Tagged With "Central Iowa Aces"
Blog Post
If we want better school outcomes let's pay attention to Iowa [StateofOpportunity.Michiganradio.org]
One kid’s trauma can be a lot to handle . Managing a whole school of kids who have been traumatized can seem insurmountable. These kids are more likely to act out in class, have attendance problems, and get lower grades than...
Blog Post
Infographic on Iowa ACEs Data
If you need a visual representation of Iowa ACEs Data, this infographic has been adapted to reflect Iowa data.
Blog Post
Informational Handouts on Covid-19 in many languages (Refugee Alliance of Central Iowa)
The Refugee Alliance of Central Iowa has informational handouts on COVID-19 in over twenty-five languages. Please click HERE.
Blog Post
Iowa ACEs Advocacy Coalition
The advocacy efforts in Iowa to address ACEs and the impact of trauma have been coordinated by the Iowa ACEs Advocacy Coalition. This coalition is co-chaired by Sarah Ramsey from United Way of Central Iowa and Mary Nelle Trefz from Child and Family...
Blog Post
Iowa ACEs Advocacy Coalition Promotes a Resilient Iowa
The Iowa ACEs Advocacy Coalition kicked off the Iowa legislative session with efforts to promote a Resilient Iowa. With a growing advocacy coalition of community based organizations, associations, advocacy groups, philanthropy and business, the group advances joint policy priorities to prevent ACEs and promote resiliency and trauma-informed care. Last week, the coalition held its first advocacy day at the Iowa Capitol, educating elected officials on Iowa ACEs data. The group also promoted an...
Blog Post
Iowa ACEs Coalition Continues to Advance Policy
The Iowa ACEs Policy Coalition continued its legislative advocacy this week at the Iowa Capitol. As elected officials shift their focus to the appropriations process, advocates emphasized the importance of two key priorities that will be addressed through funding legislation: Statewide expansion of the 1st Five Healthy Development Initiative Advancement of the Mental Health Workgroup's recommendations More than 25 advocates joined small group meetings with key legislative leaders on these...
Blog Post
Iowa ACEs Policy Coalition Hosts Advocacy Days
The Iowa ACEs Policy Coalition held two successful advocacy days at the Iowa State Capitol, bringing together participants from across the state and various sectors to advocate for preventative and early intervention strategies. Key legislative items for the 2016 session include: expanding the 1st Five Healthy Mental Development Initiative statewide, creating a statewide system of care for children's mental health, and ensuring access to preventative and early identification services for...
Blog Post
Iowa ACEs Report
The Central Iowa ACEs 360 Steering Committee has led efforts to research how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) impact the health and well-being of Iowans throughout a lifetime. In 2012, questions were added to the Behavioral Risk Factor...
Blog Post
Iowa Advances Children's Mental Health System
Last week, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed HF 690 to establish a children's mental health system in our state. After decades of advocacy, the importance of this legislation cannot be understated. While much more is needed, this is a major step forward for Iowa's children and their families and caregivers. Visit the link below for a full article from The Gazette. ...
Blog Post
Iowa District focuses on students' passions (hechingerreport.org)
Trace Pickering, associate superintendent of the Cedar Rapids Community School District, founded Iowa BIG, a district program that gives students an alternative to the traditional school day. The district, located about two hours’ drive northeast of Des Moines, is the second largest in Iowa (after Des Moines), with more than 17,000 students. And parents had to be convinced that it was worth trying something new because schools there already had a good reputation. The district’s students...
Blog Post
Iowa House Presentation on ACES
On Wednesday, February 4, 2015, a panel presented to the Iowa House Human Resources Committee. Organized by the Iowa ACEs advocacy coalition , the presentation focused on an overview of adverse childhood experiences and the strength of public/private...
Blog Post
Iowa Ideas: A different kind of conversation [TheGazette.com]
In just a couple weeks, we kick off a project we’re calling Iowa Ideas . The project is meant to stir discussion and ideas to confront challenges and help position the state to thrive in the future. The project comes at a time where political polarization and mistrust is running very high, yet the need to collaborate and uniquely position ourselves to thrive in a global economy has never been more important. The project will focus on an array of topics — education to environment, health care...
