-person.
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One City Heights School is Doing the Nearly Impossible: Closing the Achievement Gap [voiceofsandiego.com]
By Will Huntsberry, Voice of San Diego, March 2, 2020 In San Diego, as with the rest of the country, poverty tracks closely with test scores. The social science is clear: Poorer children are not less bright. They lack the same opportunities as their more affluent peers to gain cognitive skills from the moment they are born. The most pressing question in education has always been whether schools can supercharge the learning process enough to compensate for these class inequities. At Edison...
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One year after release of PI framework, communities use it to address community trauma, promote resilience (PreventionInstitute.org)
In San Diego, a group is using the ACE|R framework as part of PI’s Making Connections for Mental Health and Wellbeing among Men and Boys initiative , funded by the Movember Foundation. Jama Mohamed, Program Coordinator for the San Diego initiative, describes how community environments can produce and exacerbate trauma among refugees: “When you look at a community that has actually experienced trauma, and you put them in an environment like this, it’s not for us to question their behaviors,”...
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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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Orange County CA First Child Trauma Meeting a Big Success
On April 27, "Healing Orange County from Childhood Trauma" held its first meeting in Mission Viejo, CA at a local restaurant from 6 to 8 pm. We posted it on meetup.com as the founding meeting of Orange County (CA) ACEs Connection. I was honored to co-create the meeting with my dear friend Dana Brown, Southern California director for ACEs Connection. We felt awe as three education activists, six professional trauma therapy providers, individuals suffering child trauma and a total of 12 people...
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Overdoses in California prisons up 113% in three years — nearly 1,000 incidents in 2018 (sfchronicle.com)
Nearly 1,000 men and women in California prisons overdosed last year and required emergency medical attention in what officials acknowledge is part of an alarming spike in opioid use by those behind bars, according to records obtained by The Chronicle. The number of inmates treated for drug or alcohol overdoses jumped from 469 to 997 from 2015 to 2018 — a 113% increase. While many of the prisoners survived, the most recent data available show drug-related inmate deaths are on the rise, too —...
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Overview of the 2016 Project on Behavioral Health Services For Children and Youth in California [dhcs.ca.gov]
The California Behavioral Health Planning Council (Council) is under federal and state mandate to advocate on behalf of adults with severe mental illness and children with severe emotional disturbance and their families. The Council is also statutorily required to advise the Legislature on behavioral health issues, policies and priorities in California. The Council advocates for an accountable system of seamless, responsive services that are strength-based, consumer and family member driven,...
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Parent and Youth Leaders Educate Policymakers on ACEs in Sacramento on July 11th
Twelve parent and youth leaders, reentry and educational leaders, and community organizers represented the region of San Diego in Sacramento on July 11th. Aligning with about 80 other community members and professionals statewide, everyone met with and educated legislative staff on the impact of ACEs, community trauma, community healing and resilience building. Organized by the 4CA steering group led by Center for Youth Wellness, Children Now, and ACEs Connection Network, the ACEs science...
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Parent with ACEs: Is it Time to Change Your Parenting Playbook [sfbayview.com]
By Diana Hembree, San Francisco Bay View, February 1, 2020 If you experienced severe hardship as a child, are you more likely to have children with behavior or mental health problems? The short answer is yes. A recent UCLA study shows that the children of parents with four or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), such as abuse or neglect, are twice as likely to develop ADHD, which makes it more likely children will become hyperactive and unable to pay attention or control their...
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Parenting With ACEs: How You Can Support Your Toddler [sfbayview.com]
By Diana Hembree, San Francisco Bay View, November 11, 2019 “My 2-year-old keeps falling down when he tries to walk.” “My son is almost 24 months old, but all he can say is ‘mama’ and dada.’” “She just turned 2, and she still can’t follow the simplest instructions.” When your toddler misses a developmental milestone, like taking her first steps by age 2, it’s natural to fret. After all, in very rare cases, such delays may be a sign of an underlying condition. But a recent study suggests that...
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Personal stories from witnesses, U.S. representatives provided an emotional wallop to House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on childhood trauma
Room erupts in applause for the grandmother of witness William Kellibrew during July 11 House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing. The power of personal stories from witnesses and committee members fueled the July 11 hearing on childhood trauma in the House Oversight and Reform Committee* throughout the nearly four hours of often emotional and searing testimony and member questions and statements (Click here for 3:47 hour video). The hearing was organized into a two panels—testimony from...
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Philanthropy CA COVID-19 Response [PhilanthropyCa.org]
Philanthropy California is an alliance of Northern California, Southern California, and San Diego Grantmakers. Philanthropy California’s disaster resilience team is coordinating with state agencies and partners to respond to the threat and potential impacts of COVID-19/coronavirus. We will be vetting funds, providing recommendations, and supporting our community with safety tips. Consult a trusted news source such as the Center for Disease Control, to track the status of the coronavirus.
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Preparations begin for 2018 State Legislative Sessions—Tools to help you communicate with your state legislators
With the majority of states convening legislative sessions in 2018*, now is the time to begin preparations to advance trauma-informed proposals and educate lawmakers on the impact of trauma on the health and wellbeing of their constituents. ACEs Connection Network (ACN) will be sharing tools to help in this process over the next months. Two are now available—“How to Create a Community Profile” and “Tips on How to Build Relationships with Your Legislators.” One of the most effective tools...
