Tagged With "California's First Surgeon General"
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Trying to bite the 'elephant' of addiction [somdnews.com]
“How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” That was the advice Dr. Jerome Adams, U.S. surgeon general, gave to public health and law enforcement officials Monday during his first visit to Southern Maryland as the nation’s top health official. The elephant in the room of Building B on the campus of College of Southern Maryland in Prince Frederick was the escalating opioid epidemic penetrating communities across the region, the state and the nation. [For more on this story by DANDAN...
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Two studies shed light on state legislators’ views on ACEs science and trauma policy
New and returning lawmakers take the oath of office on day one of Washington state's 2017 legislative session. — Jeanie Lindsay/Northwest News Network As advocates prepare to see how ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) science, trauma, and resilience play out in the 2020 state legislative sessions — many beginning in January — they are undoubtedly asking: “What does a legislator want?" It may be a stretch to play on Freud’s question: “What does a women want?", but the query captures how...
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U.S. Sen. Heitkamp headlines May 25 briefing—trauma is “key”
When U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp arrived mid-way through the May 25, 2016, congressional briefing on the Science of Trauma, she delivered her remarks (starts at 27:48 through 41:45) with passion, humor, and most of all, a sense of urgency to the room full of Capitol Hill staff and a smattering of advocates. Her message was macro as well as micro—change national policy to incorporate what the science tells us about trauma, and see and respond to the needs of those you encounter in everyday...
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U.S. Senate begins debate on bipartisan addiction and recovery legislation
Starting today, the U.S. Senate takes up the bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA, S. 524) to address the national crisis of opioid drug addiction. The legislation—authored by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rob Portman (R-OH)—gives states tools to “prevent drug abuse, treat addiction, and reduce overdose deaths.” The prevention section of the bill calls for a “federal inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and...
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U.S. Senate champion on trauma, Heidi Heitkamp, provides inspired and hope-filled leadership
Last evening I posted a video of a June 5 congressional briefing that I attended on trauma and the opioid crisis with a plan to write a post about the event today. In the comfort of my living room, I played the beginning of the video, hoping to find a good screen shot to use with the article, but instead was surprisingly moved by the second listening of the words of U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) about why the issue of trauma is so important her: She says it gives her hope.
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U.S. Senate passes opioid legislation with trauma-related provisions
On Monday evening, the U.S. Senate approved 99-1 the Opioid Crisis Response Act (OCRA) of 2018 (Senator Mike Lee, R-UT was the lone “no” vote). The rare, multi-committee, bipartisan bill includes significant provisions taken from or aligned with the goals of the Heitkamp-Durbin Trauma-Informed Care for Children and Families Act (S. 774) , including the creation of an interagency task force to identify trauma-informed best practices and grants for trauma-informed practices in schools. The...
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Unprecedented childhood trauma hearing in U.S. Congress on July 11 to feature data from new state fact sheets on ACEs prevalence, impacts
A hearing of unprecedented scope and depth (this link will take you to a list of witnesses and all of their statements plus an overview memo on the hearing from committee staff) on ACEs science and childhood trauma — " Identifying, Preventing, and Treating Childhood Trauma: A Pervasive Public Health Issue that Needs Greater Federal Attention " — will be held today in the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. You can watch the live stream at 10:00 am ET through this link . Nine witnesses...
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Update on Bumper Crop of State ACEs bills in 2017—46 bills in 20 states
The latest update of state legislation considered by state legislatures in 2017 reveals the growing interest by state policymakers across the country in addressing trauma across sectors. The attached “At-A-Glance” table shows 46 bills in twenty states reference Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) or trauma-informed policy and practice. Take a look at the attached “At-A-Glance” table and leave a comment if your state considered ACEs/trauma legislation that is not included here. A handful of...
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Wall Street Journal Reporter Writes Murphy is Backing Welner For Top Mental Health Post
This story in today’s Wall Street Journal by Michelle Hackman supports what I reported in a blog last month about efforts by Republican Pennsylvania Representative Tim Murph y to get Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and the White House to appoint Dr. Michael Welner as the first Assistant Secretary for mental health. Whether this appointment will really happen, however, is still anyone’s guess given the oftentimes erratic temperament of the White House. To read the entire article...
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Webinar Learning Series begins tomorrow: State Policy Approaches to Addressing Childhood Adversity, Wednesday, January 10, 10am PST (1:00 PM EST)
Reminder of tomorrow's ( Wednesday, January 10, 10am PST/1:00 PM EST) webinar on State Policy Approaches to Addressing Childhood Adversity Please join us for a three -part learning series hosted by the California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity and ACEs Connection . We'll hear from states that are making great strides towards adopting trauma-informed policies and practices. Three-Part Learning Series: Webinar 1: Overview of State Level Efforts to Address Childhood Adversity and...