Blog Post
Iowa project aims to have all pediatricians, family docs screen for ACEs
Dr. Amy Shriver is on a mission: to convince every pediatrician and family doctor in the State of Iowa to screen children for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Dr. Amy Shriver The Des Moines-based Blank Children’s Hospital pediatrician is not alone. She’s part of Central Iowa ACES 360, a regional cross-sector coalition formed in 2011 that is working toward that ambitious goal. And they’re making substantial inroads. Central Iowa ACES 360 has just developed a one-hour trauma-informed...
Blog Post
Iowa's Taste of Success
ACEs Connection recently posted a link to a great new resource, The Co mmunity Resilience Cookbook . We know that ACEs and toxic trauma can be powerful determinants of our fu ture health and well-being, but they DO NOT HAVE TO. This cookbook looks at...
Blog Post
Iowa Senate Presentation: ACEs Advocacy Coalition
On Wednesday, January 21, 2015, the Iowa Senate Human Resources Committee heard a presentation on Adverse Childhood Experiences and were asked to provide leadership in policymaking to prevent ACEs and promote resiliency. Speakers included: Leslie...
Blog Post
Iowa Tries A New Domestic Violence Intervention: Mindfulness [npr.org]
Across the parking lot from a YMCA in Des Moines, about a dozen men sit on black plastic chairs in the basement of a former Catholic high school. This is a court-ordered class for domestic abusers, part of a new statewide curriculum for batterer intervention in Iowa. According to police reports, one man here kicked his wife several times in the stomach. Another threw a lamp at his girlfriend's head. Lucas Sampson - a man with the imposing appearance of a viking but the gentle demeanor of...
Blog Post
Julián Castro: Partner with tribes 'for a fairer and more prosperous future' (Indian Country Today)
Presidential candidate and former Obama Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro released a comprehensive platform on Indigenous issues, the first detailed plan from a 2020 campaign. Castro will follow up on that announcement with a meet-and-greet on Meskwaki Settlement in Iowa Friday where he will discuss his blueprint for Indigenous communities and vision for the future of our nation. “For generations, Indigenous communities have been treated as second-class citizens rather...
Blog Post
Lack Of Portable Insurance Adds Health Care Burden To Migrant Workers (iowawatch.org)
Farmworkers who spend their summers in Iowa often come from southern states such as Texas, with employers like Monsanto, whose migrant season is from June to October. The peak is in June and July during which more workers are needed. Health insurance coverage for migrant workers who are U.S. citizens with Medicare transfers no matter the state in which a patient resides. But U.S. citizen workers with low incomes, and with Medicaid coverage, have limited access to health insurance while...
Blog Post
Mental Health Services Could Disappear with ACA Repeal (eastcountymagazine.org)
March 1. 2017 (Washington D.C.) – Plans to revamp the Affordable Care Act were among President Trump's talking points during last night's address before a joint session of Congress. And one sector of the population stands to be significantly impacted by changes to the healthcare law. Peggy Hubbert, the executive director of the National Association for Mental Illness in Iowa, explains that because of policies and safeguards included in the ACA millions of Americans struggling with mental...
Blog Post
NAMI Day on the Hill
Members from Central Iowa ACEs 360 and the Iowa ACEs Advocacy Coalition participated in NAMI-Iowa's Day on the Hill, educating on the impact of childhood trauma on the long-term health and well-being of Iowans. ACEs representatives specifically...
Comment
Re: Central Iowa ACEs Sets Direction
Thank you to your exemplary team collectively! Very much appreciating your insight and expertise, please know our SD County ACEs Connection online group and our SDTIGT (San Diego Trauma Informed Guide Team) will glean your wisdom for our learning communities. As an Iowa farm girl, I'm always excited to learn from the Champions on the front line in my home state. In gratitude, Dana Brown ACEs Connection San Diego County Community Manager
Blog Post
Leistikow: Kirk Ferentz has power, voice to bring more than football wins to Iowa (hawkcentral.com)
Kirk Ferentz publicly repeated a message Wednesday that he privately shared with his Iowa football players two days earlier. That he’s a 64-year-old white football coach. And that he’s still learning about the reality of racism and inequities in our country. More importantly, Ferentz has expressed to players and media this week that is he willing to listen. Willing to learn. Willing to change. Willing to act. Protests against police violence and racism were something Ferentz, the current...