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Press Release — New Survey of California Community College Students Reveals More than Half Face Food Insecurity and Nearly 20 Percent Have Faced Homelessness [California Community Colleges]
Press Release — New Survey of California Community College Students Reveals More than Half Face Food Insecurity and Nearly 20 Percent Have Faced Homelessness March 7, 2019 Sacramento — More than half the students attending a California community college have trouble affording balanced meals or worry about running out of food, and nearly 1 in 5 are either homeless or do not have a stable place to live, according to a survey released today. Click HERE to read the press release and click HERE...
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Prevention Summit: San Diego County Spotlight
In January of 2019, the Prevention Cabinet of the County Welfare Directors Association of California, the California Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP), and Strategies 2.0 co-hosted the Prevention Summit. The purpose of the Prevention Summit was to develop or strengthen a public-private partnership for strengthening families, begin or strengthen a countywide prevention plan, and commit to an ongoing collaborative process with clear action steps. Participants from 22 counties from across...
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Race Counts: San Mateo Data
The RACE COUNTS project maintains a comprehensive tracking tool of racial disparities across the state in seven key issue areas: Democracy Economic Opportunity Crime & Justice Access to Health Care Healthy Built Environment Education Housing Check out the info on San Mateo County . A few key takeaways: San Mateo is a high performance, high disparity, and less populous county. In San Mateo County, 37% of Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders own the homes they live in,...
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Re-Visioning Child Abuse Prevention in Southern California
Preventing child abuse and neglect and improving the well being of children, families, and communities is at the core of the outcome we are all so strongly committed to achieving. However, there's a lot of work to be done. Through the “ The Economics of Child Abuse: A Study of California ,” we know that: There are nearly 500,000 reports of child abuse in California each year — that’s about one report every minute. The economic cost to California for the 71,289 victims in 2017 is $19.31...
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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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College Students, Seniors and Immigrants Miss Out on Food Stamps. Here's Why. [calmatters.org]
By Jackie Botts and Felicia Mello, Cal Matters, November 6, 2019 A college student in Fresno who struggles with hunger has applied for food stamps three times. Another student, who is homeless in Sacramento, has applied twice. Each time, they were denied. A 61-year-old in-home caretaker in Oakland was cut off from food stamps last year when her paperwork got lost. Out of work, she can’t afford groceries. While picking up a monthly box of free food, a 62-year-old senior in San Diego told...
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Commentary: San Diego's Anti-Domestic Violence Center Replicated Across U.S. [sandiegouniontribune.com]
By Casey Gwinn, The San Diego Union-Tribune, November 14, 2019 In 2002, during my tenure as the San Diego city attorney, we opened the nationally acclaimed San Diego Family Justice Center. For the first time anywhere in America, we brought together 25 agencies under one roof to meet the needs of domestic and sexual violence victims. The results were stunning. During our journey from the very beginning of planning the center through 2008, we saw a 90% drop in domestic violence homicides in...
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Child Adversity and Well-Being Dashboards: California Counties
A product of the Essentials for Childhood Initiative (EfC), the Child Adversity and Well-Being Dashboards contain indicators of child adversity, health and well-being utilizing data available on kidsdata.org . For more information about the dashboards, please refer to the California Data Dashboards page. Links to all CA county Dashboards are below. If you don't see your community on the list, please contact Gail Kennedy: gkennedy@acesconnection.com Alpine County Alameda County Amador County...
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Community Profiles from selected CA ACEs Initiatives and Programs
CA communities and organizations from across the state shared information about their trauma informed and resilience building initiatives at the Child Adversity Policymaker Awareness Day on July 11, 2017 in Sacramento. The event, organized by 4CA ( California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity) , educated state legislators about the impacts of child adversity across the lifecourse and strategies for preventing ACEs, healing trauma and creating resilient communities. A series of fourteen...
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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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County Adopts Regional Plan to Bulk Up Services for Seniors [sandiegouniontribune.com]
By Charles T. Clark, The San Diego Union-Tribune, October 1, 2019 The San Diego region’s older population is growing rapidly, and the county has a plan it hopes will bolster services for seniors. County supervisors adopted a comprehensive regional plan, dubbed the “Aging Roadmap,” intended to meet the needs of older adults in the region and keep seniors in their homes as long as possible. The plan, created by staff in the Health and Human Services Agency’s Aging and Independence Services,...
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County Moves Forward With Plan for Behavioral Health Hubs [voiceofsandiego.org]
By Lisa Halverstadt, Voice of San Diego, October 29, 2019 County supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to move forward with efforts to create a network of behavioral health hubs and crisis units countywide, starting in North County and central San Diego. The goal is to shift the county’s mental health system from one overtaxed by emergency room visits and hospital stays to a more efficient chronic care system that helps patients stabilize before they fall into crisis. “It’s not just one...
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County Supervisors Among Experts Advising Governor on Combating Homelessness [CSAC]
Your voice is more powerful than you might imagine. Speak with your local Board of Supervisor member (in 1:1 mtg, during public comments at meetings, etc). Your unique perspective, when shared with your representative(s) has the potential to positively influence public policy. Please consider reaching out and sharing your knowledge with local key leaders. (*Local Board of Supervisors can be found on their county website. Click HERE for find your state level representative). This article...
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County Supervisors Greenlight Mental Health Program for First Responders [sandiegouniontribune.com]
By Charles T. Clark, The San Diego Union-Tribune, September 10, 2019 On Tuesday the San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously backed a proposal creating a new behavioral health program that will provide confidential mental health services to all first responders in the county, even if they are retired. The program will cost $450,000 in the current fiscal year’s budget with funds coming from a realignment of Health and Human Services funding. Although public safety departments in the...