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What's Next? Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative Deepens Effort as Momentum Grows Across the State
It was more than a piece of parchment bearing the governor’s signature. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s resolution declaring May 15, 2019 as the state’s first Trauma-Informed Awareness Day marked a high-level recognition that, where state policy is concerned, trauma matters. The resolution and resulting proclamation Pritzker signed also calls for legislators to consider childhood brain development, early adversity and buffering relationships when making policy decisions; it urges all state...
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White House convenes federal, state, and local leaders to address trauma-informed approaches in schools
With just four months remaining in the Obama presidency, the White House assembled leaders from 14 states and the District of Columbia and key administration officials for a day-long conference, “ Trauma Informed Approaches in Schools: Supporting Girls of Color and Rethinking Discipline.” Last summer’s White House meeting, titled “Rethink School Discipline,” covered issues related to the CDC-Kaiser Permanente ACE Study and trauma, but transforming schools through trauma-informed approaches...
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Wisconsin's First Lady seeks to heighten childhood trauma awareness [apg-wi.com]
On Friday, June 22, NorthLakes Community Clinic and event sponsors Minong Area Chamber of Commerce, Jack Link Aquatic & Activity Center, Northwood School and Sevenwinds Casino, welcomed to Minong the Wisconsin First Lady Tonette Walker and Carol Howard, executive director of Fostering Futures. Eighty-eight guests watched the documentary “Resilience,” which explains the science of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), or toxic stress, which has a major impact on learning in children and...
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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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WV Democrats Unveil Plan to Help Kids Having Adverse Childhood Experiences [wvnews.com]
By WV News Staff, West Virginia's News, February 3, 2020 Democratic members of both chambers of the West Virginia Legislature on Monday held a press conference to unveil their plan to help children in the state suffering from a variety of negative circumstances. The plan involves prioritizing children who are coping with poverty, drug abuse, parental separation and neglect — collectively referred to as Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, according to a press release issued following the...
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5 Takeaways on America’s Increasing Suicide Rate (nytimes.com)
In a week when two celebrities, first the designer Kate Spade and then the chef and television host Anthony Bourdain , took their own lives, new federal data was released showing that suicide rates have been increasing for years in almost every state and across demographic lines. The escalating crisis has affected nearly every group and place , but the study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that some parts of the country have been hit especially hard. Here’s a...
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A comprehensive Trauma-Informed Care bill quietly introduced in the final days of the 114th Congress
In the final weeks of the 114 th Congress, Senators Heitkamp, Durbin, and Franken introduced The Trauma-Informed Care for Children and Families Act (S. 3519)—a wide ranging bill that proposes new strategies to expand trauma-informed best practices and models, train clinicians, law enforcement officials, teachers and health care providers in trauma-informed approaches, and improve the understanding of trauma’s impact and prevalence. Despite the lack of fanfare around the bill’s introduction,...
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A Healthy Early Childhood Action Plan: Policies for a Lifetime of Well-being[TFAH]
NOVEMBER 2015 A Healthy Early Childhood Action Plan: Policies for a Lifetime of Well-being highlights more than 40 policy target areas that are key to achieving national goals of reducing toxic stress and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)...
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A Just Society Doesn’t Criminalize Girls [Common Dreams & Boston Globe]
By Ayanna Pressley , Monique W. Morris Published on Saturday, December 07, 2019 by Boston Globe Photo Credit: First-grader Khatona Miller, right, investigates a circled location on a world globe with other classmates August 22, 2000 at Chicago's Stewart Elementary School. (Photo: Tim Boyle/Newsmakers) The policies and unfair practices that disproportionately push girls of color from institutions of learning stem from deeply entrenched biases that require bold, community-based solutions to...
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A National Agenda to Address Adverse Childhood Experiences
What are ACEs and Why Do They Matter? In 2016 1 , nearly half of U.S. children – 34 million kids – had at least one Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) and more than 20 percent experienced two or more. The new brain sciences and science of human development explain how ACEs can have devastating, long-lasting effects on children’s health and wellbeing. These events resonate well beyond the individual child to have far-reaching consequences for families, neighborhoods, and communities. ACEs...