Blog Post
New Iowa ACEs report provides roadmap to improve Iowans' health
Iowa ACEs 360 released a new report that showcases progress made to address adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), Iowa data on the challenges that still persist, and new opportunities to take action. “After a decade of working to raise awareness of ACEs in Iowa, we are seeing significant efforts to help Iowans heal from ACEs and to prevent ACEs with future generations,” said Nicole Beaman, president of Iowa ACEs 360s’ board of directors and vice president of Orchard Place Child Guidance...
Blog Post
A college professor's Thanksgiving message to students is bringing people to tears (upworthy.com)
A college student on Twitter shared a pre-Thanksgiving e-mail she and her classmates received from a professor, and it's just the best example of real human-kindness. It reads: "Good morning. I know this has been a difficult time for a lot of you—some of you have had Covid, some of you are currently in quarantine, and some of you may not be able to go home for Thanksgiving as you have family members who are socially distancing. I don't want anyone to feel alone at Thanksgiving, or to miss...
Blog Post
New Iowa ACEs Module
Iowa ACEs 360 has launched a free online course, Healing Iowa: An Overview of ACEs in Iowa and How to Respond. This interactive online learning module takes about an hour to complete and covers the following: Iowa research about adverse childhood experiences and how trauma impacts health and well-being. Factors that contribute to childhood trauma Ways that Iowans are responding to trauma. When the course is complete, participants will receive a certificate of completion. The course can be...
Blog Post
Advocacy for Iowa's Families
The 2021 Iowa Legislative Session kicked off last week at a time when the needs of families are great. The pandemic and the inequities it furthers for low-income Iowans and Iowa communities of color and the systemic discrimination that continues to disenfranchise our neighbors all mean we have much work to do to create systems that prevent trauma to Iowa’s children and families. Over the past few months, Iowa ACEs 360 has partnered with local coalitions and organizations to hold advocacy...
Blog Post
Measuring Equity Through City Trees (yesmagazine.org)
The term “urban forest” may sound like an oxymoron. When most of us think about forests, we may picture vast expanses of tall trunks and dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves, far from the busyness of the city. But the trees that line city streets and surround apartment complexes across the U.S. hold great value, in part because of their proximity to people. “Per tree, you’re getting way more value for an urban tree than a tree out in the wild,” says Mark McPherson, founder and...
Blog Post
Iowa facing maternal health crisis [messengernews.net]
By Robert O'Connor and Amy Ferguson, The Messenger, March 15, 2021 Like the rest of the United States, Iowa is facing a maternal health crisis. The maternal mortality rate in Iowa has almost doubled in recent years and significant racial disparities exist. Black mothers in Iowa have a pregnancy-related maternal mortality over six times higher than their white counterparts. But Iowa lawmakers have the chance to pass legislation that could reduce maternal mortality rates and improve outcomes...
Blog Post
Thousands Of Ancient Indian Artifacts Are Hidden Away In This Tiny Iowa Museum (onlyinyourstate.com)
The Indian Artifact Museum is filled to the brim with exactly what it advertises - Indian artifacts, all dating back 8,000 to 13,000 years. Each of these artifacts has been framed in hand-made custom displays crafted with all local wood specifically to showcase these historical treasures. All of these artifacts are from a 60-mile radius of the museum. They include several extra unique tools and charms, and the entire collection of thousands of artifacts is in pristine condition. To learn...
Blog Post
History Left An Unfortunate Mark At This One Notable Spot In Iowa, Red Rock Line (onlyinyourstate.com/iowa)
Did you know there was once a life-changing line running up the center of Iowa? Many people don’t. This line ran north from the Painted Rocks bluffs of what is now Lake Red Rock into Hardin County by Steamboat Rock. The line may not have created a physical barrier, but it did leave an unfortunate mark on American history, effectively dividing Iowa’s inhabitants in the mid-1800s into two separate groups: Native Americans and pioneers. Iowa’s pioneer settlers were not the original inhabitants...
Blog Post
Through a historic storm and a global pandemic, this nurse embraces the true meaning of “Iowa nice” (upworthy.com)
From the time she was a little girl, Abby Recker loved helping people. Her parents kept her stocked up with first-aid supplies so she could spend hours playing with her dolls, making up stories of ballet injuries and carefully wrapping “broken” arms and legs. Recker fondly describes her hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as a simple place where people are kind to one another. There’s even a term for it—“Iowa nice”—describing an overall sense of agreeableness and emotional trust shown by people...
