Tagged With "African American"
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Trauma Transformed launches regional effort in San Francisco Bay Area
Nearly 300 impassioned and committed people crowded into the Green Room at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center last week to launch Trauma Transformed. Known as T2, the regional effort representing the San Francisco...
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Trump Administration has Separated 900 Migrant Children Despite Order to Stop Practice [latimes.com]
By Kristina Davis, Los Angeles Times, July 30, 2019 The Trump administration has separated 911 migrant children from their parents at the border since a San Diego federal judge last summer ordered an end to the systemic practice, the American Civil Liberties Union reported to the court Tuesday. The continuing separations are largely blamed on parental criminal history — an exception that U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw has carved out in the ongoing litigation. But lawyers with the ACLU argue...
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UCSF sends doctor and nurses to largest Native American reservation, hard-hit by coronavirus [sfchronicle.com]
By Mallory Moench, San Francisco Chronicle, April 22, 2020 UCSF sent 21 health care workers - seven doctors and 14 nurses - Wednesday to treat patients in the Navajo Nation hard-hit by the coronavirus. UCSF-trained doctors working on the largest Native American reservation in the U.S. asked San Francisco colleagues for help as the outbreak strains the health care system. Navajo Nation, where around 175,000 people live spread over 27,500 square miles in New Mexico and Arizona, has recorded...
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Understanding Gaps in Developmental Screening and Referral [pediatrics.aappublications.org]
By Mei Elansary and Michael Silverstein, Pediatrics, March 2020 In this issue of Pediatrics, Lipkin et al describe trends in pediatrician-reported developmental screening and referral practices between 2002 and 2016. The authors compare data across serial American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Periodic Surveys conducted in 2002, 2009, and 2016. They demonstrate that pediatricians’ self-reported use of formal developmental screening tools increased from 21% in 2002 to 63% in 2016 and that...
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Uninsured Native Americans Often Lack Needed Prenatal Care [ocregister.com]
By Yesenia Amaro and Deepa Bharath, Center for Health Journalism News Collaborative, October 4, 2019 For almost two years, Sylvia Valenzuela relied on the federal Indian Health Service system to get the primary care she needed. But when she had to see an OB-GYN for her prenatal care, she was on her own. What followed, she said, was a nightmare in which she struggled to obtain and keep Medi-Cal coverage, leaving her uninsured for a critical stretch of her pregnancy. Valenzuela says she would...
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Data Exclusive: 75 Percent of Black California Boys Don’t Meet State Reading Standards [CalMatters.org]
Three of four African-American boys in California classrooms failed to meet reading and writing standards on the most recent round of testing, according to data obtained from the state Department of Education and analyzed by CALmatters. More than half of black boys scored in the lowest category on the English portion of the test, trailing their female counterparts. The disparity reflects a stubbornly persistent gender gap in reading and writing scores that stretches across ethnic groups.
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“Disgraceful” Disparities In School Discipline Funnel Kids Into Justice System [witnessla.com]
By Taylor Walker, Witness LA, November 11, 2019 Research and the national conversation around racial disparities in school discipline have largely remained focused on the outsized disparate treatment that black students receive when compared with their white peers. Yet Native American youth face much the same disciplinary treatment in schools that black students do, according to a report from San Diego State University and Sacramento Native American Higher Education Collaborative (SNAHEC)...
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Do you live in Arizona, Hawaii, California, Nevada or the US Pacific Islands? Come to our no-cost mental and school mental health Winter Institute!
Do you live in Arizona, Hawaii, California, Nevada or the US Pacific Islands?If so...Check it out! 👇 NO COST. MENTAL HEALTH & SCHOOL MENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE. AMAZING FACULTY. JANUARY 14, 15, & 16th! LONG BEACH, CA. JOIN US. 🤝 👏 Learn more here: http://bit.ly/mhttc-winterinstitute-flyer Register here: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07egq2f9gaebafa6bd&llr=8wdk4ubab
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Dozens of stakeholders representing thousands of practitioners send public comments on Calif. ACEs-screening plan
Update: We posted this story on Tuesday evening and received a response from the Department of Health Care Services Wednesday that clarifies additional information. DHCS information Officer Katharine Weir said that subject to budget approval by the legislature and the governor: The reimbursement rate will be $29. Federally Qualified Health Centers will also be reimbursed for screening pediatric patients for trauma through Prop 56 funds and federal matching funds. In response to a question...
