Tagged With "Office of Children's Mental Health"
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Charter Schools, ACEs, and Trauma
Daun Kauffman, member of the Philadelphia ACEs Connection group, has an op-ed in the Daily News that exhorts the reader to consider the significant impact of ACEs on children in Philadelphia when thinking about the issue of education and charter...
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Children and Toxic Stress: The Discussion Continues
Thanks to everyone who came to CCTC’s panel discussion on mobilizing a public health response to toxic stress and for joining ACEs connection to continue the discussion. Now we want to hear from you: how does Philadelphia go about creating a...
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Feedback for School District of Philadelphia
At the Philadelphia ACE Task Force Community of Practice Meeting on October 18th, 2017, representatives from the School District of Philadelphia presented their plan for Trauma-Informed Schools. Please use this space to provide any feedback for the School District. Key questions include: What did you like? What would you change? What would be your recommendations for next steps? Their presentation and our full meeting minutes are attached for your reference.
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Igniting community-based healing
Camden is starting a community effort, @CamdenHealing10, to bring together people across sectors (education, juvenile justice, etc) and also support community driven paths to address the decades long, intergenerational trauma experienced...
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Keynote: "A Culture of Health"
' ' .. Summary of "Keynote" by CEO, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, at conference in Colorado. An outline of Risa Lavizzo-Mourey's vision of "A Culture of Health". Success requires a "seismic" shift beginning "ground up", as a grassroots idea. See...
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Mental Illness Awareness Week 2014 is next week: October 5-11, 2014!
During this time, Mental Health America invites you to take action on the #B4Stage4 Campaign.
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Moving from Vision to Action: Philadelphia ACE Taskfoce Updates
This forum will house updates from the Philadelphia ACE Taskforce (PATF) and the designated working groups to further the goals of the Philadelphia ACE Taskforce. History In April 2012, the Institute for Safe Families (ISF) formed the Philadelphia Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Task Force to develop policies, practices, and research within pediatric settings that mitigate conditions arising from toxic stressors and ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) and that increase the health and...
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Philadelphia Loses Two Child Abuse Prevention Icons
On June 4, 2014 Philadelphia lost Paul Fink, MD. Dr. Fink, a psychotherapist, psychiatry professor, and speaker, was a fierce advocate for his beloved specialty. "I have been an activist most of my life," he wrote . "Part of my role and...
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Request for Qualifications
On behalf of NKCDC and Impact Services, Philadelphia LISC is issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a single consultant or team to help design a trauma-informed community development training curriculum for resident leaders and community stakeholders. The deadline to receive proposals is February 28, 2017. Questions can be directed no later than February 24th by email at dhanchin@lisc.org.
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Trauma Education in the US
The Workforce Development Workgroup of the ACEs Taskforce is conducting a national environmental scan to compile a list of trauma education courses and/or programs taught by colleges/universities in the United States . Our research focus is...
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Trauma Informed Classroom Courses begin on 8/21/14
Multiplying Connections and the Southeast Regional Key will be offering a foundational course on trauma informed practice specifically designed for early childhood educators. Providers who work with young children will have the opportunity to:...
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Two U of Penn researchers release report on the "Biological Embedding of Child Abuse and Neglect"
Sara R. Jaffee, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and Reader in Gene-Environment Interplay at King’s College London, and Cindy W. Christian, Chair, Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention at The Children’s...
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We are 100 members strong and growing!
Congratulations to Gina Tallerida for being the 100th person to join the Philadelphia ACEs Connection Virtual Community! What does 100 mean? It is a milestone that indicates there is a growing community of practice in the...
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Why are you joining the Philadelphia ACES Connection Group?
Recently I was introduced to the tag line of the Berkana Institute : " Whatever the problem, community is the answer." It resonated with me because I passionately believe it and have experienced it as true. I have spent much of my...
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Wondering about datasets to use for an advanced research methods class
Good afternoon everyone, My name is Luke Butler, and I am just entering the Philadelphia ACES Connection community after attending the ACEs and Education meet-up this past Tuesday. I am a current graduate student in Penn's Master's in Public...
