First, I was obsessively seeking out news of the fire. I worried about the well-being of friends and colleagues, monitored air-quality levels, juggled the physical and emotional needs of two very scared daughters, evacuated or helped others to evacuate, all while trying to continue to do as much work as possible. It was intense. Then, just as firefighters heroically saved our beautiful community, and life was starting to get back to normal with the dawn of a New Year, we’ve been hit with...

The Call for Entries is now open for the 2018 CSAC Challenge Awards, which spotlight California Counties’ most innovative programs. These unique awards recognize the creative and committed spirit of our California Counties as they find new, cost-effective ways to provide programs and services to residents. Program Categories Administration of Justice & Public Safety – Includes programs associated with local law enforcement and public safety, adult and juvenile detention, and probation.

More masks will be distributed Wednesday in Santa Barbara County as air quality in some areas of the county due to the Thomas Fire remain at "unhealthy" levels. N95 masks will be available at the following locations: • Goleta Costco, 7095 Market Place Dr., from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. • Goleta Valley Community Center, 5679 Hollister Ave., from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. • Goleta City Hall, 130 Cremona Dr., from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. • Franklin Community Center, 1136 East Montecito St. in Santa...

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On June 6, 2018, over 60 people gathered in mid-Santa Barbara County for a special convening of the KIDS Network. The meeting was advertised among stakeholders as the unveiling of the 2017 Children's Scorecard and the launch of the Santa Barbara County ACEs Connection. After receiving an overview of the Children's Scorecard, participants were invited to discuss the three objectives previously identified by stakeholders who met with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris in April. These were support for...

April is National Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month. The 30th Medical Group Family Advocacy Program at Vandenberg Air Force Base hosted a screening of the independent film "Resilience" which discusses how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can significantly impact health and even decrease life expectancy. It was a great group: 48 people attended, most in uniform. Participants completed the ACEs Survey and 52% had 4 or more ACEs! Air Force medics, mental health clinicians, First...

Health officials have handed out more than 200,000 free N-95 face masks over the past week to guard against the toxic cloud of smoke in the air thrown up by the raging Thomas Fire , which is burning in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Still, some people insist on folding a scarf, wearing a dust or surgical mask or even holding their hand over the mouths. Those methods, however, are useless for the most part. “Dust masks and surgical masks aren’t effective at filtering out the particles,”...

Karen Clemmer, the Northwest community facilitator with ACEs Connection, was already deeply interested in the CDC/Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study when she and a colleague from the Child Parent Institute were invited to lunch by ACEs Connection founder and publisher Jane Stevens in 2012. But that lunch meeting changed everything.

ACEs initiative participants in communities where there is tension between the community and law enforcement will want to join Becky Haas in a compelling conversation on law enforcement, ACEs science, COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement and protests. Haas is a nationally recognized adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) science initiative builder and trainer. She and colleagues Renee Wilson-Simmons, the head of the ACE Awareness Foundation of Memphis, Tennessee, and Maggi Duncan,...

CAPC Intro It’s week three of Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time when we pause to appreciate all of the people who come together to support and encourage children, youth and families. Everyone has a role to play in making sure that our community is a great place for children and youth to thrive. Parenting can be hard, and parents must be flexible and strong to meet the needs of their families when challenges arise. Stress can make it harder to be a patient and supportive parent. This...

The Bridges to Resilience conference is one of the most recognized conferences in California’s coastal tri-counties. Bridges to Resilience seeks to increase understanding of the widespread impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and provide hopeful strategies to build resilience within our communities and across systems of care throughout the Central Coast.

In an effort to keep our free programs accessible to California during a critical time in the PACEs movement, we'd like to learn more about the role PACEs Connection programs have played in your California PACEs initiatives and the impact of your programs.

As we’ve recently announced, the CRC Accelerator is taking an indefinite hiatus, but this moment of growth is anything but goodbye. Two years into this unique program, we are aware of the incredible impact access can have on PACEs initiatives and we now have a CRC Fellowship that grows with each CRC graduate.