Tagged With "State of Our Health"
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Notes from May 27, 2015 meeting
May 27, 2015 Never before in the history of medicine have we had better insight into the factors that determine the health of an individual from infancy to adulthood, which is part of the life course perspective—a way of looking at life not as...
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Notes from our 1-23-19 meeting - Check these out!
ACEs Enthusiasts Community Meeting NOTES! Date: January 23, 2019 About this community: We bring the community together to prevent, heal, and treat ACEs while promoting resiliency. Embedded GREEN text= hyper link just click for more information New Year - New Focus! With start of new year, Sonoma County ACEs Connection will re-start fresh with a community focus, while seeking opportunities to leverage and coordinate with others. Welcome & Gather - thanks to Nancy for bringing (lots of!)...
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Notes from our 3.27.19 meeting
ACEs Enthusiasts Community Meeting Notes March 27, 2019 from 3:30 to 5:00 Location: Child Parent Institute About this community: We bring the community together to prevent, heal, and treat ACEs while promoting resiliency. New Year - New Focus! Sonoma County ACEs Connection is starting fresh in 2019 with an emphasis on community, while seeking opportunities to leverage and coordinate with others. Welcome & Gather Mindful moment - volunteer to lead? Welcomed several new folks, representing...
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Notes from our 9/23/15 meeting
Twenty of us attended the meeting. We were warmly greeted by Allen Nishikawa with a warms towel ceremony that allowed us to truly arrive and be present. The topics we discussed were the Paper Tigers viewings, Dr. Anda’s presentation at Hanna...
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Notes from July 22, 2015, Sonoma County ACES Connection meeting
Sonoma County ACES Connection group is moving forward and making progress! Yesterday 18 community members came together in collaboration. In addition to applying for the Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC) funding, the...
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Notes from the 10/1/2014 meeting
We have a new name - Sonoma County ACES Connection ! If you were unable to attend today’s meeting, you missed a lot ! Please mark your calendar for our next meeting Wed Oct 29 th , from 12:30 to 2:00 in the DHS Public Health...
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Nothing About Them Would Stand Out in a Crowd
photo credit: chuttersnap/unsplash.com By Alice M. Kenny (pseudonym) (The article below is an excerpt from my new book, Crazy Was All I Ever Knew: The Impact of Maternal Mental Illness on Kids . I have used a pseudonym to protect the privacy of family members.) The emotions adult children of parents with mental illness experience are a mixed bag. Sometimes a jumble. Guilt, loss, grief, and resentment are among the emotions that persist or bubble to the surface in adulthood. Some feel...
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November 1 Clinician's Training on Dialectical Behavioral Therapy: Trauma Informed Intervention Offering
This year's ACEs and Resiliency Fellowship program seeks to engage local therapists and counselors in expanding their trauma informed intervention skill set. Join us for our first training on Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, a trauma intervention modality appropriate for individuals in middle school or older. November 1, 2017, 1:00 - 3:00 at Sonoma County Office of Education This training covers the fundamentals of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills: Core Mindfulness, Distress...
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November 18, 2015 Meeting Notes
Fifteen members attended. Attendance was anticipated to be lower, because many members had prior commitments. Allen Nishikawa opened the meeting and introduced Elisabeth Chicoine, Manager of the Public Health Family Health Section. She announced that...
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Oakland, CA, trying out model used in Baltimore to reduce trauma, increase resilience
Oakland BSC activity: Photo/ Courtesy of Trauma Transformed/East Bay Agency for Children When a group of community organizations in Baltimore came together in 2015, they already knew trauma figured large in many lives. There was violence in the community, in schools, and in community members’ homes. Police brutality occurred. Many suffered the loss of loved ones to incarceration or death. There were house fires and homelessness. Much of the dysfunction was systemic and rooted in racism,...
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Oakland, CA, youth organization takes next step in systems change to heal trauma
In a room in East Oakland, Calif., photos of children are projected on a screen. “Who is that?” asks Briana Moore, a licensed clinical social worker in private practice and a master trainer for the East Bay Agency for Children’s Trauma Transformed program. “Bill Clinton,” responds one of the 20 employees of the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC).
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Oakland Promise Brilliant Baby is giving families a Resilient Start
Program Provider Sadie Williams works with financial coach Judit Trinidad as they practice family engagement for Oakland Promise Brilliant Baby Program enrollees.
