Tagged With "ACEs Connection"
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Resources to Support Wildfires Response & Recovery in Northern and Southern California
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC) has compiled resources to assist with response and recovery from the latest California wildfires. Information guides on disaster topics and the Disaster Lit® database provide access to curated, reliable information from vetted Federal, state, and local governments and organizations. Key National Resources NLM Fires and Wildfires Information Guide Content syndication —embed the content of this page...
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Right Start Town Hall - See You There?
So...who joins me in wanting to give our children the best start possible in life? It turns out, there is a long list of passionate supporters in our County. We urge you to come to the upcoming Town Hall and connect with folks like you who are committed to preventing childhood adversity and supporting resilience. Thursday, October 5, 2017 ∙ 6 - 8 PM The Glaser Center, 547 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa Information fair, refreshments, onsite free childcare (limited by appt.) available at the event...
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Roseland Library Lives On! [Sonoma County Gazette]
By Duane Dewitt, July 29, 2019 for the Sonoma County Gazette Roseland Community Library Will Live On into the Future Roseland Library will host a “Veterans Connect Pop up”Providing information about benefits available to them Thursday August 15 Roseland Community Library will live on into the future. “The Sonoma County Library has signed a six-year lease on a building at 470 Sebastopol Road, across the street from the current temporary library.” according to Ray Holley of the Sonoma County...
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Safe & Sound: Integrating protective factors and ACEs science to end child abuse in San Francisco in 50 years
It was almost a ritual, but one that regularly disrupted the parenting class at a San Francisco-based child abuse prevention organization. Every time a siren blared in the streets below, a female participant bolted out of the room to seek safety in the windowless interior rooms of the multilevel labyrinthine white Victorian that houses Safe & Sound . Molly Jardiniano And it didn’t just happen in the parenting class. “When she heard the fire trucks, she said she would become paralyzed,...
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Screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in an Integrated Pediatric Care Model
The Center for Youth Wellness (CYW) is a clinical research center located in Bayview Hunters Point, that was created in response to the medical understanding that early adverse traumas can harm the developing brain and bodies of our children. They operate on the mission to improve the health of children and adolescents exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The CYW has collaborated with the Bayview Child Health Center (BCHW) to develop tools and methodologies for early detection...
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Sharing two ACEs-related references
Karen Clemmer sent the following as an email yesterday: Dear Sonoma County ACES Connection members, Since our last meeting, a couple items that might be of interest have come across my desk and both frame ACES around a Life Course perspective! ...
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Sonoma County ACES Connection Meeting 4-26-17
Dear Friends, We look forward to coming together to continue our efforts to raise awareness around Adverse Childhood Experiences & Resiliency. Join our community coalition’s meeting on Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at 12:30 at 625 5 th Street, Santa Rosa in the City View Rooms. Our agenda and meeting notes from March are attached to keep you up to date about our exciting activities and future plans. Your voice, community insight, and local action is helping us achieve community healing. We...
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2017 Kids Count Data Book [aecf.org]
Wednesday June 14th the Annie E. Casey Foundation released the 2017 Kids Count Data Book - State Trends in Child Well-Being. This comprehensive report is " a premier source of data on children and families." You can download the report from this post, as well as on the Kids Count website , where you can also access an interactive data map in their Data Center . This is an invaluable amount of data available to the public, relevant to anyone working with children and families - with the...
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4 years after integrating ACEs science, Pueblo, CO clinic improves services for families; cuts ER costs, doctor stress
Four years ago, Dr. Leslie Dempsey would never have talked about ACEs — adverse childhood experiences — with her patients. Now ACEs is a common topic. “Just as I don’t feel awkward asking someone if they smoke or do intravenous drugs, I don’t really feel awkward talking about their childhood traumas in a way that it relates to their health. It’s just integrated into obtaining background and social history,” she says. Dr. Leslie Dempsey Dempsey is a physician in obstetrics who oversees a team...