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A Video Game About Conflict Resolution Helps Develop Empathy for Refugees (kqed.org)
Lual Mayen, a video game developer based in Washington, D.C., remembers the first time he saw a computer. He was just a kid at the time. It was 2007, and his family was registering for benefits at a refugee camp in Uganda, where they'd settled after fleeing civil war in South Sudan. He didn't tell anyone at first, but in that moment he knew in his heart that he wanted to learn to code, he says. More than a decade later, Mayen is garnering international recognition from Facebook and the...
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ACEs Connection “Map the Movement” now includes an up-to-date section on laws and resolutions
Photo credit: Texasarchitects.org An updated map of laws and resolutions addressing ACEs science and trauma-informed policies is now available in the “Laws and Resolutions” section of Map the Movement (you can also find "Map the Movement" on the navigation bar on the ACEs Connection home page). The earliest law on the map was passed in the state of Washington in 2011, creating an ACEs science public-private partnership. The data base of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is...
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Achieving Health Equity (rwjf.org)
Why Equity Matters In a Culture of Health , everyone has the opportunity to live a healthier life, no matter who we are, where we live, or how much money we make. Personal responsibility plays a key role in health, but the choices we make depend on the choices we have available to us. We must work together to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to make healthy choices, and to achieve better health for all. Across the nation, gaps in health are large, persistent and increasing. Health...
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Action needed today by trauma advocates to urge Congress to address mental health and trauma in current COVID-19 legislation
The follow is a message from Dan Press, Legal Advisor to the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice ), about the need to contact Congress regarding a COVID 19 funding bill being considered this weekend. He is urging ACEs science/trauma advocates and leaders to send emails to their U.S. Senators and Representatives immediately to address the mental health and trauma implications of this pandemic. All – I hate to bother you on a Sunday, but we urgently need you to contact Congress to...
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Activists, advocates at White House screen "Resilience", address childhood trauma
Last night, under a full autumn moon and with a light mist in the air, several hundred activists came together for a White House-sponsored evening, “Youth, Trauma and Resilience: Discussion and Film Screening of RESILIENCE.” Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope is a one-hour documentary that chronicles the adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) movement in the U.S. With the election outcome undoubtedly on the minds of everyone, Tina Tchen -- assistant to the President,...
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APA President-elect Altha Stewart addresses trauma at mental health forum in Washington, DC
Dr. Altha Stewart is the president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association. Photo by Allen Gillespie/UTHSC __________________________________ At a July 18 forum “The State of Mental Health Care: Challenges and Solutions” in Washington, DC, Dr. Altha Stewart, president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association, was the first speaker to raise the opioid crisis and quickly identified trauma as a root cause of the epidemic. Stewart assumes the presidency of the APA in May, becoming the...
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Arizona ACE Consortium: Catalyzing a Statewide Movement [MARC.HealthFederation.org]
The elementary school principal routinely broke into tears. At Wednesday afternoon meetings of the Creating Trauma Sensitive Arizona Schools work group, a committee of the Arizona ACE Consortium , the leader of a high-need, inner-city K-5 school frequently wept as she talked about the trauma her students carried into the classroom and the ways it percolated throughout her campus: in lagging test scores, behavior problems, even teacher retention. The other committee members became her...
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Bad news-good news: Each additional ACE increases opioid relapse rate by 17%; each ACE-informed treatment visit reduces it by 2%
Each additional type of adverse childhood experience increases a person’s risk of relapse during medication-assisted opioid treatment by a whopping 17 percent. And each visit to a clinic that integrates trauma-informed practices based on ACEs science reduced the relapse rate by two percent, which can carry a person perhaps not to zero, but to a minimal risk of relapse.
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Best Selling Memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” tells an inspiring story of overcoming ACEs
In search of insight into the country’s stark cultural divides in preparation for a week of potentially difficult conversations in Kentucky where I’d be attending family reunion and 50-year high school reunion, I dove into “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis” by J.D. Vance . Throughout this mesmerizing, painful, and hilarious memoir, I kept wondering if the author might know about the ACE study. The answer was found on page 226 when “ACEs” jumps out at me and...
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Bi-partisan trauma resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives
A bi-partisan resolution “Recognizing the importance and effectiveness of trauma-informed care” ( H. Res. 443 ) was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 13 by Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and co-sponsor Danny K. Davis (D-IL). The impetus for the resolution resides with the First Lady of Wisconsin, Tonette Tonette Walker Walker, who has taken a strong leadership role in advancing trauma-informed policy and practice statewide through Fostering Futures and of late with the new...