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OCAP needs you! Apply now to become a member of their 2019 Citizen Review Panels
Make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children in California. Use your voice to change the child welfare system in California! Convened by the Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP), they are seeking citizen (YOUR) input at their quarterly meetings. Now is your chance to make recommendations to the State! Apply now t o become a member of the California Child-welfare Citizen Review Panels (CRPs). Meetings are held 4 times a year. Participation can be by phone, computer, or in-person.
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October 26 Meeting Notes
(For a colorful version with graphics, please see the attached .pdf.) 10/26/16 Dear Sonoma County ACEs Connection Friends, Thank you to all that participated in today’s ACES meeting. Jessica Hackwell invited the group to take a mindful moment to listen to a “reflection” or short tale with a powerful message about intentions. Briana Downey welcomed the group to the Valley of the Moon Children’s Home and talked briefly about the Trauma Informed Journey taking place through this residential...
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October Meeting Cancelled - Meet Again on November 29
Dear Friends, Let’s join hands during this difficult time, and offer each other strength as we strive to process these events. We all need help to cope and to begin to recover. We’ll strive to post resources on Sonoma County ACEs Connection that will help us: Find housing, income, food, and other resources Find the words to talk to our children about how to cope Find ideas for how to calm our minds and bodies Our Steering Committee plans meeting next week to come up with other concrete...
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Oprah Speaks About ACEs on National TV
Laura Porter and dozens of other friends sent a flurry of emails this week with Oprah in the subject line. This national figurehead carrying our message to a national audience ensures childhood adversity, trauma and resiliency are topics of conversation in households across our country. Talking about ACEs is just one step before taking action on ACEs! Laura Porter writes "This is in advance of the airing of a 60 Minutes airing of a story she successfully pitched for the show. I will be...
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Oprah Winfrey and Healing from the Inside Out
Linda Rosenberg, President and CEO, National Council for Behavioral Health, brings news from the field to the National Council membership and joins the chorus of voices responding to the 60 minutes segment with Oprah Winfrey on childhood trauma in her post "Oprah Winfrey and Healing from the Inside Out" If you don’t fix the hole in the soul… you’re working at the wrong thing. – Oprah Winfrey Far too many children are growing up with a “hole in their soul.” Nearly half the nation’s children...
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Oreos, Apples, Coconuts and Bananas: The Precarious Position of Interpreters. Basic ACES Training for Providers, Part Three
If you work with clients in health or human services, you will at some point work with an interpreter. Have you thought about the awkward position they occupy? Language is only part of the problem. They must be “white” enough to understand and navigate the bureaucratic culture, while being black/brown/yellow/red enough to understand the client’s worldview and concerns and to be able to gain the trust of the communities they serve. When I worked with refugees, I often served...
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Oswego police tout collaboration with Kendall Health Department [ChicagoTribune.com]
The fact that the Kendall County Health Department has office space in the newly-opened police headquarters in Oswego says a lot about how important police think the issue of mental health is, officials said. Oswego Police Chief Jeff Burgner said the office provides another location for the community to consult with a public health staff member but it also benefits the police department. [For more of this story, written by Linda Girardi, go to ...
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Overcoming Adversity with Diversity in Technology and Digital Media Storytelling
Hanna Institute's Professional Networking Breakfast will be next Thursday Dec 14th, 7:30-9am with digital media genius Villy Wang, speaking about social enterprise and how digital media arts can empower youth of color from historically underserved communities to take back their narratives through storytelling. Breakfast and Inspiration for $30. Free for educators and students.
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Pacific Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Summer 2019 Learning Institute!
The Pacific Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center is incredibly excited to announce that registration is open for our Pacific Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Summer 2019 Learning Institute ! What: Two days of incredibly high quality faculty (e.g. David Shonfeld from the National School Crisis & Bereavement Center! Yolo Akili Robinson from the Black Emotional & Mental Health Collective!) offering intensive learning sessions to support the mental health...
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PAPER TIGERS Educational Version Now Available on DVD or Digital Streaming!
