Tagged With "Department of Health and Human Services"
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Report Reveals Foster Youth’s Top Priorities (socialjusticesolutions.org)
In an effort to highlight the most important issues identified by foster youth, advocacy organization Foster Youth in Action conducted a poll last October of more than 500 foster youth. Results indicated that sibling visitation, homelessness prevention, college access and success, and opportunities for independent living are the top priorities among current and former foster youth. The current and former foster youth polled ranged in age from the early teens to the early 30s, and priorities...
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Report: Solutions To Stop Sexual Violence Against Children [npr.org]
By Susan Brink, NPR.org, November 19, 2019 Sexual violence against children happens everywhere: in wealthy enclaves, in slums, in suburbs, in rural villages. Invariably, it happens in secret: in the privacy of family homes, in dark corners of schools and churches, and in murky shadows at neighborhood, community, sporting and scouting events. It happens often, and periodically groups put out reports to call attention to the issue. "That's usually where the story stops," says Daniela Ligiero,...
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Resource List - Research
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Psychosocial Well-Being of Women Who Were in Foster Care as Children Research has shown that many children in foster care later have psychosocial problems as adults; this is often attributed to cumulative adversities and a lack of supportive caregivers. The risk factors associated with foster care, such as maternal separation and multiple placements, often counteract many protective factors that can ameliorate the effects of childhood adversities. This study...
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Resource List - Trauma Informed Approaches and Autism Spectrum and Other Developmental Disabilities
Resources for individuals, organizations, and communities moving along trauma and hope-informed pathways in order to: Prevent and mitigate adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Promote resilience and safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments. Promote equity and racial justice. Prevent substance abuse and promote mental health. … so that all children, youth, families and communities have equal opportunity for educational success, economic stability, health, and well-being.
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Resource List - Trauma Informed Approaches and Autism Spectrum and Other Developmental Disabilities
Resources for individuals, organizations, and communities moving along trauma and hope-informed pathways in order to: Prevent and mitigate adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Promote resilience and safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments. Promote equity and racial justice. Prevent substance abuse and promote mental health. … so that all children, youth, families and communities have equal opportunity for educational success, economic stability, health, and well-being.
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Resources for Professionals
Adoption Information & Resources Resources on all aspects of domestic and intercountry adoption, with a focus onadoption from the U.S. foster care system. Includes information for adoption professionals, adopted adults, expectant parents considering adoption, birth parents and relatives, and prospective and adoptive parents on a broad range ofadoption topics. Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2013). Link: https://www.childwelfare.gov/t...?hasBeenRedirected=1 ...
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Resources for Supporting Children's Emotional Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic [childtrends.org]
By Jessica Dym Bartlett, Jessica Griffin, Dana Thomson, Child Trends, March 19, 2020 The following guidance, recommendations, and resources are provided by child trauma experts at Child Trends and the Child Trauma Training Center at the University of Massachusetts. The Center is housed at the University of Massachusetts with Child Trends as the lead evaluating agency, with funding from SAMHSA and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and additional support from HRSA. While the Centers...
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Role of Pre-existing Adversity and Child Maltreatment on Mental Health Outcomes for Children Involved in Child Protection: Population-based Data Linkage Study [bmjopen.bmj.com]
By Miriam Jennifer Maclean, Scott Anthony Sims, Melissa O'Donnell, BMJ Journals, July 29, 2019 It is established that children who experience child abuse and neglect are at an increased risk of poorer mental health outcomes. The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child states that chronic stress to which maltreated children may be exposed, in the absence of consistent and supportive relationships with adult caregivers, has negative impacts on children’s developing brain.
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Save the Life of Your Child
Some of my colleagues and I have developed a process and program called, "Design Thinking Suicide Prevention," that we have been presenting at mental health conferences . The reason for it is that we have discovered that certain words scare too many people who don't have to deal with mental issues in their family (although that number is becoming smaller and smaller). In fact, just the word "mental" causes people to run for the hills unless it directly affects them or a family member. Design...
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Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress [Administration for Children and Families]
This report builds on the previous report in this series, Foundations for Understanding Self-Regulation from an Applied Developmental Perspective, which describes a theoretical framework that is utilized in the present review of empirical...