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Re: Moving from Vision to Action: Philadelphia ACE Taskfoce Updates
On April 6th, 2015, the Philadelphia ACE Taskforce convened the members for the quarterly meeting. The meeting included two presentations from experts on adverse childhood experiences and trauma. Jonathan Purtle, PhD, MSc, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Management & Policy, School of Public Health Drexel University Presentation: Trauma Policy Research: Charting a Course (download it from the bottom of this post) Jane Aronson, MD Orphan Doctor-World Wide Orphans Foundation...
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Re: ACE Screening as Part of Routine Medical Practice?
This is wonderful news and the kind of legislative activity that could really start building momentum towards routine ACE screening and trauma-informed care in the general health setting. I was also encouraged by this quote within the article: Hentcy says the high noise level of the breakout sessions reflected the energetic engagement among participants, some of whom, before the day was out, made immediate plans to meet locally. That is exactly the kind of activity we hope to generate in...
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Re: Children and Toxic Stress: The Discussion Continues
It seems to me that educating more people--primary care providers, early childhood professionals, k-12 staff, social service providers, etc.--about trauma and ACE's, and how to approach working with children and families who have experienced trauma, is one of the main places to concentrate efforts. All of these groups gather for professional development, and a workshop on trauma and ACE's should be a part of the curriculum for each of these groups.
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Re: Children and Toxic Stress: The Discussion Continues
A huge challenge is going to be to change the disciplinary parenting style that is so deeply rooted in our culture. This is particularly challenging due to the multi-generational nature of parenting. Parents often raise their children the way they were raised. In our society, when we want to correct negative behavior, most of us immediately think of discipline, punishment, and consequence. We need to begin to steer people away from the idea that negative sanctions will promote positive...
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Re: Children and Toxic Stress: The Discussion Continues
We have an extraordinary moment before us here. Yesterday's event framed the issue of trauma and the effects of toxic stress so well, but it is now incumbent on the participants to take the next steps. I agree with strategies that include the sharing of narratives and storytelling (Julie Campbell's example yesterday was clear and inspiring), but we also need to engage and implore our payors and policy makers to include ACEs as a routine part of all health screening. The link between ACEs...
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Re: Children and Toxic Stress: The Discussion Continues
We must have multi-generational solutions that acknowledge and address parents'/caregivers trauma histories and ACEs. Just as we know that it is difficult for children to learn when they are experiencing symptoms related to trauma the same can be true for adults. I'm involved in two programs serving young children and caregivers to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma transmission by focusing on and treating parents' trauma and its affects on their parenting. In one, we are using the...
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Re: Children and Toxic Stress: The Discussion Continues
Thank you. I think it could be a combination of both grassroots and institutional. For example, my organization, PCCY, has trained early childhood professionals and school staff on the behavioral health system in general, and how best to connect children to it (including information on health insurance). So little by little, and with the efforts of others, as well, we've been able to spread the word more broadly about behavioral health and put resources into people's hands to assist them in...
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Re: Children and Toxic Stress: The Discussion Continues
In case you haven't seen this: the Vermont legislature is considering a bill that would set up ACE screening in the state's health care system.
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Re: Children and Toxic Stress: The Discussion Continues
Does a map/flow chart/list exist that shows what systems an "average" child in Philadelphia interacts with? I realize that every child is different but I am trying to think what systems should we prioritize first. How can we impact the most children at once?
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Re: Children and Toxic Stress: The Discussion Continues
I think what is critically necessary is better integration of systems. This is a concept that is very important in behavioral health and I think it applies here. Screening for ACEs in routine medical check-ups is a great step and something that I hope gains more and more momentum. However, there also needs to be be better communication and interconnectedness among various social service systems. Obviously, it is much, much easier to say that than it is to implement it, but conversation is...
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Re: Children and Toxic Stress: The Discussion Continues
Sorry for this spammy post, but: I think that a greater effort needs to be made to change public attitudes as well. Obviously this needs to start with the professions, as noted above, but it can't be limited to them. One of the hardest things about growing up with trauma is that you feel defective and isolated, and other people often treat you that way, too. As a traumatized child it gets harder to establish and maintain productive/trusting relationships, even though traumatized children...