From Tugg.com, March 17, 2016 Tugg Edu is proud to present the highly anticipated ACEs documentary PAPER TIGERS to the educational marketplace. Directed by James Redford ( THE BIG PICTURE: RETHINKING DYSLEXIA, RESILIENCE ), PAPER TIGERS follows a year in the life of an alternative high school that has radically changed its approach to disciplining its students, becoming a promising model for how to break the cycles of poverty, violence and disease that affect families. With over 450...
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Paper Tigers Inspires Action
Just moments into watching "Paper Tigers" last August, Angie Dillon Shore and Socorro Shiels found themselves wiping away tears. By the film's conclusion, Angie, a former youth counselor and current Upstream Investments Program Manager, and Socorro, then the Superintendent of Santa Rosa City Schools both felt compelled to take immediate action. What if together, these two women could bring the film to local educators and parents? Could the film change the conversation...
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Paper Tigers Screening in Petaluma on May 12
The Community Health Initiative of the Petaluma Area (CHIPA) and the Petaluma Health Care District (PHCD) invite you to save the date for: Paper Tigers Screening and Panel Discussion Thursday, May 12 2016 6:00 pm Boulevard 14 Cinemas 200 C St., Petaluma CA 94952 Paper Tigers follows a year in the life of an alternative high school in Walla Walla, WA, that has radically changed its approach to disciplining its students, and in the process has become a promising model for how to break the...
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Parent Voices Sonoma: Tell Your Story: How to Give a Public Testimony
Our next workshop will be on March 5th 5:30PM at Cook Middle School - Rm. 44, Santa Rosa. We welcome anyone interested to join us regardless of your experience, passion and you do not need to be a parent, but a child advocate!! ¡Reserva la fecha! Nuestro próximo taller será en marzo 5 en la escuela Cook Middle - salón 44 en Santa Rosa. Damos la bienvenida a cualquier persona interesada en unirse a nosotros, independientemente de su experiencia, pasión y usted no necesita ser un padre, ¡sino...
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PARENTING GUIDES: Please share to support parents
During this challenging time, parents need more resources than ever. Please let parents know about the following guides from the Yolo County Children's Alliance and the Yolo Child Abuse Prevention Council. All guides are available at www.yolokids.org/forfamilies , and I have attached a summary of the guides if you would prefer to share that. Please note that we will be releasing our positive discipline guide on 4/1/20 ( Handling Your Child's Challenging Behaviors at Every Age ). The guides...
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PBS Recent Video Highlights ACEs
Thanks to ACEs Connection Members Gabrielle T. and Kathy C. for sharing this compelling video showing how Memphis tries rooting out childhood trauma to improve life long health: With ACEs in National News this concept is reaching into the homes of even more of our community members. Memphis provides an inspiring vision for how we in Sonoma County might "prevent, treat, and heal" ACEs in our own community.
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PD Editorial: Poverty and prosperity in Sonoma County [PressDemocrat.com]
At the start of the year, Sonoma County readers learned that, despite a rebounding economy, the number of people going hungry in the region continued to be disturbingly high. According to officials at Hunger Index Forum in February, Sonoma County residents missed an estimated 35 million meals in 2014, down from a peak of 47 million the previous year. Now, at year’s end, the county is getting a clear and sobering picture of just who is most often going without food — and other...
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Peer Voices Now! Spring 2018 Newsletter
Kalia Mussetter of Living Bridges " Bringing people together for transformative community service," invites you to read the attached Peer Voices Now! newsletter. Kalia writes: "Please enjoy this beautiful newsletter. It is rich with fine, heartfelt writing by many local mental health Peer Providers; talented individuals who serve our mental health stakeholder community every day. There is a focus on experience of both loss and healing from the recent fires, as well as moving accounts of peer...
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Petaluma Group Inspired to Prevent, Heal, Treat ACES
A local Petaluma group kicked off 2016 by inviting Karen Clemmer, PHN, and Brian Farragher, Executive Director of Hannah Boys Center to speak about preventing, healing, and treating Adverse Childhood Experiences. Erin Hawkins, Community Outreach Program Manager of the Petaluma Health Care District, encouraged members of the Community Health Initiative for Petaluma Area (affectionately known as "CHIPA" to many members) to ponder the impact of ACES on the health of Petaluma...