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A Year of Ripples and Streams: Sonoma County MARC Update
Holly White-Wolfe, an analyst for the Sonoma County Human Services Department , marvels at the changes that have happened in a short amount of time. A few months ago, she and Karen Clemmer, then Coordinator of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health for the County Department of Health Services , were comparing notes on how their respective agencies were building trauma-informed capacity among employees and trying to embed that knowledge in practice. “A year ago,” Clemmer said at the time, “we...
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ACEs, biomarkers and the cost of adversity
How useful and necessary are biomarkers in telling the story of how toxic stress from adverse childhood experiences and resilience can impact a child’s long-term health? In the introduction to an article in the journal BioEssays , Dr. Kathryn Ridout, a Kaiser Permanente San Jose psychiatrist, and her co-authors examine what is known about two biomarkers and quote data on child maltreatment and its economic burden over time that says it all. “When totaling the costs of health care, child...
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ACEs Connection's Inclusion Tool makes sure nobody's left out
We developed ACEs Connection's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Tool — called the Inclusion Tool, for short — to ensure that ACEs initiatives across the world focus on being inclusive when forming a steering committee, recruiting leaders, providing education about ACEs science, recruiting members, or providing resources and services within their communities. The more inclusive your ACEs initiative is, the more diverse it will be, giving your initiative a real shot at achieving equity and...
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ACEs in Public Policy
Did you know that California is currently considering 4 pieces of legislation that seek to address trauma and childhood adversity? ACE's Connection members recently (July 2017) participated in a P olicy Maker education Day on Childhood Adversity . Jessica Hackwell, Karen Clemmer, Carla Denner, Nick Dalton, and two youth from Sonoma County partnered with the California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA) to ensure our policy makers understand the terms "adversity," "trauma," and...
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ACEs screening in CA — a Q and A with Dr. Dayna Long
Last year, the California Department of Health Care Services rolled out its plans for universal screening for trauma among its pediatric and adult Medicaid population. Beginning January 1, 2020, California physicians were able to receive an incentive payment of $29 for each pediatric patient screened for ACEs using the PEARLs ( Pediatrics Adverse Childhood and Resilience Study) tool. Dr. Dayna Long talked with ACEs Connection staff reporter Laurie Udesky about ACEs science, what led to the...
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Addressing Trauma and Building Resiliency as Comprehensive Disaster Planning and Response
The attached memo is intended to make observations about communities affected by disaster-related trauma, and to offer recommendations for trauma-informed recovery. Community examples provide case studies or models for other communities grappling with similar issues. Suggested resources and tools provide communities with support for accelerated action. Memo authors represent active cross sector networks that contribute to resilient community infrastructure development, awareness building,...
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Alternatives to Violence Project: experience the gifts!
I've been thinking a lot lately about the full spectrum of trauma and resilience. Certainly our internal dialogue, what we tell ourselves, is near the root of other communication and actions. Can we shed light on this "intrapersonal communication" to help heal trauma and support resilience? How do we access what's in our heads? One way is to ask ourselves deep questions and speak our truths in a safe environment. This is one of the ways Alternatives to Violence Project brings humanity and...
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ANNOUNCING: $700,000 GRANT TO SONOMA LAND TRUST TO PROTECT CRITICAL OPEN SPACE LAND AT SONOMA DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER [CFSC]
By Caitlin Childs, June 26, 2019, Community Foundation Sonoma County We are so pleased to announce this wonderful news: Thanks to the vision of a family that cared deeply about the future of Sonoma County, the Sonoma Land Trust has received a $700,000 grant from Community Foundation Sonoma County and our regional affiliate the Sonoma Valley Fund to protect more than 700 acres of open space, trails and natural resources at the site of the former Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC). This grant...
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April 28th Mindful Educators Retreat
In support of the growing needs of our students and our schools, we are happy to announce our next retreat for educators, counselors, and parents... Mindfulness for Busy People: Finding Stillness Think you are too busy for mindfulness? Think again! CLICK HERE TO REGISTER In this nourishing retreat for educators, counselors, parents, and anyone working with youth, we'll explore mindfulness practices that fit into your daily life. Participants will learn how to cultivate an inner-resource of...
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As California Moves to Screen Children for Childhood Trauma, Poverty Has To Be Part of the Equation
In California, we are coming full circle in recognizing the connection between poverty and health.