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Bipartisan, bicameral trauma legislation provides support for community initiatives and workforce development
In the current polarized political environment, it is no small feat for a bill to be introduced with bipartisan support in both chambers—a fact that bodes well for the future of the “Resilience Investment, Support, and Expansion (RISE) from Trauma Act of 2019.” Identical bills titled “The RISE from Trauma Act of 2019” were introduced in the Senate and the House on June 10, with bipartisan support from members of Congress representing diverse states, districts, and constituencies. While...
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Bipartisan trauma resolution passes the House unanimously
In the late afternoon on Feb. 26, the House of Representatives unanimously passed H. Res. 443 , a resolution recognizing the importance and effectiveness of trauma-informed care and calling for a national trauma awareness month and trauma-informed awareness day. The impetus for the resolution resides with the First Lady of Wisconsin, Tonette Walker, who has taken a strong leadership role in advancing trauma-informed policy and practice statewide through Fostering Futures , and has elevated...
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BPC Releases First Comprehensive, Transparent Study of Federal Funding to Fight Opioid Epidemic [Bipartisan Policy Center]
Editor's note: In addition to an overview of how states are spending federal opioid dollars, the Bipartisan Policy Center report also includes 5 state in-depth briefs—Arizona, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Ohio and Tennessee. News release Tuesday, March 26, 2019 Washington, D.C. – In 2017, more than 70,000 people in the United States died from a drug overdose, with almost 50,000 of these deaths involving an opioid. Americans are now at greater risk of dying from an opioid overdose than a car...
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Briefing for U.S. Congress on trauma science to be held May 25
A congressional briefing on the Science of Trauma, organized by U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and U.S. Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA), will be held at 2:30 pm, Wednesday, May 25, 2016, in 562 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC. The Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) is sponsoring the event. CTIPP is a new organization comprising individuals and groups from all sectors and walks of life working together to create a better future by promoting trauma-informed...
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Building a Better City Through Big Data (nationswell.com)
In the nation’s capital, 28 percent of children live in a household that’s below the federal poverty line, and another 20 percent grow up barely above it. As executive director of DC Action for Children , NationSwell Council member HyeSook Chung studied exactly where this deprivation could be found and, more importantly, why. “What are we doing that’s not working, and why are we investing in it?” she asks repeatedly. Unlike the ideological think tanks that populate D.C.’s corridors, she’s a...
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Building a Trauma-Informed Nation conference aims to move the conversation to action
The first day of Building a Trauma-Informed Nation began with a greeting by Gary Slutkin, founder and director of Cure Violence . He wished a “good morning” to those in the West and a “good afternoon” to...
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Burwell Agrees to A Comprehensive Strategy for Trauma-Informed Approaches by DHHS Agencies Serving Native Americans
As Elizabeth Prewitt reported earlier , in December 12 U.S. Senators sent a letter to DHHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell asking that she direct the agencies in DHHS serving Native Americans to plan and implement a comprehensive integrated trauma-informed strategy. In February, Secretary Burwell responded positively to the Senators, informing them that she has directed the Administrator of the Administration on Native Americans (ANA) to take the lead in developing such a strategy and plan. She...
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California's First Surgeon General: Screen Every Student for Childhood Trauma [nbcnews.com]
By Patrice Gaines, NBC News, October 11, 2019 Dr. Nadine Burke Harris has an ambitious dream: screen every student for childhood trauma before entering school. "A school nurse would also get a note from a physician that says: 'Here is the care plan for this child's toxic stress. And this is how it shows up,'" said Burke Harris, who was appointed California's first surgeon general in January. "It could be it shows up in tummy aches. Or it's impulse control and behavior, and we offer a care...
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California’s Surgeon General Readies Statewide Screening for Child Trauma [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Jeremy Loudenback, Chronicle of Social Change, September 19, 2019 Soon after being appointed California’s first-ever surgeon general, Nadine Burke Harris took off on a barnstorming tour across the state to talk about adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress, an issue she calls “the biggest public health crisis facing California today.” Before the pediatrician was appointed to her position in January by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Harris had founded and led the Center for Youth Wellness,...
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Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) launches new grassroots initiative to engage and educate Congress
CTIPP (Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice) today announced the launch of the National Trauma Campaign , calling for federal action to prevent and address childhood trauma and build resilience through educating and engaging Congress. Its widely circulated communication invited people from around the country to join the new grassroots initiative. The campaign provides ways for everyone to get involved by joining the effort, becoming a Local Liaison to take the lead in every state...
