By Tara O'Neill Hayes, American Action Forum, February 16, 2021 Executive Summary The Biden Administration’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan , currently making its way through Congress, would provide significant financial assistance through a wide array of government programs. In addition to the myriad provisions t he American Action Forum re views here , the package provides funding for child care , child abuse and prevention, nutrition assistance, and health care in rural areas . This...

By Washington Post Live, The Washington Post, February 19, 2021 As California surpasses New York in the number of deaths due to COVID-19, the state continues to grapple with vaccine shortages, disparities in immunizations, and the rapid spread of coronavirus mutations. California Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris, MD, who advises the governor on matters of public health, joins Washington Post Live for a discussion focused on the state of California’s battle with COVID-19. She’ll discuss...

Growing up with trauma inextricably linked to racism in southern Illinois, working as a state employee in Minnesota, training folks about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and diversity and equity in several states—these are just a few of the life experiences Dave Ellis brings to the work he is now doing as executive director of the New Jersey Office of Resilience. Seven months ago Ellis took the job to head the Office of Resilience with the assurance that there would be a deep and...

02/4/2021 TRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy, Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, First Lady Tammy Murphy, and New Jersey Department of Children and Families Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer today launched New Jersey’s first Adverse Childhood Experiences Action Plan, a comprehensive statewide strategy to prevent and reduce childhood trauma and adversity. The action plan outlines several initiatives to identify, coordinate, and advance programs and services across state government to reduce and...

New Jersey’s first Adverse Childhood Experiences Action Plan will be launched by Governor Phil Murphy today, Feb. 4, at noon EST along with Tammy Murphy , Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver , and New Jersey Department of Children and Families Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer on Facebook Live. ACEs Connection will cover the launch and will share the plan. It also will be available on NJ Resilience Coalition community on ACEs Connection.

Photo credit: Andrew Harnik/AP Two of the most compelling reports of how members of Congress experienced the trauma of the January 6 insurrection and its aftermath are found in the reports in the Washington Post “Ocasio-Cortez recounts ‘trauma’ of Capitol riot” by Jaclyn Peiser and in Slate “ After the Attack: Jan. 6 was a terrifying day for members of Congress. Weeks later, they are dealing with the trauma” by Christina Cauterucci . The Post story includes a clip from a live Instagram...

If you are finding it hard to keep track of all the Executive Orders, presidential directives, and release of plans by the Biden-Harris Administration and you’re interested in the key elements that hold promise for strengthening families and improving the lives of children, you might find the succinct 19-page document on the American Rescue Plan (the $1.9 trillion relief plan) valuable in an ever more complicated policy and political landscape. The recommendations in this document (also...

The December 2020 CTIPP-CAN call began with an update by a representative from the Office of Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE) to provide an overview on trauma-informed legislation and additional highlights in the policy landscape for engaging race, trauma, and wellness. Our next presenter, Father Paul Abernathy, CEO of the Neighborhood Resilience Project and CTIPP board member, explores the ways in which anti-racist and trauma-informed work may find synergy. This session examined ways in which...

By Ashley Burnside, The Center for Law and Social Policy, January 6, 2021 The latest COVID-19 relief bill passed by Congress will allow college students with low incomes to more easily access Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits – temporarily removing strict work and eligibility requirements for students. This is especially important given that unemployment rates are high, especially in the restaurant and entertainment sectors, and that many students are learning...

By Jessica Pryce and Amelia Franck Meyer, The Imprint, January 4, 2021 Although child welfare reform has been a topic of conversation for many years, what is often meant by “reform” is evolutionary or incremental change, which are efforts to make the current system better, but not fundamentally different. But many systems leaders who operate significantly improved versions of the current system agree that it still falls short of meeting the needs of families. The Biden administration...

While the 5,000-page $900 billion COVID Relief Bill ( H.R. 133, Div. M and N) fell short on some fronts (e.g., did not provide direct fiscal relief to cash-strapped states and localities), it does provide $82 billion in Education Stabilization Funds for states, school districts, and higher education institutions—crucial support for education as students return to school after the holiday. Funding of this magnitude makes a trauma-informed COVID response possible, giving advocates the...

Charles Bruner and Kay Johnson, 12/21/20, positiveexperience.org/blog Our country and the world are eager to move toward the coming new year. In 2020, the triple crises of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic downturn, and reckoning on racism have elevated attention to social injustice in both the health care system and our country as a whole. Because of COVID-19, the public and policy leaders have heightened awareness of the importance of physicians, nurses, community health workers, child care...