Tagged With "children with special needs"
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12 Myths of the Science of ACEs
The two biggest myths about ACEs science are: MYTH #1 — That it’s just about the 10 ACEs in the ACE Study — the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study . It’s about sooooo much more than that. MYTH #2 — And that it’s just about ACEs…adverse childhood experiences. These two myths are intertwined. The ACE Study issued the first of its 70+ publications in 1998, and for many people it was the lightning bolt, the grand “aha” moment, the unexpected doorway into a blazing new...
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2017 KIDS COUNT Data Book
State Trends in Child Well-Being By the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Project The 2017 KIDS COUNT Data Book urges policymakers not to back away from targeted investments that help U.S. children become healthier, more likely to complete high school and better positioned to contribute to the nation’s economy as adults. The Data Book also shows the child poverty rate in 2015 continued to drop, landing at 21%. In addition, children experienced gains in reading proficiency and a...
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2017 Pinwheel for Prevention Awardees
15 th Annual Minnesota Pinwheels for Prevention Tribe/Community Awards Each year, Minnesota Communities Caring for Children (MCCC) recognizes statewide tribes and communities that have consistently worked to create safe and healthy environments for children and families. We want to celebrate the crucial work of these communities that are creating spaces and opportunities for their children to thrive by enhancing prevention initiatives and family and children’s services. We are happy to...
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30 people can end ACEs in your county. Why aren’t they?
No, we don’t need the president nor congress. We do need the following people in your county to stop business as usual and focus on preventing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). City mayors City counselors County commissioners School board members These local elected leaders—many of them your neighbors and colleagues—have the capacity to collectively understand the emotional and financial costs of ACEs and trauma. We can’t have family-friendly cities and counties while we live in an...
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ACE Interface Trainer Spotlight: Barb Sorum
Minnesota Communities Caring for Children (MCCC) is the only nonprofit in Minnesota to focus on the prevention of child abuse and neglect before it starts. One way we do this is by educating communities about how our early experiences shape lifelong health and well-being. A lot of our work is influenced by the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, which showed that certain experiences in childhood can cause toxic stress and result in physical changes in brain development. Using a...
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ACE Interface Trainer Spotlight: Linsey McMurrin
Linsey McMurrin, an SEL and Prevention Specialist with Peacemaker Resources, is an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. She is program manager of Girls Lead on the Go!, a leadership program for young women, and is an organizer of the Bemidji Area Truth and Reconciliation Initiative, a grassroots effort to promote truth-seeking, healing and change through increasing understanding and building relationships among area indigenous and non-indigenous communities. Linsey is certified...
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ACE Interface Trainer Spotlight: Ruth Charles
ACE Interface Presenter Ruth Charles, MSW, PhD, LCSW Professor, Social Work Dept Winona State University What led you to want to become a certified ACE Interface presenter? I teach at Winona State in the social work department and coordinate the IV-E Child Welfare Scholar program which integrates social work students into the public foster care system. I am always looking for new information to bring to my classes. When I learned about the ACE research, it made perfect sense! The evidence...
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ACEs Science in Education: The Next Big Challenge is Systems Change #ACEsCon2018
One of the first sessions of the 2018 ACEs Conference: Action to Access discussed the barriers and opportunities for increasing access in the field of education. The main question was: "How can one achieve systematic changes within the field of education?" The session was moderated by Michelle Flowers, a passionate advocate, and the principal of Kinney High in Rancho Cordova, CA, which is part of the Folsom Cordova Unified School District. It included a dynamic and diverse panel of education...
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Adoption Advocates Bank on a New Way to Address Childhood Trauma [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
According to a coalition of adoption advocates, broader acceptance of an emerging mental health diagnosis has the potential to help traumatized children access the help they need. That’s the goal of the End Childhood Trauma Tour , which stops in five cities this week in the name of promoting awareness of the disruptive effects of trauma on children. The tour started in Minneapolis on Friday before stopping in Chicago. It heads to Boston tonight before moving on to Philadelphia and...