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Sentator Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep. Danny Davis Introduce New Legislation: Illinois Children Traumatized [chicagofender.com]
CHICAGO – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and U.S. Representative Danny Davis on Monday unveiled the Trauma Informed Care for Children and Families Act, which is designed to address the toxic stress and trauma that impacts many children from Chicago’s most violent neighborhoods. “As we work to address the root causes of violence, we need to focus on the impact that community violence and other traumatic experiences have on Chicago’s children,” said Durbin. “During a visit to the Cook County...
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Sharing Data to Benefit Kids: A Guide for Child Welfare and Education Systems [aecf.org]
Re-sharing this blog post from the Annie E. Casey Foundation where they shared a guide for data sharing linkages between child welfare and education - the Roadmap for Foster Care and K-12 Data Linkages . ...Successful data linkages mean agencies are able to draw on all the publicly collected information to create a more complete picture of individual students in foster care, helping inform interventions that are more effective. “Data sharing between foster care and educational agencies is...
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Shortage of foster families for teens, older kids
There are enough foster parents in Shasta County for the county’s children, and more. So why are some children and youths housed in other care programs waiting for a foster family? The answer is in the age group most foster parents want to foster. “Shasta County is a receiving county because we have more foster youth coming… from other counties for placement than we send out…,” said Dianna Wagner, branch director of children’s services at Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency...
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So you know about ACEs...Turn your AHA! into Action!
Spring is the time for rebirth and new beginnings! As we look around, we can observe nature around us awakening after a long winter sleep. A true sign of resilience. At Origins , we have been lucky enough to create a space for growth and learning for both groups and individuals who work towards creating environments of healing and resilience over the winter months. After completing the first round of The Resilience Champion Certificate of 2018, we have 23 graduates putting their action plans...
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Social policies to prevent adversity -- see Open Access link (until July 1) to “A Critical Assessment of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study at 20 Years”— in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine
The ACEs research by Drs. Felitti, Anda and colleagues focused attention on the important consequences of childhood adversity for adult health. Of course, as many in the resilience-building movement recognize, adversities affect children’s health and life trajectories as well. When we recognize the powerful impacts of harsh life circumstances for children and families, it becomes clearer that social policies to strengthen household and community resources are needed as well as...
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Social Policy Report The Biological Embedding of Child Abuse and Neglect Implications for Policy and Practice
Each year within the US alone over 770,000 children are victimized by abuse and neglect (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2010), and this figure is likely to underestimate the extent of the problem. Researchers have long recognized that...
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Social Workers Study Trauma to Better Serve Children [BlueRidgeNow.com]
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social Services has developed a trauma-informed child welfare system! Through the support of a five-year grant awarded by the Children's Bureau, public child welfare in North Carolina has transformed to be a trauma-informed workforce. Presently, social workers and supervisors statewide are being trained on trauma-informed practices as well as self-care strategies to minimize the impacts of compassion fatigue. Two of the...
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Some 350 Florida Leaders Expected to Attend Think Tank with Dr. Vincent Felitti, Co-Principal Investigator of the ACE Study; Expert on ACEs Science
Leaders from across the Sunshine State will take part in a “Think Tank” in Naples, FL, on Monday, August 6, to help create a more trauma-informed Florida. The estimated 350 attendees will include policy makers and community teams made up of school superintendents, law enforcement officers, judges, hospital administrators, mayors, PTA presidents, child welfare experts, mental health and substance abuse treatment providers, philanthropists, university researchers, state agency heads, and...
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Standing Strong – The knowledge, skills and peer support parents need to lead (www.risemagazine.org)
Cissy's note: I admire the work of this parent-led and parent-focused organization. I read everything they post. For those not familiar with what they do, this is a recent interview with three staffers and gives a really good look at what and how they work to support families and make systems change. Here's an excerpt. The full piece is here. To read more of this piece recently published in Rise Magazine, go here.
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State Prior Authorization Parameters for Psychotropic Medication for Children and Youth in Medicaid
The Center for Health Care Strategies has developed a series of resources that provides stakeholders with tools and guidance for ensuring that children prescribed psychotropic medications receive appropriate screening,...
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States Explore Trauma Screening in the Child Welfare System [chroniclesofsocialchange.org]
As trauma-informed initiatives have multiplied in recent years, more child welfare agencies are now grappling with how to properly screen for trauma. Along with access to trauma-focused, evidence-based treatments and staff training, screening is a key part of building a trauma-informed system. But that approach has until recently had relatively little traction in the child welfare field. According to a new paper that looks at the implementation of a recent wave of trauma screening...