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Dr. Nadine Burke Harris (podcast) [armchairexpertpod.com]
By Dax Shepard, Armchair Expert, October 10, 2019 Nadine Burke Harris is an American pediatrician who is the 1st and current Surgeon General of California. She is known for her work in adverse childhood experiences. Nadine visits the Armchair Expert to discuss the impact childhood trauma has on health and longevity, she talks about her own experience with childhood adversity and she gives tools to buffer those who have many ACEs. Nadine talks about the screening process she pioneered and Dax...
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Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris Shares Concerns About The Impact COVID-19 Is Having On Blacks [sacobserver.com]
Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris joined Gov. Newsom for the first time last week to announce a number of actions leaders have taken to address the pandemic. By Genoa Barrow, Sacramento Observer, April 17, 2020 As a pandemic sheds a spotlight on long-standing health inequities for African Americans, California’s surgeon general looks to find lasting solutions. Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris was named to the new position created by Gov. Gavin Newsom in January 2019. She is an African American pediatrician,...
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Early childhood educators learn new ways to spot trauma triggers, build resilience in preschoolers
A hug may be comforting to many children, but for a child who has experienced trauma it may not feel safe.
That’s an example used by Julie Kurtz, co-director of trauma informed practices in early childhood education at the WestEd Center for Child & Family Studies (CCFS), as she begins a trauma training session. Her audience, preschool teachers and staff of the San Francisco-based Wu Yee Children’s Services at San Francisco’s Women’s Building, listen attentively.
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Early childhood educators learn new ways to spot trauma triggers, build resilience in preschoolers
A hug may be comforting to many children, but for a child who has experienced trauma it may not feel safe.
That’s an example used by Julie Kurtz, co-director of trauma informed practices in early childhood education at the WestEd Center for Child & Family Studies (CCFS), as she begins a trauma training session. Her audience, preschool teachers and staff of the San Francisco-based Wu Yee Children’s Services at San Francisco’s Women’s Building, listen attentively.
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Early Discount 20th Annual Families & Fathers Conference
Call to action- Fathers and Families Coalition of America is nearing the 20th Annual Families and Fathers Conference, March 4-7, 2019 in Los Angeles, California with a comprehensive program that hosts presenters from the United Kingdom, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Bolivia and throughout the United States. We are providing the conference information for your consideration to participate. We are asking you to share this conference information with your community...
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Education: Tony Thurmond’s silver bullet (Capitol Weekly)
Abandoned by his father and orphaned at age 6 after the death of his mother to cancer, Tony Thurmond believes he could have easily ended up in prison. Instead, the 50-year-old Richmond resident is the new state superintendent of public education. He is the second African-American in the position after Wilson Riles, who served 1971-83. “I’ve spent years analyzing my experience,” he said. “Why is my experience not the experience of many of my peers? If you look who is in jail, it is largely...
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Educators’ “Complex Trauma” Resolution: Will it have an impact?
When I met up with school psychologists Donna Christy and Robert Hull at the Starbucks in Greenbelt, MD, they sparred good-naturedly about each other’s extra-curricular activities outside the school building—he says she is a big honcho with the National Education Association (NEA) and she says he will speak to any audience, anywhere (as long as his expenses are covered) on the subject of trauma and education. Both work for the Prince George’s (P.G.) County School District in nearby...
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EQUITY, CRIMINAL JUSTICE & OVERCOMING ADVERSITY - Breakfast Event Sept 14 w/ USDC Judge Troy L. Nunley, Hanna Institute, Sonoma
Judge Nunley is a staunch advocate for children, especially the most vulnerable. He brings rich personal experience to his judicial role; he grew up in the Hunter’s Point neighborhood of San Francisco with a single mother, ultimately rising to one of the highest positions an American lawyer can occupy. SCHEDULE 7:30 – 8:00 a.m. Breakfast and Socialize 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. Presentation, Discussion, Q&A EVENT DETAILS Thursday, Sept 14th, 2017 from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. Hanna Boys Center...
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Equity on the Mall
On behalf of the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund (SJVHF), we invite you to join state legislative and community leaders in a day of advocacy entitled Equity on the Mall, taking place on February 9 at our state capitol in Sacramento. Thursday, February 9 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. California State Capitol 1315 10th Street, Sacramento The day will include a powerful program at the West Steps of the Capitol on the movement being built in the San Joaquin Valley. Highlights will include remarks by elected...