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April 20th - 24th: Topics for Minnesota Daily Virtual Practicing Resilience in Community series
Minnesota Communities Caring for Children invites you to join us in a daily, 30-minute, family-friendly practice of resilience, Monday-Friday at 12:30 p.m. on Zoom Calendar: Here is what's on deck the week of April 20th - April 24th Monday 4/20 - I have, I am, I can with Becky Dale Tuesday 4/21 - Mind Body Medicine with Susan Beaulieu Wednesday 4/22 - Social Emotional Learning Practice with Peacemaker Resources Thursday 4/23- Centering Practice with Anela Barboza Friday 4/24 - The Power of...
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April 27th - May 1st: Topics for Minnesota Daily Virtual Practicing Resilience in Community series
Minnesota Communities Caring for Children invites you to join us in a daily, 30-minute, family-friendly practice of resilience, Monday-Friday at 12:30 p.m. on Zoom Starting on May 4th, we will continue to offer these practices live on Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and encourage you to view our recorded sessions at this link as-needed! Calendar: Here is what's on deck the week of April 27th - May 1st: Monday 4/27- Envisioning the Future with Becky Dale Tuesday 4/28 - Mind Body Medicine...
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State rep and family advocate, Rena Moran, envisions a trauma-informed Minnesota
Minnesota has the potential to become a trauma-informed state if the hard work is done to raise awareness of ACEs and the impact of toxic stress on brain development, says third-term state representative Rena Moran (D-St. Paul). Moran led the effort...
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Supporting Children with Special Needs Webinar
With Mary Weaver, Director of Prevention Initiatives in Northern MN at MN Communities Caring for Children Brain development in infancy and early childhood is the foundation for a child's future development. Experiences teach the brain what to expect and how to respond. Trauma in early childhood teaches the brain to always be responding to threats. The webinar goes over how early trauma impacts brain development, then discusses ideas, techniques, and accommodations for supporting children...
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Trauma and School Children: Can the Law Empower These Students? [The Legal Intelligencer]
M.M. grew up in an inner-city neighborhood in Boston. While in utero, M.M. experienced fetal distress while exposed to crack cocaine. As an adolescent, his mother was repeatedly incarcerated due to drug use. Because M.M. never knew his father, he transitioned in and out of foster homes, and at times, found himself homeless. Growing up, he also frequently witnessed street crime. Unsurprisingly, M.M. suffered episodic depression throughout his youth. Even though M.M. was ultimately provided...
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Trauma-Informed Care is Not a Program For Your Clients
Understanding the long-term impact of developmental trauma, how trauma impacts the brain, and the science of resiliency is a powerful first step toward change. It is exciting to watch people begin to let this knowledge soak in… and even more exciting when they begin to ask “Now what?” As I have worked with organizations across the state, I have found that often what they are really looking for is the curriculum or recipe book that they can follow for their clients or students. Even those...
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Trauma-Informed is Messy Business…
Words like trauma-informed and resiliency get thrown around a lot these days. And for many, the visions they call up are a bit too glossy. You see resiliency and trauma-informed aren’t always pretty. Resiliency can look like closing the bathroom door and collapsing in tears… but then washing your face and going back into the world, carrying the belief that you can survive and the hope that things will get better. It looks like begrudgingly going on that walk with a friend, when the little...
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Trauma-Informed Schools are Part of the Solution
http://www.postbulletin.com/news/education/rochester-schools-discipline-disparity-is-factor-of-race-analysis-says/article_48633ad0-a461-5693-ae30-49fbbd9ea0f3.html For far too long we have been only reactive to students with behavior issues while ignoring the root causes of their misbehavior. This approach gets rid of the symptom by stopping the misbehavior for a short period of time by assigning a consequence or by removing the student from the environment. But...this fails to address the...
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Upcoming Circle of Parents Children's Program Training in Saint Paul, MN
Thursday, June 8 th Time: Welcome at 8:30am Training from 9:00am- 4:00pm Where: LifeTrack Building 709 University Avenue West Saint Paul, MN 55104 To Register and for more Information please contact: Lisa Deputie, ldeputie@pcamn.org or 651.325.9391 All parents have stress, some more than others, and support and help make the difference. As the Minnesota chapter of Circle of Parents, MCCC partners with communities to offer peer-led, mutual self-help support groups for parents and children...