Blog Post
Iowa WWII veteran receives heroes welcome in Washington, D.C. (kwqc.com)
WWII veteran, Cotton Harold Henderson (DC Bureau) Author: To read Molly Martinez' article, please click here. WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - 89 Iowa veterans took the trip of a lifetime Tuesday, as part of the Eastern Iowa Honor Flight. Veterans who fought in Korea, Vietnam, and one lone survivor of WWII came to visit the memorials erected in their honor. Sadly, covid put a halt on these flights for almost two years, meaning some of these older veterans never got the chance to see them. Now that the...
Blog Post
California Bacon Law takes Effect but Pork from Farms Using Cages Will Still be on Shelves (abc.7)
Image - Center for Food Safety To read more of the Associated Press article, please click here. DES MOINES, Iowa -- A California law approved by voters that promises to get breeding pigs out of narrow cages that prevent them from standing or turning will finally take effect Saturday, after years of delays and warnings that the rules could lead to price spikes and pork shortages. But it will be six months before California grocery shoppers can be sure that pork chops they buy under the new...
Blog Post
How Rural Mental Health Respites Fit into the Health Care Puzzle (reasonstobecheerful.world)
Todd Noack is the founder and executive director of Rhonda’s House, a rural peer respite program in Iowa. Credit: Lisa Bartels To read more of Cheryl Platzman Weinstock's article, please click here. Aimee Quicke has made repeated trips to emergency rooms, hospitals, behavioral health facilities, and psychiatric lockdowns for mental health crises — including suicidal thoughts — since she was 11. The 40-year-old resident of Le Mars, Iowa, has bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorders. “Some...
Blog Post
Batterer intervention programs that take a healing approach drastically cut re-arrest rates
In the world of family violence, the focus is on healing victims (survivors). This includes funding for domestic violence shelters, thousands of research projects, state and federal legislation, and changing the criminal justice response. But that’s providing help for only half the people involved in the problem.
Blog Post
Students in Iowa are organizing to circumvent state’s anti-LGBTQ laws (lgbtqnation.com)
Photo: Shutterstock To read more of Bill Browning's article, please click here. Students around the nation are pushing back on Republican attacks on LGBTQ+ rights. They’ve stood up for teachers and coaches , walked out en masse, and this week, a Missouri university reopened a student resource center after students protested. But high schoolers in Iowa are taking a different approach to defy the state’s laws. They’ve heckled the state’s anti-LGBTQ+ governor , and instead of relying on...
Blog Post
Winnebago Tribe Getting Some #LandBack (iowastartingline.com)
This Jan. 30, 2009 photo shows statues depicting the various clans within the Winnebago tribe, overlooking a housing development north of Winnebago, Neb., which was built on land purchased by the tribe. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik) To read more of Amie Rivers' article, please click here. The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska wasn't always in Nebraska. According to tribal officials , their ancestral lands are in Wisconsin and Illinois, and they were moved around in the 1800s to Northeast Iowa, Minnesota...
Blog Post
Few People Know Iowa Was Home To The First Public University To Admit Women In America (onlyinyourstate.com/iowa)
Vkulikov/Wikipedia To read more of Raymond Goldfield's article, please click here. Iowa has a rich educational scene, with its public colleges and universities being some of the most acclaimed state institutions in the country. The University of Iowa is even home to a writers’ workshop that has resulted in the city being named an official UNESCO City of Literature! Countless famous faces have visited the city – but most people don’t know what a huge role the university and state played in...
Blog Post
Iowa LGBTQ+ youth find community at Safe Schools conference (iowastartingline.com)
Top image: Montana State Rep. Zooey Zephyr talks to attendees at the Governor's Conference on LGBTQ Youth hosted by Iowa Safe Schools Bottom image: attendees and visitors in the hall at the Governor's Conference on LGBTQ Youth hosted by Iowa Safe Schools credit: Avery Staker To read more of Nikoel Hytrek's article, please click here. Being an LGBTQ+ student in Iowa right now is hard. Laws police which names and bathrooms students can use, and what words teachers can say in their classrooms.