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“Every one of us can play a role.” Eric Holder campaigns to reduce childhood trauma [WashingtonPost.com]
“Every one of us can play a role.” Eric Holder campaigns to reduce childhood trauma - The Washington Post
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First on new California state superintendent’s long agenda: getting more men of color in the classroom Tony Thurmond reaches out for ideas on 13 education challenges [Ed Source]
our months into his first term, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond is creating 13 work groups that he expects will recommend strategies for addressing some of the state’s thorniest education challenges. The issues include the need for an extensive student data system, college affordability, special education, teacher development, student health and safety, the teacher shortage and the issue he ran on but has little direct power to effect — more funding for schools.
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For Low-Income Youth in California, Much is Promised But Little Received with Mental Health Services (chronicleofsocialchange.org)
Mental health disorders in childhood and adolescence are extremely common. Studies estimate between 13 and 20 percent of American children experience a mental disorder in a given year. National survey data indicates that one in five children and teens will suffer a mental disorder that severely impairs daily life. Common mental illnesses include anxiety disorder, depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Yet research also indicates that many children in need of mental...
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Fresno Project Offers Pregnant Mothers of Color Hope to Avoid Preterm Births [fresnobee.com]
By Emilia Reyes and Joseph Castro, The Fresno Bee, November 20, 2019 Over the last few years, our community has given birth to innovative solution-driven projects to combat one stark fact: Fresno County ranks No. 1 on the list of California counties, with the highest preterm rate of two-thirds of all births. More startling, African American babies continue to die in their first year of life at three times the rate of all other babies. Landing on what to do about our reality has been no easy...
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From ASM Kevin McCarty: DACA Renewal Workshops
From ASM Kevin McCarty: https://a07.asmdc.org/event/daca-renewal-workshop DACA Renewal Workshop As you may know, the Trump administration recently announced plans to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) federal program which allows immigrants who came to the United States as children to apply for temporary protections from deportation and to receive work permits. As a result of the President's decision, only DACA recipients whose benefits expire on or before March 5, 2018...
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From Awareness to Action, with Voices of Lived Experience: Wisconsin’s Collective Impact Initiative
Perhaps it wasn’t the optimum time to update the network’s vision and values statements: a virtual meeting held in the midst of a global pandemic. But a record number of people—51, compared to the typical 30—tuned in for the May 1 Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health (OCMH) Collective Impact Council, and they gave the new values statement, which highlights inclusivity and collaboration, an enthusiastic thumbs-up. At the virtual table were members from key state departments—Children...
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From ruined bridges to dirty air, EPA scientists price out the cost of climate change [LA Times]
By the end of the century, the manifold consequences of unchecked climate change will cost the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars per year, according to a new study by scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency. Those costs will come in multiple forms, including water shortages, crippled infrastructure and polluted air that shortens lives, according to the study in Monday’s edition of Nature Climate Change. No part of the country will be untouched, the EPA researchers warned.
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Gathering for GLORY Conference April 20
This conference seeks to bridge the wisdom, perspectives, and experiences from the faith-based community to those of our Black Child Legacy Campaign communities to reduce African American child deaths in Sacramento County. In Sacramento County, African American children die at twice the rate of any other ethnicity. The four leading causes of death are perinatal conditions, infant sleep-related deaths, child abuse and neglect, and third –party homicide. The Black Child Legacy Campaign is the...
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Gavin Newsom apologizes on California’s behalf to native tribes for slaughter of ancestors (sacbee.com)
Gov. Gavin Newsom will formally apologize to California Native Americans through an executive order Tuesday for the state’s “dark history” of violence against indigenous people. “California Native American peoples suffered violence, discrimination and exploitation sanctioned by state government throughout its history,” Newsom said in a written statement. “We can never undo the wrongs inflicted on the peoples who have lived on this land that we now call California since time immemorial, but...
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journal article: Responding to Students with PTSD in Schools
Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am . 2012 January Responding to Students with PTSD in Schools Sheryl Kataoka, MD, MSHS, Audra Langley, PhD, Marleen Wong, PhD, Shilpa Baweja, MA, and Bradley Stein, MD, PhD The prevalence of trauma exposure among youth is a major public health concern, with a third of adolescents nationally reporting that they have been in a physical fight in the past twelve months and 9% having been threatened or injured with a weapon on school property. Studies have...