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Re: Children and Toxic Stress: The Discussion Continues
The interconnectedness that you suggest is truly imperative, and communication between systems is paramount. One barrier is the "privacy" concern but in reality the labeling as a "public health" issue can allow systems to talk more freely.
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Re: Children and Toxic Stress: The Discussion Continues
Katherine thank you! I appreciate that you have reminded all of us that as we think about large macro systemic solutions we must also keep in mind these day to day interactions with children, adults, and families who have experienced trauma and how they can contribute to retraumatization. I completely agree with you that often children who have experience trauma are labeled and marginalized because of their behaviors, which as you point out, are legitimate and normal reactions to trauma.
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Re: Children and Toxic Stress: The Discussion Continues
I just followed the RWJF Google Hangout on Community Health Rankings today (see #RWJF1stFri on Twitter) and @KatyLoomis from GSK reported the finding about Philadlephia being the lowest ranking county in health. The resource discussed is found on here: County Health Rankings and another recommended resource is here: Community Commons data mapping Will sharing data help the movement forward? Or is the change motivated from a different angle?
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Re: Has your Philadelphia organzation experience successful trauma-informed training?
Joel - thanks for asking about this topic - it has emerged at the top of the list with areas that the Philadelphia ACE Task Force Workforce Development Workgroup has identified. Training on Trauma, ACEs, Self-Care and application of these concepts in workplaces is a key need. We are fortunate in this region to have great resources. I would think two places to start are the Health Federation's Multiplying Connections Cross-Training Institute ( contact here ) and Institute for Family...
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Re: Why are you joining the Philadelphia ACES Connection Group?
I only recently (3 months) heard about the original ACEs study. From there, I attended an Urban ACEs Task Force meeting as part of the Scattergood Foundation and began taking a class with Dr. Sandy Bloom at Drexel's School of Public Health called Violence, Trauma and Adversity. The reason I joined the Philadelphia ACEs Connection Group is to continue to educate myself on the subject and by that I mean how can we inform others to become trauma informed and resilient? I'm not sure if I'll...
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Re: Why are you joining the Philadelphia ACES Connection Group?
"Community is the answer" has to be the answer. No problems occur in a vacuum independent of community, whether that is the problem itself or the ramifications of that problem. This is especially true in terms of ACEs. While it may be easy to say that trauma within a family or adversity experienced by a child is a personal problem separate from the larger community, we know that this simply is not true. ACEs have a long term effect on individual health, which in turn affects population...
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Re: Why are you joining the Philadelphia ACES Connection Group?
After attending an ACEs task force meeting last fall, I became very interested in the concept of ACEs and its intersect with public health in Philadelphia. As I graduate student of public health at Drexel University, I joined the Philadelphia ACEs connection group to help further my knowledge on different community sectors and the impact they may have on each other.
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Re: Poverty and ACES: What's being done in Philadelphia
In his blog, Nick mentions the Mayor’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity (CEO) and some of its goals towards ameliorating poverty in the City. I certainly agree that addressing poverty is not only an important step towards reducing ACEs, but also badly needed in order to improve health outcomes and eliminate health disparities. I am very encouraged to see that two of the goals for CEO are to focus workforce development and job creation efforts on adults with the greatest...
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Re: Poverty and ACES: What's being done in Philadelphia
I absolutely agree. I work in Camden and I try to provide clinical intervention to variety of children, adolescents and families on a daily basis whose problems are so confounded and escalated because of their poverty.
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Re: Anything happening with Mindfulness/Yoga in Philadelphia Area Schools?
Great to hear about these efforts! Monica Sullivan is a certified Yoga and Mindfulness Instructor as well as a trainer of the Becoming Trauma Informed training. This year she has been offering a new course called the Mindful Classroom for Early Childhood Educators. Monica just returned from a conference on Mindfulness and Education so expect to see more from her about how mindfulness tools and practices can be used effectively with children who have experienced trauma and adversity. We also...