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Berkeley City College group screens Resilience, looks at ACEs through a social justice lens
As far back as she can remember, Berkeley City College Mental Health Specialist Janine Greer understood that there was a connection between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and health. She had a sense early on that racism figures large in that equation. “Looking around in my community – I’m African American, I noticed that even people who had healthy habits got funky diseases,” she said. “And I’m thinking there must be some sort of health trouble that happens if you’re always stressed.”...
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Childhood trauma a crucial public health issue [CapitolWeekly.net]
Preventing childhood trauma should be one of the top goals of California policymakers, a coalition of child advocates say. About 150 of the advocates came to Sacramento last week to educate legislators about the devastating effects of adverse childhood experiences. The goal was to help legislators create policies that will better protect kids. Adverse childhood experiences, known as ACEs, are experiences that are so harmful to children’s developing brains that they affect their lives decades...
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Children Now May Revise Budget Update [childrennow.org]
May Revise Budget Update Below are some of the key issues impacting children’s wellbeing in the 2020-21 May Revision budget proposal released on May 14. The overall Children Now statement on the May Revise can be found here , and a letter from over 760 organizations with Pro-Kid budget asks sent before the May Revise can be found here . Prop 56 funding would be moved away from prioritizing children. There are a number of changes that pull back on the Governor’s January proposals that would...
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Community Leaders Connect in ACEs and Resilience Community of Practice
https://nacchovoice.naccho.org/2018/09/25/community-leaders-connect-in-aces-and-resilience-community-of-practice/
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Coping with Disaster Begins with Tending to Our Own Bodies and Hearts
I just received a compelling email from the Hanna Boys Center reminding us to care for our bodies and hearts during this time of great stress. One incentive to care for yourself is the idea that "well staff serve well." As my friend Clare suggested earlier today, "It's the idea that we need to put on our own oxygen mask in order to live long enough to help others. Still, many of us don't know where to start with supporting our own wellness. This worksheet (attached) offers many simple...
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Cracked Up: Three Exciting Announcements [crackedupmovie.com]
FREE LIVE ZOOM WEBINAR AND Q+A! WITH DARRELL HAMMOND, DIRECTOR MICHELLE ESRICK and TRAUMA EXPERT, BESSEL van der KOLK, MD. MODERATED BY JANE STEVENS, FOUNDER OF ACES CONNECTION Hosted by ACES Connection Monday May 4th following opening weekend on NETFLIX at 4pm PST / 5p MT / 6p CT / 7pm EDT A virtual conversation to connect with our Cracked Up community about the lifelong impact of childhood trauma, especially now during coronavirus lockdown-social distancing-isolation which can trigger...
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Disaster Funds List
Attached you will find a list of participating organizations donating funds to victims from the Northern CA fires. If you or someone you know is seeking assistance, please check out this list.
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Dozens of stakeholders representing thousands of practitioners send public comments on Calif. ACEs-screening plan
Update: We posted this story on Tuesday evening and received a response from the Department of Health Care Services Wednesday that clarifies additional information. DHCS information Officer Katharine Weir said that subject to budget approval by the legislature and the governor: The reimbursement rate will be $29. Federally Qualified Health Centers will also be reimbursed for screening pediatric patients for trauma through Prop 56 funds and federal matching funds. In response to a question...
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DRAFT notes from our October 2019 meeting
Draft notes from our October 23, 2019 meeting Welcome: For all who could join our meeting on October 23rd, thank you for your participation! Together we can broaden our understanding of how ACEs impact our communities and what folks are doing to address ACEs. In October we welcomed David Beck MD a local Psychiatrist, Lynn Burke from Drug Abuse Alternatives Center (DAAC) Perinatal Program and we welcomed the return of Carla Denner LCSW who is now with DHS - BH- Alcohol and Other Drug...
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During COVID-19, how does a trauma-informed school pivot to distance learning?
All photos courtesy of Antioch Middle School staff Antioch Middle School seventh-grader Alyssia Garcia was accustomed to scanning the cafeteria during lunch for kids who might need her assistance. “I’d look for kids who looked sad, kids who were sitting alone, kids who looked angry,” says Garcia, a peer advocate at her school. Alyssia Garcia When she’d spot students sitting alone or looking sad, she’d approach them and ease into conversation. “If it’s a sad person, I’ll try to cheer them up...