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Using Minnesota Student Survey Data to inform Community Action
In this webinar Melissa Adolfson will present information on ACEs and Protective Factors from the 2016 Minnesota Student Survey, and discuss how those data can help communities determine where to take action to reduce the impact of ACEs. As communities across Minnesota engage in the Understanding ACEs: Building Self-Healing Communities work, this is a great source of information to support the work! This webinar repeats a workshop that was offered at the ACE Collaborative Gathering in St.
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What If I Told You?
What if I told you that I was a victim of child sex abuse? As a survivor of child sexual abuse , I have a clear understanding of the importance of addressing stigma and shame as it pertains to sexual abuse, sexual assault and rape. Victims, especially young children, often do not disclose sexual abuse. Those who are witnesses of child sexual abuse, or who are trusted by survivors enough that they confide in them, are often ill-equipped to handle the responsibility. And, many times, parents...
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When Children Lose Siblings, They Face an Increased Risk of Death [The New York Times]
By Aaron E. Carroll "Of all the possible tragedies of childhood, losing a sister or brother to early death is almost too awful to contemplate. Yet it is startlingly common. In the United States, 5 to 8 percent of children with siblings experience such a loss. The immediate effects of a sibling’s death, and the grief that follows, are obvious to all. But the consequences are more than emotional and can last for decades. They are even associated with an increased risk of death in those who...
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Wisconsin state agencies end year one of trauma-informed learning community; goal is to be first trauma-informed state
Here in California, many people think that it’s only liberal Democrats who have a corner on championing the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and putting it into practice. That might be because people who use ACEs science don’t expel or suspend students, even if they’re throwing chairs and hurling expletives at the teacher. They ask "What happened to you?" rather than "What's wrong with you?" as a frame when they create juvenile detention centers where kids don’t fight, reduce...
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Minnesota Daily Virtual Opportunity to Practice Resilience in Community
Minnesota Communities Caring for Children invites you to join us in a daily, 30-minute, family-friendly practice of resilience, Monday-Friday at 12:30 p.m. on Zoom 12:30 p.m. weekdays starting Monday March 23, 2020 No pre-registration required! Just join any day you are available using one of the following methods: Join using a computer of smart phone by clicking this link and following the instructions: https://zoom.us/j/145915007 Or join by phone only at: +1 312 626 6799 Meeting ID: 145...
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EmpowerSurvivors "NEW" Monday Eagan, MN Peer Support Group!
Great Things Are Happening Here At EmpowerSurvivors! EmpowerSurvivors wants to give a very LARGE shout out and warm welcome to our newest EmpowerSurvivors certified peer support specialist and facilitator Rachel Block! Rachel participated in our weekly meetings and has shown us what it means to go from victim to survivor, to thriver! Rachel will be heading up a new EmpowerSurvivors peer support group for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse beginning July 1, 2019 in Eagan, Minnesota .
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Fidgety Fairy Tales – The Mental Health Musicals
One upon a time, familiar fairy tales were re-imagined as delightful 40-minute musical theatre performances. Fidgety Fairy Tales - The Mental Health Musicals use gentle humor, great music, and compelling performances by talented youth to raise awareness about children's mental health. The goals are to: Provide accurate information about mental health disorders using clear, accessible language Dispel the myths and reduce the fear and misunderstanding around mental health disorders Portray the...
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Finding My Own Meaning Through REACH Stewartville
My own history of ACEs is too long for this blog post, but I have a score of 8/10. What is important though is that this score has brought me strength, purpose, and direction as my position of REACH Program Coordinator at Stewartville Middle and High School in Stewartville, MN. I grew up in Stewartville and am now raising my family here. REACH stands for Relationships, Education, Accountability, Character, and Hard work. REACH is an elective class offered to students in grades 7-12. Students...