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Stockton emerging as public health model for toxic stress intervention [www.bakersfield.com]
While scores of public agencies are working to develop resources and programs to address childhood trauma and toxic stress in their communities, San Joaquin County has been turning itself into a model for how to address the issue. “This is not a new concept for us,” said Barbara Alberson, senior deputy director of policy and planning at the San Joaquin County Public Health Services Department. “It’s in our DNA.”... Treating trauma is a multidepartmental approach. Public Health, probation...
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Strengthening Families Framework TRAINERS
Thirty more individuals in the states of California, Indiana, and Alabama were just trained to be a trainer of the Strengthening Families Framework from the National Alliance of Children's Trust and Prevention Funds. This is HUGE! That makes slightly over 1,000 total from the 50 states. But what happens now? We have newly trained trainers trying to reach out and converse with everyone and anyone, with local Health and Human Services Agencies, with local schools, fire departments and police...
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Study Evaluates ‘Resilience’ in Transition-age Foster Youth, Claims Non-whites More Resilient [ChronicleforSocialChange.org]
A new report claims that “non-white race” adolescents showed higher resilience in the foster care system as they approached the age of emancipation. Many foster youth face challenges transitioning into independent adults. These challenges are related to difficult experiences in childhood and lack of adequate resources, resulting in dysfunctional behaviors and outcomes. The study attempts to explore the success stories among these high-risk youth–those who circumvent the challenges and...
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Study shows link between foster care, multiple medications and teen pregnancy [trib.com]
Girls in foster care are more likely to be diagnosed with mental health conditions, be prescribed multiple medications and become pregnant as teenagers, according to a report by Wyoming researchers. The study, which was conducted over an 11-year period and followed more than 5,000 15-year-old girls to their 18th birthdays, shows stark disparities in the challenges its subjects face. For instance, nearly 30 percent of 743 foster care girls on Medicaid gave birth by the time they turned 18.
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Study shows links between foster care, multiple medications, and teen pregnancy [trib.com]
Girls in foster care are more likely to be diagnosed with mental health conditions, be prescribed multiple medications and become pregnant as teenagers, according to a report by Wyoming researchers. The study, which was conducted over an 11-year period and followed more than 5,000 15-year-old girls to their 18th birthdays, shows stark disparities in the challenges its subjects face. For instance, nearly 30 percent of 743 foster care girls on Medicaid gave birth by the time they turned 18.
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Substance addiction changes mother's response to infant [bcm.edu]
This interesting research article came across my inbox recently from the Child Welfare Information Gateway . The research discusses how substance abuse can effect maternal-infant attachment and relationship. The Child Welfare Information Gateway also included a helpful accompanying practice resorource. Maternal addiction and its effects on children is a major public health problem, often leading to high rates of child abuse, neglect and foster care placement. In a study published today in...
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Supporting Brain Development in Traumatized Children and Youth
This Administration on Children and Families (ACF) bulletin summarizes the effects of early trauma on brain development and looks at steps child welfare professionals can take to screen for developmental delays and identify the trauma-affected children and youth in their care. It also looks at ways to access cross-sector, therapeutic, and evidence-based treatment to encourage healthy recovery for trauma-affected children and youth. HERE TO ACCESS MATERIALS. Document attached.
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Supporting Evidence Building in Child Welfare Project Evaluation Opportunity Announcement
The Supporting Evidence Building in Child Welfare Project , a five-year project of the Urban Institute, to support the Administration for Children and Families, is increasing the number of evidence-supported interventions for the child welfare population by conducting rigorous evaluations and supporting the field in moving toward rigorous evaluation. The project focuses on evaluating interventions that already have some evidence of effectiveness and are currently operating or those that will...
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Supporting Evidence Building in Child Welfare Project Evaluation Opportunity Announcement
The Supporting Evidence Building in Child Welfare Project , a five-year project of the Urban Institute, to support the Administration for Children and Families, is increasing the number of evidence-supported interventions for the child welfare population by conducting rigorous evaluations and supporting the field in moving toward rigorous evaluation. The project focuses on evaluating interventions that already have some evidence of effectiveness and are currently operating or those that will...