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The Developing Brain & Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Thanks to an explosion in scientific research now possible with imaging technologies, such as fMRI and SPECT, experts can actually see how the brain develops. This helps explain why exposure to adverse childhood experiences can so deeply influence and change a child's brain and thus their physical and emotional health and quality of life across their lifetime. The above time-lapse study was conducted over 10 years. The darker colors represent brain maturity (brain development). I have added...
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Toxic Stress and its Effect on Development.
Here is a short video clip that explains how toxic stress effects development. Learning to cope with stress is an important part of healthy development. When experiencing stress the stress response system is activated and once the stress is relieved the stress response winds down. In severe situations of abuse or neglect where there is no caring adult to act as a buffer from the stressor, one’s stress response stays activated. Absence of response from adults and constant activation of the...
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Trained: Sonoma ACE & Resiliency Fellowship Offers Science, Compassion, Community
In Sonoma County, invitations to speak about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and resilience kept pouring in. There simply weren’t enough qualified trainers to go around. When Sonoma County ACEs Connection leaders applied for the MARC grant, they proposed using some of the money to develop a speakers’ bureau. Then they decided to expand that vision: Why not a nine-month fellowship for a cohort of 25 “master trainers”—two days of intensive education with Robert Anda and Laura Porter,...
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Trauma education and mindfulness help youth living amid gun violence
Armon Hurst, 2nd from left, first row, Teens on Target, courtesy of YouthAlive! Eighteen-year-old Armon Hurst serves as vice president of the student body at Castlemont High School in Oakland, Calif. He has a 4.0 grade point average, is an avid baseball player, and is slated to go to college next year. But until a few years ago, Hurst would find himself waking from nightmares in the middle of the night. It was difficult to concentrate at school, and he wasn’t eating well. Armon Hurst “There...
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Trauma Informed Care in Hospital Settings - is it missing?
Sometimes life throws a curve ball and the best you can do is bunt. It's been almost two weeks since my nearly 80 yo mother fell at home and dragged herself towards the phone, using her walking stick to knock the handset onto the floor to call 911. Not wanting to alarm her neighbor's she asked that the ambulance drive up without their siren. I received a call from my mom's cell phone and I was surprised to hear a mans voice - the EMT - my mom was being transported by ambulance..... at the...
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Trial by Fire: MARC Sites Collaborate on Trauma-Informed Disaster Response
By @Anndee Hochman During a December 2017 convening in Philadelphia, several leaders from Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC) realized they had more in common than a passion for building resilience in their communities. They all hailed from places that had recently been scorched or flooded by natural disasters: wildfires in California and the Columbia River Gorge, hurricanes in Florida, the lingering residue of 2012’s post-tropical cyclone Sandy in the Northeast.
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Violence Profile of Sonoma County
Several months ago, the Violence Profile of Sonoma County was published online. The profile aims to deliver three messages: (1) Violence Impacts Health (2) Violence is More than Physical (3) Violence is Preventable In addressing these aims, the profile provides a strong explanation for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) having lasting effects on health and behaviors, including violent behaviors such as emotional abuse, intimate partner violence, and suicide attempts. The profile also uses...
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We Need a Healing Movement
What if you had developed a cure for the most painful and costly public health problem in America, you had proven that it worked, and you were offering it for free, but could not reach those who need it most because no one wants to talk about the problem? Tragically, this is my reality and the truth about human nature. It is easier to suffer in silence than acknowledge the painful things that happen to us. Over 20 years ago, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Kaiser...
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We, too, have that answer to ACEs!
Many of you were probably very intrigued by ACEs Connection member Roger Kluck's posts about a successful answer to ACEs. (Take a look at his posts, linked below.) I just got back from an amazing Alternatives to Violence Project workshop in Folsom Prison. The inmate participants found the workshop to be life changing. You can join a community AVP basic workshop this coming weekend in Santa Rosa and experience the changes in your life. Register soon! This opportunity might not come around...