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CDC releases first US data on COVID-19 cases in children [Ars Technica]
Photo by Eric Froehling on Unsplash In all of the grim statistics of COVID-19’s devastation, one seemingly bright spot has been that children seem to be largely unaffected. They consistently make up small percentages of confirmed cases and nearly all have a mild form of the disease. But as more data accumulates, we’re getting a clearer picture of what COVID-19 looks like in children—and when its youngest victims are not spared from the worst. On Monday, April 6, public health researchers at...
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Comprehensive legislation introduced in U.S. Senate and House to address trauma
Senators Heidi Heitkamp and Dick Durbin at the Dec. 1, 2016 Congressional Briefing on addressing childhood trauma ________________________________________________________ The “Trauma-Informed Care for Children and Families Act” ( S. 774 , H.R. 1757 ) was introduced on March 29 in the Senate by Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) with co-sponsors Dick Durbin (D-IL), Al Franken (D-MN), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) and, for the first time in the House of Representatives by Chicago Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL7).
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Congressional Briefing Addresses Public Policy to Improve Response to ACEs
In the final weeks of the 114 th Congress, Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) welcomed her colleague Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) as a new host in the third and final briefing on addressing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The December 1 briefing focused on public policies to improve coordination, prevention and response to childhood trauma. In addition to joining forces to raise awareness of the impact of ACEs, Senators Heitkamp and Durbin are drafting legislation based on a framework they...
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Congressional briefing addresses trauma in an ever changing political and policy environment
Senator Heidi Heitkamp at lectern—(l to r) Kana Enomoto, Zach Kaminsky, Judge Dan Michael, Dr. Joe Wright, and Wendy Ellis ___________________________________________________________ The first congressional briefing on trauma held during the 115 th Congress and the new administration was held May 11 before a rapt audience of Hill staff amidst a swirl of controversy around the firing of FBI Director Comey and the speculation that the fallout will derail progress on the domestic policy agenda.
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Congressional Briefing: Preventing the Negative Effects of Poverty on Child Development: Evidence-Based Policies and Solutions
Join Us! Wednesday March 1, 2017 from 1:00PM - 2:30PM Location: Washington D.C.; Building & Room: TBA The National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives , First Focus and the Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Pennsylvania State University will co-host a briefing with nationally recognized experts and legislative perspectives on child and intergenerational poverty. for more information: http://www.npscoalition.org/child-poverty-announcement
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CTIPP-CAN hosts conference call with presentation by Laura Porter on social investment bonds to fund trauma-informed programs
Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2:00 EST, Laura Porter will present on the use of social investment bonds to fund the implementation of trauma-informed programs as part of a Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice-Community Advocacy Network ( CTIPP-CAN ) conference call. In an announcement from CTIPP-CAN organizer, Dan Press says “this is a novel, challenging and potentially invaluable approach for overcoming the problem many of us see –local and state governments unwilling or unable to...
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Darrell Hammond Talks Trauma and ACEs at the Capitol
Comedian turned advocate Darrell Hammond and filmmaker Michelle Esrick joined Congressional leaders for a discussion about trauma, healing, and prevention for the first forum hosted by the Congressional Trauma Informed Care Caucus (TICC).
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Developing Community Resilience During the COVID-19 Outbreak
I have been fielding requests about community resilience development and want to share with all of you a document that others are finding helpful. I initially created the document (below and pdf attached) for our host entities to distribute to the cohorts (1500-plus people) of N.E.A.R. Master Trainers embedded in 25 states and a province. Dr. Rob Anda, Laura Porter and I train Master Trainers in N euroscience, E pigenetics, the A CE Study, and R esilience; additional information can be found...
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Does Cash Aid Help The Poor — Or Encourage Laziness? (npr.org)
For years, evidence has been mounting about the effectiveness of cash aid over traditional aid to the poor such as food or seeds or job training. But Zambia's experience suggests that when it comes to persuading governments to adopt the approach, evidence might not be enough. Zambia's study which spanned five years, analyzed data from 5,500 households and cost about $5 million is one of the most significant to date. And the country's commitment to pouring its own resources into cash aid has...
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Donna Jackson Nakazawa Chats Live with Jane Stevens & You: Nov. 14th
Featured Guest: @Donna Jackson Nakazawa Topic: Well-Being, Self-Care & ACEs Date: November 14th, 2017 Time: 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST Where: Here / Chats Donna Jackson Nakazawa is an winning researcher, writer and public speaker on health and family issues. She explores the intersection between neuroscience, immunology, and the deepest inner workings of the human heart. Her most recent book, Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology, and How You Can Heal , examines...