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Kaiser says it halved the hypertension gap between blacks and whites over a decade — but how? [centerforhealthjournalism.org]
By Judith Lewis Mernit, USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, June 13, 2019. More African American men and women suffer from hypertension than any other ethnic group in the U.S. — and many of them don’t even know it. Defined as a systolic blood-pressure reading of greater than 120, hypertension presents few or no symptoms. But it kills, all the same. High circulatory tension “was the leading cause of death and disability-adjusted life-years worldwide,” according to the American College...
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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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Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Questioning, and/or Gender Nonconforming and Transgender Girls and Boys in the California Juvenile Justice System: A Practice Guide [nclrights.org]
If you are a child welfare professional working with youth in California, chances are this practice guide may be a useful resource! Developed by Impact Justice and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and published in January 2017, this practice guide is designed to provide probation department practice guidelines, and policy recommendations for working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning, and/or gender nonconforming and transgender girls and boys who interface with the California...
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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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Living Homeless in California: Finding Shelter — Veterans Are Broke But Not Broken (capitalandmain.com)
The original purpose of the West Los Angeles land that was donated to the federal government in 1887 was to house homeless veterans. Over the years, however, VA budgeting priorities directed towards the hospital and questionable land leases left the campus dilapidated and underutilized. As a result of a 2011 lawsuit filed on behalf of homeless vets initiated by local attorneys and the American Civil Liberties Union, the VA is now committed to repurposing the 388-acre campus, located near the...
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Living Homeless in California: For Many Kids, Home Is Where the School Is (captainandmain.com)
For t he teachers, counselors and school liaisons comprising the thin front line of educators grappling with the Golden State’s homeless student population explosion, the dire reality of what it means for the 268,699 young Californians public school districts identified last year as lacking “a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” comes into grim focus during the home visit. In a city like Los Angeles, whose high poverty and low housing affordability edged out San Francisco for...
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Looking for childcare in Fresno? Be ready for waitlists, high costs and to quit your job (fresnobee.com)
A new study from the UC Berkeley Early Childhood Think Tank and the American Institutes for Research found that the San Joaquin Valley doesn’t have enough daycare and preschool spots for its population of young children, which will continue to grow through 2030. The shortage affects both middle- and working-class families, the latter of whom face waits for subsidies while the former shoulder steep tuition costs for full-time care. Both groups have to contend with a scarcity of openings in...
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Low pay for child care workers puts more than half at poverty level, study finds [edsource.org]
A majority of child care workers in California are paid so little they qualify for public assistance programs, according to a new report on the early education workforce. Fifty-eight percent of child care workers in California are on one or more public assistance programs, such as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families , a federally funded program that helps pay for food, housing and other expenses, the report by UC Berkeley’s Center for the Study of Child Care Employment found. This is...
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Map: Making Indigenous Peoples Day official across the country (Indian Country Today)
In 2011, the National Congress of American Indians passed a formal resolution advocating for the second Monday of October to be renamed Indigenous Peoples Day. A changing tide in cities and states have followed suit since then. In 2018 alone, 46 cities adopted the name in lieu of Columbus Day. Indian Country Today created an interactive map showing all of the cities and states that have passed legislation recognizing Indigenous Peoples Day as a holiday. Other sites not included are counties,...
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May 22nd as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Resilience Awareness Day by Sacramento County Board of Supervisors
In preparation for the proclamation being presented today at the Sacramento Board of Supervisors meeting May 21st at 9:30 AM, I sent the attached news release to the Sacramento Bee and Capital Radio. Please feel free to share with the community. Dear....... I wanted to let you know about an important event that is coming up next week and see if you could help me spread the word. On May 21st Supervisor Patrick Kennedy and the Sacramento Board of Supervisors are going to declare May 22nd as A...
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McGuire, First 5 Humboldt talk ‘ACEs’ at town hall [Times Standard News]
Humboldt County has one of the highest rates of childhood trauma and abuse in the state with 75 percent of locals being affected by at least one adverse childhood experience — or ACE. T his county along with Mendocino County, have the highest percentage of residents with four or mor e ACEs. “A child who experiences ACEs is 12 times [more likely] to attempt suicide, 12 times. A child who has four or more ACEs experiences [is] seven times [more likely] to be and alcoholic or 10 times higher to...