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Supportive Housing Can Help Keep Families Together [howhousingmatters.org]
By Mary K. Cunningham, Mike Pergamit, and Sarah Gillespie, How Housing Matters, June 5, 2019. Many families who come to child welfare agencies after a report of child abuse or neglect are experiencing homelessness or severe housing instability. Nearly 11 million households (PDF) nationwide are paying too much for rent, and about 1.4 million people use homeless shelters and transitional housing over the course of a year. There is no place in the country where there is enough affordable...
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Teenagers Say Depression and Anxiety Are Major Issues Among Their Peers (nytimes.com)
Most American teenagers — across demographic groups — see depression and anxiety as major problems among their peers, a new survey by the Pew Research Center found. The survey found that 70 percent of teenagers saw mental health as a big issue. Fewer teenagers cited bullying, drug addiction or gangs as major problems; those from low-income households were more likely to do so. Some psychologists have tied a growth in mental health issues among teenagers to increased social media use,...
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Telling a more complete story about child welfare
A new study from Berkeley Media Studies Group found that coverage of the child welfare system omits important context and connections to other issues. Here are four steps practitioners can take to improve the news.
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Temporary County Jobs Offer Former Foster Youth Pathway to Employment (chronicleofsocialchange.org)
“Finding good full-time employment is a key factor in reducing the pipeline from foster care into homelessness,” said Wende Nichols-Julien, CEO at Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Los Angeles. On February 14 th of this year, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors moved to expand such opportunities with the Temporary Services Registry pilot project. Proposed by supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn, the pilot project creates a registry that connects residents facing barriers...
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Temporary Free Access to Paediatrics & Child Health (PCH) articles (Oxford Academic)
Temporary free access to highly cited articles making an impact in Paediatrics & Child Health ( PCH ) has just been opened up by Oxford Academic. If you're a research hoarder like me, you'll want to check this out. https://academic.oup.com/pch/pages/highly_cited_articles
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Texas has options for improving its foster care system - and Texas must [Star-Telegram.com]
I’ve always been intrigued by community-based or county run vs. state administered/state run child welfare systems; does one model perform better than the other? I remember hearing about Florida transitioning to a community-based child welfare system following several instances in which children in the system were hurt by the system. This article references some great outcomes for Florida, and describes how Texas is in the midst of their own reform – Foster Care Redesign , a pilot operating...
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The Absence of Punishment in Our Schools
Where to begin... My heart is full of hope and joy as I watch the trauma-informed schools movement swell across our nation and planet. The science of ACEs is mind-bending to say the least and we are now able to open up a much deeper dialogue about human behavior and health. Ultimately this work is about healing… All. Of. Us. A new consciousness is taking root around ending the “us vs them” construct. The idea is growing that we’re all on this journey together and that no matter where our...
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The Campaign to Heal Childhood Trauma is coming!
Maybe you have heard about this initiative on one of the social networks or you followed the tour last year. If not, The Campaign to Heal Childhood Trauma is a grassroots partnership between Calo Programs and three leading, national attachment, trauma and adoption nonprofits; The Attachment and Trauma Network (ATN), The American Adoption Congress (AAC) and Association for Training on Trauma and Attachment in Children (ATTACh). The purpose of this collaboration is to increase compassion and...
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The foster care system, trauma, and resilience - a panel discussion
Trauma often does its greatest harm when it occurs during the impressionable stages of our youth. Losing one's parents, moving from different schools, living in an unstable environment - all of these are issues that can break into a child's world and cause difficulties well into adulthood. What can we do? What has research shown to be the current best practices? What is the science behind this aspect of foster care, and how does it relate to our faith? I was honored to be a part of a panel...
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The hazards of out-of-home care for children experiencing adverse home environments [thelancet.com]
There is mounting evidence that children who experience early adversity are at heightened risk for developing physical and psychological sequelae later in childhood; moreover, such sequelae can be biologically embedded, impacting multiple biological systems (including the epigenome), thereby elevating the risk that these effects will persist into adulthood. Two common forms of adversity that affect tens of millions of children each year are maltreatment and removal from parental care and...
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The Hello It’s Me Project comes to Pittsfield: Dr. Claudia Gold at the helm of initiative to create healthy bonds between parents and infants (www./theberkshireedge.com)
Cissy's note: I am a huge fan of the way @Claudia Gold works with those of us Parenting with ACEs . The first time I read her writing I relaxed. She was speaking with and for parents not about or at us. Unfortunately, her approach is rare. Fortunately, she just launched a new project she's been dreaming of for years. I love the way she supports all families and how she centers the role of all parents in the lives of all children - especially those - not all except those...