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Re: Igniting community-based healing
As a former resident of Buffalo, New York (I spent 4 cold years as an undergraduate there) I can attest that the city closely resembles Philadelphia and Camden in many respects related to health and health outcomes. It is also a city of neighborhoods. Recently I noticed that the Buffalo-based Health Foundation of Western and Central New York ( www.hfwcny.org ) created a trauma informed community, Trauma-Informed Community Initiative of Western New York. This group is also affiliated with the...
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Re: Anything happening with Mindfulness/Yoga in Philadelphia Area Schools?
I'm a little late to this discussion, but I was trained to teach trauma sensitive yoga through the Street Yoga Teacher Training: www.streetyoga.org . This summer I am running a trauma sensitive parent-child yoga group, Yo-Fam, for families in behavioral health treatment at my agency. So far, the interest has been astounding and I'm scrambling for more mats. This will be my first attempt at such a group, but if it goes well, would love to bring more to the area. I am very interested in the...
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Re: 1 in 5 Philly High Students in Criminal Justice, DHS or both systems - PolicyLab at CHOP shares
I am hoping that the powers that be recognize that our children need counselors & social workers in our schools to help our kids and support our teachers around trauma-informed care!
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Re: Charter Schools, ACEs, and Trauma
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! You hit it out of the park! I had been an inner-city Philadelphia school teacher for many years (both school district & charter) and left feeling ineffective and frustrated for just the reason you stated (although I didn't have a name for it then). I am now back in school studying to be a social worker and having just completed a certificate program in trauma, I learned about ACEs and the impact on families and on children's learning. It is my hope to...
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Re: Charter Schools, ACEs, and Trauma
Daun Kauffman shares real stories of what our Philly children have endured and what is behind the behavior in the classroom. Here is his extended blog on ACEsConnection that goes with the Philly.com article: http://acesconnection.com/profiles/blogs/failing-schools-or-failing... .
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Re: Charter Schools, ACEs, and Trauma
A few (very few) "real stories" of real children, all from only one room in only one year, in only one school, all less than 9yrs old ! At least 12+ more children dealing with chronic or complex trauma in that same room that same year. Sadly, NOT an unusual year. It is hard to read the stories and I fear we lose readers with the intensity. Imagine living it with the children hour by hour, day by day, semester by semester, while (of course) your focus is "raising test scores" with less and...
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Re: Charter Schools, ACEs, and Trauma
Very insightful article!! I agree with Daun whole-heartedly. He expressed very real and problematic concerns our Philadelphia School systems face daily. Being in the Trauma Counseling Program at Philly U has instilled in my mind (and my class-mates), that the superficial "surface" issues we witness from children are only the tip of the iceberg - there are more than likely underlying concerns to be uncovered. Families living in urban, poverty-stricken areas are exposed to micro and chronic...
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Re: Charter Schools, ACEs, and Trauma
I used the numbers available from the public study. I tried to obtain additional data access with other questions and manipulations, but no luck. The "45%+" with 4 or more ACEs is for the Zip Codes Comprising "North Philly", where I have taught for 13 years in same neighborhood. The Zip Code map is found on page 17 of the study. The caution is the statistical reliability of small sample size. The reliability concern is why I tried to lump North Philly Zip codes into an aggregate (they're all...
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Re: Feedback for School District of Philadelphia
Hello! As a RN who has spent the last 13 years providing home care to women who have a history of ACE's and as a woman who spent 50 out of my 55 years living with the day to day effects of chronic toxic childhood stress, I am thrilled to see this platform introduced into the schools. In my work I have discovered that the Cylce of Poverty is so closely tied to the Cycle of Our Stories, which often include the Cycle of ACE's. As crazy as it sounds, families need to first be aware of their...
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Re: Has your Philadelphia organzation experience successful trauma-informed training?
I live in Philadelphia and I am a curriculum developer, trainer, author and consultant on issues related to childhood trauma, child welfare, juveniles justice, education and related fields. I am also a caregiving parent. I provide trainings across the country and locally have provided several for The PA Council on Children, Youth and Family Services (PCCYFS) agencies, DHS, and Mental Health Partnerships as well as a few Philadelphia schools and Head Start organizations. I have also worked...