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Growing Up in Today's World is NOT Easy: One Student's Story
Growing up in today's world is NOT easy. I have heard hundreds of students tell me this. Despite this fact, many of them have also told me that many of the adults in their lives don't seem to understand this, including parents, teachers, and society. Adults who are disconnected from the reality of the lives of the youth that they are around will not be able to completely understand how to provide the support that might be needed for those youth needing it most. I recently met a young woman...
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Harvard Infographic on ACEs and Toxic Stress
This was just posted by Harvard. I thought all of us could use access to it, for use in our schools and the settings we work in. The full image is on the attached PDF.
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Helping Students Overcome Toxic Stress through Science-Based Teaching Practices (stresshealth.org)
“What our students really crave the most is predictability from the adults interacting with them,” says Roger Sapp, a student success teacher at KIPP. For that reason, the one-on-one session is not a reward for being “good” or withheld if something bad happens. The kids who need it can count on it – every day. The scene is from a video by Edutopia (aka the George Lucas Educational Foundation), which has produced a series of more than 20 powerful, engaging shorts on how children learn in...
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Hiring: Director of ACE Collaborative Partnerships
Minnesota Communities Caring for Children (MCCC) is a statewide nonprofit organization that empowers parents and builds the capacity of communities to create environments where all children thrive. Our mission is to empower parents and communities to build supportive relationships, nurture children, and prevent child abuse and neglect. Interested in helping MN Communities Caring for Children carry out our mission of empowering individuals and communities to stop child abuse and neglect...
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Honor A Parent or Caretaker for the Unsung Hero Award
February is National Parent Leadership Month. Minnesota Communities Caring for Children (MCCC) / Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota (PCAMN) will join forces with the Minnesota Department of Human Services and other national and local organizations to recognize, honor, and celebrate parents and caretakers for leadership roles in their homes and communities throughout the month. All nominees will be honored and highlighted in a celebration at the State Capitol on Thursday, February 23, 2017. Food...
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How childhood stress can knock 20 years off your life [The Guardian]
T here is a scene in James Redford’s new film, Resilience , in which a paediatrician cites a parental misdeed so outmoded as to seem bizarre. “Parents used to smoke in the car with kids in the back and the windows rolled up,” she says, incredulous. How long ago those days now seem; how wise today’s parents are to the dangers of those toxins. Yet every week in her clinic in the Bayview-Hunters Point area of San Francisco, children present with symptoms of a new pollutant – one that is just as...
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How one St. Paul elementary school is building a trauma-informed learning environment
[From: MINNPOST | 11.28.16] On Nov. 9, educators at Bruce Vento Elementary in St. Paul fielded an onslaught of tough questions from students. Some wanted to know if they would be sent away, or if their parents would be sent away. Others were trying to make sense of the wall, wondering if Donald Trump intended to build a wall between black and white people. And at least one student raised the concern that black people would be forced into slavery. This list of post-election inquiries from...
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How To Apply The Brain Science Of Resilience To The Classroom [NPR]
Neuroscience isn't on many elementary school lesson plans. But this spring, a second grade class at Fairmont Neighborhood School in the South Bronx is plunging in. Sarah Wechsler, an instructional coach with wide eyes and a marathoner's energy, asks the students to think about the development and progress that they've made already in their lives. "You probably don't remember, but there was a time when you didn't know how to speak and you were just like 'Wah wah wah blah blah blah, mama,...
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I Was Abused as a Child. How Do I Deal With This as a Parent? [New York Times]
Dear Sugars, I made a mistake. My daughter is 10 and has been a raging ball of hormones lately. During one of her daily “Y ou don’t understand me and how hard my life is!” tantrums, I yelled, out of sheer exhaustion: “You don’t know a hard life! When I was your age, my stepdad used to hit me and touch me inappropriately.” I regretted it immediately and left the room. I told my husband what I had said, and he thought I should talk to her about it. I didn’t. I chose to do what people always...