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Medi Cal Managed Care: Partnership Healthplan of California Expanded Substance Use Disorder Services
Click here to learn more: Partnership Wellness and Recover Program Spring 2020 Partnership is working to ensure that our members get effective and appropriate behavioral health care services (mental health and substance use treatment services) in all 14 counties we serve. Expansion of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Services PHC’s 14 counties have long supported SUD treatment services through the Drug Medi-Cal program. In the coming months, these services will be greatly expanded in eight of...
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Moms Fight Back Against Violence In Their Communities (californiahealthline.org)
Black children die from gun-related homicides at a rate nearly 10 times higher than that of white children, according to a 2017 study in the American Academy of Pediatrics. Another study published a few weeks ago showed that black men are at risk of being killed by police at a rate about triple that of white men. The statistical differences are important, said Chet Hewitt, president and CEO of the Sierra Health Foundation, which awards grants to reduce health disparities. However, the...
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More than 1 in 10 California students are 'chronically absent' (edsource.org)
California education officials on Tuesday released school-level data that shows that last year more than 1 in 10 students were chronically absent, defined as missing at least 10 percent of school days for any reason. The data, which the state released for the first time, reveals that 1 in 4 foster children was chronically absent from California schools last year, as were about 1 in 5 homeless, Native American and African-American students. By tracking and releasing the data, California joins...
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Must see movie! This Sunday in Sonoma at Sebastiani Theater
"And Now, Love," is an award-winning documentary memoir on the life and work of Dr. Bernard W. Bail, a highly decorated World War II American Jewish veteran who was captured by the Nazis and rescued by a secret love affair with his German nurse. After the war, Bail came to believe that all wars are the manifestation of the wars within ourselves. Dedicated to healing mental anguish, he became a doctor and psychoanalyst who developed a theory called the “mother’s imprint,” focusing on...
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Nadine Burke Harris debuts "The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity" in Philadelphia
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris debuted her book, The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity , at the Philadelphia Free Library this evening in a talk and book signing. This first stop in an ambitious book tour that crisscrosses the country reflects a mission that Burke Harris has pursued for nearly a decade: to spread the knowledge about the science of adverse childhood experiences, and about how people can use this knowledge to help solve our most intractable problems.
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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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Native People and Coronavirus: Maintaining community while separating [nativeorganizing.org]
From Native Organizers Alliance, April 22, 2020 We hope you and your loved ones are in good health. During this Coronavirus pandemic, we are all finding ways to support our families and communities in difficult circumstances. Native communities are adopting new ways of meeting the urgent needs of our communities, both physically and spiritually. We are using digital tools to maintain community and ceremony while physically separating for our safety. Please join us for a video conference to...
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New ACEs data on Kidsdata.org
On behalf of California Essentials for Childhood, I am very excited to announce the release of a new Child Adversity and Resilience data topic on Kidsdata.org! This has been a collaborative effort between the CA Essentials for Childhood Initiative's Shared Data and Outcomes Work Group and the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. I represent ACEs Connection Network on Essentials and am the co-chair of the Shared Data & Outcomes Work Group so I couldn't be more thrilled about...
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New organization calls all pediatricians to end crisis that's "hiding in plain sight"
When the question of screening patients for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) was first raised a couple of years ago, Santa Barbara pediatrician Andria Ruth had mixed feelings about it.
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New Study Shows Communities Can Reduce the Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences [Mathematic Policy Research]
[ Ed. note: Following is a media release published yesterday by Mathematica Policy Research. This follows on the heals of the report, "Self-Healing Communities" that Laura Porter, Dr. Robert Anda and WHO wrote for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Both reports and executive summaries are attached to this blog post. Both reports are significant, because they show that community ACEs initiatives -- with "modest investments and limited staff" -- are solving some of our most intractable...
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New Trump Rule Could Eliminate Food Stamps for Almost 200,000 Californians [calmatters.org]
By Manuela Tobias, Cal Matters, December 4, 2019 The Trump administration finalized a rule Wednesday that will cut off food stamps to roughly 688,000 American adults by requiring states to enforce work requirements. The U.S. Agriculture Department said the move will save about $5.5 billion over five years. The rule takes effect in April 2020. “This is about restoring the original intent of food stamps,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on a call to reporters. “Moving more able-bodied...