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The implicit bias of, “Mental Illness” and “mentally ill”, a lexicon of hurt.
How can we heal from the implicit bias of “ Mental Illness ” and “ mentally ill ”? I hear these words and it sounds like fingernails scraping down the chalkboard. “ The stain of dehumanization colors the mind, body and spirit and it is not so easily washed away.” - Michael Skinner Recently I read a blog post at the ACEsConnection website, “Erasing My ACES” by Sirena Wheeler. It was posted on April, 19, 2020. It struck a chord with me, many in fact and it put me on a spiral down memory lane.
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The Kids Aren’t All Right [theatlantic.com]
COVID-19 doesn’t appear to be a major concern for children’s health, but the youngest among us will still bear the larger burdens of trauma and economic fallout. One of the lonely silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic is that the disease doesn’t appear to be that bad for kids. Although children are certainly not immune, and a study of the outbreak in Wuhan indicates that infants are susceptible to severe complications, most healthy kids don’t seem to face a significant risk of death. So...
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This New Federal Law Will Change Foster Care As We Know It [pewtrusts.org]
A new federal law, propelled by the belief that children in difficult homes nearly always fare best with their parents, effectively blows up the nation’s troubled foster care system. Few outside child welfare circles paid any mind to the law, which was tucked inside a massive spending bill President Donald Trump signed in February. But it will force states to overhaul their foster care systems by changing the rules for how they can spend their annual $8 billion in federal funds for child...
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TIC: News and Notes for February 2020
ACEs, Adversity's Impact Podcast: What happened to you? (Part 1) Podcast: What happened to you? (Part 2) Podcast: What happened to you? (Part 3) Family dynamics may influence suicidal thoughts in children Fawning: The fourth trauma response we don't talk about FPs are best equipped to tackle adverse childhood experiences New study reveals annual cost of childhood adversity in California is approximately $113 billion Signs your child may be struggling from an adverse childhood experience...
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TIC: News and Notes for March 2020
ACEs, Adversity's Impact Lessons learned integrating ACEs science into health clinics: Staff first, THEN patients Launching a revolution Stress is a key to understanding many social determinants of health Is trauma driving some eating disorders? Adverse childhood experiences: What we know, what we don't know, and what should happen next Childhood maltreatment initiates a developmental cascade that leads to relationship dysfunction in emerging adulthood Report reveals link between poverty,...
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TIC: News and Notes for the Week of October 21, 2019 [dhs.wisconsin.gov]
ACEs, Adversity's Impact There is only one boat: The myth of normalcy by Dr. Gabor Mate Understanding historical trauma to strengthen community Childhood trauma linked to early, premarital childbirth and poor health for women Early life racial discrimination linked to depression, accelerated aging When mothers are killed by their partners, children often become 'forgotten' victims. It's time they were given a voice Children's language skills may be harmed by social hardship Does racism...
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Toolkit to Help Child Welfare Agencies Serve LGBTQ Families [ChronicleOfSocialChange.org]
As a growing number of states pass laws permitting discrimination against LGBTQ people interested in foster care and adoption, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation has released a toolkit to help the child welfare field better serve LGBTQ families. The toolkit is part of HRC’s All Children-All Families program and provides webinars, assessment tools and best practices for professionals and caregivers working with people in the LGBTQ and child welfare communities. Numerous national...
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Toxic Childhoods [politco.com]
Often times, a pediatrician or medical professional well-versed in the effects of ACEs or toxic stress can be the initial bridge to services, support, and building resilience for children, youth and families served by child welfare. It's exciting and encouraging to read about more and more pediatricians grounding their medical practice within ACEs framework. A toddler came into my examination room recently at Bayview Child Health Center in Bayview Hunters Point, an underserved, largely...
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Toxic Stress: Issue Brief on Family Separation and Child Detention [immigrationinitiative.harvard.edu]
By Jack P. Shonkoff, Immigration Initiative at Harvard, October 2019 Background The separation of children from their parents and their prolonged detention for an indefinite period of time raise profound concerns that transcend partisan politics and demand immediate resolution. Forcibly separating children from their parents is like setting a house on fire. Preventing rapid reunification is like blocking the first responders from doing their job. And subjecting children to prolonged...