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In Minnesota, Recruitment of Native American Foster Homes Stymied by ‘Lifetime Prohibitions’ [Chronicles of Social Change]
by Christie Renick "Shana King, a member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, spent more than three years in foster care as a teen. She lost her own children to the system during a struggle with heroin. Since then, she has gotten her children back, bought a home, and received a national award for her work as a mentor. She badly wants to be a foster parent to American Indian children in Hennepin County, Minnesota's most populous metro area. But because of the drug history, the county...
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Join Us for Our April Imagine If ...Breakfast!
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, so Imagine if... all parents had the knowledge and skills to nurture their children. In just one hour, YOU can help us support and empower parents to be the best caregivers they can be. The Imagine if... Breakfast is an opportunity to be a part of MCCC's life-changing work and support Minnesota families on their paths toward resiliency. You will hear from program participants and see the impact we are having on the lives of parents and...
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Keep Talking! Someone Will Listen!
I would like to share some learning opportunities with you. Share these with all who will listen. REACH Stewartville learned last week that we will be receiving a Star of Innovation Award at the 2017 Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals Summer Conference at Breezy Point Resort this June. We will also be doing 2 presentations at the conference on June 14th. Encourage school administrators in your area to attend this conference to learn more about ACEs and how REACH...
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The 2016 Midwest ACE Summit
Thank you to those who attended the 2016 Midwest ACE Summit! At the event nearly 300 people came together to learn about how communities are addressing ACEs and promoting healing in Minnesota and across the Midwest. We hope that participants were energized by the stories they heard and inspired about what can be done to foster resilience and healing in their own communities. Attached to this post are the Summit agenda and breakout session descriptions for your reference. Resources shared at...
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MN Research: The Value of Understanding ACEs
Over the past three years, Minnesota Communities Caring for Children (MCCC) has worked to raise awareness about brain development, ACEs, and resilience statewide using the national ACE Interface curriculum. To date the organization has trained more than 130 Minnesotans from diverse communities to present this curriculum and help foster community responses. This summer, Maxine Freedman of Macalester College interviewed 29 members of MCCC's network to assess the impact of this work on...
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"Moving from Understanding to Implementing Trauma-Responsive Services" Takeaways from SAMSHA Forum in Johnson City 9.5.19
Speakers and guests at the SAMSHA Forum included (l-r) Mary Rolando of the Department of Children's Services; Chrissy Haslam, First Lady of Tennessee; Dr. Joan Gillece, SAMSHA Center for Trauma Informed Care; Dr. Andi Clements, East Tennessee State University; Becky Haas, Johnson City Police Department; Carey Sipp, ACEs Connection, and Robin Crumley, Boys & Girls Club of Johnson City/Washington County. It was easy to be both inspired and a bit overwhelmed at the Substance Abuse and...
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National Council for Behavioral Health Conference #NatCon19
Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the annual National Council for Behavioral Health Conference. I have been to my fair share of conferences but #NatCon19 was one of the best. First, I'm biased. It took place in my city, Nashville, TN . And the venue was the world renowned Opryland Hotel's Gaylord Convention Center . And, I love, love, love the Opryland Hotel ! As any seasoned conference goer, I had a strategy when it came to which sessions and events I wanted to attend. My game...
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New East Metro Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Presenters
On April 26th and 27th, sixteen immigrant community members and individuals that work with immigrant populations were trained as ACE Interface presenters through The East Metro Project this past April. This cohort is eager to raise awareness about the impact of ACEs and provide tools for building resilience in their communities. Below are some reflections from the cohort from the closing circle at the training: "This is info I wish I learned 10 years ago, I have interactions with foster...
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Paper Tigers and Resilience Documentary Screenings in Stewartville
Paper Tigers and Resilience Documentary Screenings Stewartville High School Performing Arts Center Brought to you by REACH Stewartville, Olmsted County BRIDGE Collaborative, Rochester Area Fatherhood Network https://www.eventbrite.com/o/ olmsted-county-bridge- collaborative-amp- stewartville-reach-program- 12813118350 Paper Tigers Documentary Monday, January 22 nd , 7:00-9:00pm (film 7:00-8:30 with discussion to follow) Stewartville High School Performing Arts Center 440 6 th Ave. SW,...