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Webinar: June 30th 9:00-10:30
The ACE Study: Measuring Childhood Trauma Exposure and Working to Change the Ending for Survivors and their Children June 30, 2015 9:00-10:30 am PT (11:00-12:30 pm CT, 12:00-1:30 pm ET) Presented by: Vincent Felitti, MD and...
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"What Happened To You? A Journey From Childhood Adversity to Resiliency" Explained by a Compelling Pamphlet
I found a manila envelope on my desk this morning. Inside was a heartfelt letter wrapped around a small stack of pamphlets. I can't remember the last time I held a paper resource guide in my hand, and there is something quite satisfying in this small, tangible resource. As I thumb through the pages, I feel myself drawn into a simple, relate-able story. I'm eager to keep turning pages and to discover how those of us with similar stories can find resources and support. "The pamphlet is...
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Where Do We Start Down the Path of Becoming Trauma Informed?
In April 2018, the Center for Health Care Strategies in New York City hosted an Advancing Trauma-Informed Care meeting. Sonoma County submitted a challenge for the group to discuss: Challenge: "I think one issue we are having is finding where to start. If this is not a step by step process, but a culture shift, where do you begin? Some groups are starting with an agency assessment. Some are starting with ACEs trainings. Some are looking at the SAMSHA guides. Others are desperately trying to...
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Sonoma County ACES Connection Meeting 5-25-16
We look forward to coming together again on May 25, 2016 at 12:30 in the City View Rooms at Public Health at 625 5 th Street . We’ll continue finding ways to connect around reducing toxic stress and providing trauma-informed care in our community. We plan an engaging meeting including a deeper exploration of some local trauma-informed efforts as well as report outs on field trips and other activities to connect with ACEs & Resiliency initiatives around the state. Please also note our...
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Sonoma County ACEs Connection Meeting Agenda 3/21/18
Hi everyone, Attached is the agenda for today's meeting. I look forward to seeing you all there!
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Sonoma County ACEs Connection Meeting - Agenda & Minutes
Attached is the agenda and minutes for the Sonoma County ACEs Connection Meeting that took place on August 22, 2018.
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Sonoma County ACEs Connection Meeting March 21, 2018
The Sonoma County ACEs Connection continues to have discussions and brainstorming sessions at both the Steering Committee and General Meetings. On March 21, 2018, the larger group broke out into three work groups: (1) What should we name the Sonoma County ACEs Connection? (2) Should our meetings have designated roles such as a host or safety monitor? What roles do you suggest? What might that look like? (3) What should our meeting structure look like? Presentations or experiences? Should we...
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Sonoma County ACEs Connection Meeting Minutes 4/25/18
Attached are the meeting minutes for the Sonoma County ACEs Connection General Meeting on 4/25/18.
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Sonoma County ACEs Connection Meeting Minutes June 2017
Attached are meeting minutes from the Sonoma County ACEs Connection General Assembly.
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Sonoma County ACES Connection Steering Committee Meeting Notes from 1-10-18
These are the meeting notes for the Sonoma County ACEs Connection Steering Committee meeting from 1-10-17.
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Sonoma County ACEs Connection Strategic Planning Session Update
Thanks to all of the members who contributed to our Strategic Planning Session on 6/29/16. The engaging agenda is attached to this post, as is the presentation on the scope of the problem of ACE's in Sonoma County. Our fabulous facilitator, Selena Polston (Innovation Team Program Manager for Public Health) captures some of our meeting highlights in these notes: ACES Connection Retreat: Developing a Vision Statement Wednesday, June 29, 2016 Elsie Allen High School What Makes A Great Vision...
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Sonoma County is well represented in a new Bay Area initiative to address childcare adversity in pediatric safety net care settings
The Center for Care Innovations (CCI) and Genentech have selected seven Bay Area sites to participate in the Resilience Beginnings Collaborative (RBC). The Resilient Beginnings Collaborative is a 24-month learning program dedicated to addressing childhood adversity in pediatric safety net care settings. As the momentum to spread the word about ACEs and implement trauma-informed care increases, Sonoma County leads the way. Of the seven sites selected, two are from Sonoma County: Petaluma...