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Petaluma Health Care District trains local care providers on trauma response [North Bay Business Journal]
The Petaluma Health Care District (PHCD) is playing a critical role in helping those impacted by the fires self-heal by serving as a catalyst for collective community action. “The fires caused anxiety and stress throughout the region, elevating the need for education and access to trauma-informed care,” said Ramona Faith, CEO. “To respond to this need, PHCD offered special trauma-focused training sessions for health providers and those in other disciplines.” A renowned bicultural and...
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Petaluma Health Care District wins Community Philanthropy Award [Northbaybusinessjournal.com]
Petaluma Health Care District, a public agency and a California special district, funds evidence-based health programs and invests in local nonprofits that provide critical social services and address the root causes of poor health. During the 2015-2016 fiscal year, PHCD provided $280,000 in charitable funds, sponsorships and in-kind technical support to 33 Southern Sonoma County nonprofits, such as the Boys and Girls Club, Mentor Me, North Bay Children’s Center, Petaluma Educational...
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Petaluma Health Center leads effort to link women to services
Sonoma County was one of six sites selected nationally to participate in a CityMatCH practice collaborative to prevent substance exposed pregnancies. In 2012 Rebecca Munger CNM, PHN the Sonoma County Maternal, Child, Adolescent Health Coordinator lead a broad coalition of reproductive health champions who worked across sectors and settings to develop a trio of strategies to reduce substance exposed pregnancies. The first strategy developed with CDC and WHO technical support was a bundled...
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Plan to participate! May 22, 2018 Policy Maker Education Day in Sacramento!
Click this link to register and (if needed) request travel stipends ! Link to Registration Form Registration deadline is 4/30! Start brainstorming! Do you have a "Community Profile" from last year - please plan to update it! No "Community Profile" - no worries- see the attached profiles for examples! ACEs Connection will provide materials to support the development of your Community Profile - for now start thinking about brag-worthy efforts - initiatives, collaborations, accomplishments,...
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Policy Committee Meeting Notes
Meeting Notes: June 8, 2018 It was suggested that we try posting a more informal blog of our meeting, rather than the usual minutes. Please let us know if this is a better way to capture the free-flowing discussion and flavor of our meetings. Note: Sonoma County ACEs Connection is referred to as “SCAC” to save typing. Members attending were Alison Lobb, Lena Hoffman and Allen Nishikawa. Karen Clemmer was unable to attend but had forwarded some helpful links and information to members. Our...
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Portraits of Professional CAREgivers: Their Passion. Their Pain - FREE Screening for ACEs Connection Network!
I am excited to announce that ACEs Connection Network has partnered with the producers of the film, Portraits of Professional CAREgivers: Their Passion. Their Pain . to host a FREE SCREENING of the film for our members. If you have been t hinking of hosting a screening of CAREgivers in your community or are interested in learning more about secondary traumatic stress and what to do about it, join our ACEs Connection Network for a FREE screening of this film and a virtual chat with the...
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Positive Childhood Experiences offset ACEs: Q & A with Dr. Robert Sege about HOPE
Tufts University medical professor Dr. Robert Sege directs the Center for Community-Engaged Medicine and is nationally known for his research on effective health systems approaches that address social determinants of health. He is also the principal investigator for the HOPE framework (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences).The HOPE framework is based on research that shows how positive childhood experiences can mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences. Sege and colleagues...
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Post Traumatic Growth after Natural Disasters - Communication and Connections Help [sciencedaily.com]
A recent study from researchers at the University of Missouri found more communication among family, friends and neighbors who experienced the devastating and deadly 2011 Joplin Tornado was related to more post-traumatic growth. The 2011 tornado in Joplin, Missouri, was one of the most destructive in U.S. history -- killing 161 people, injuring 1,150 and destroying approximately one-third of the city's homes. Individuals who experience such disasters can exhibit a range of mental health...
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Post-wildfire report on nonprofit services: mental health a critical need, services to most vulnerable citizens impacted
At the end of 2017, Community Foundation of Sonoma County and Napa Valley Community Foundation enlisted the Center for Effective Philanthropy to conduct a survey of local nonprofit organizations about the impacts of the wildfires on the people they serve and on their organizational capacity to provide services in response. While reading CEP Advisory Services " 2018 Wildfire Response Survey " report through an ACEs and trauma-informed lens, the following findings jumped out at me: 1. Mental...
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Preparing People for Climate Change in California: Sonoma County Listens and Shares
Last summer Bob Doppelt asked me to join a planning committee for a conference on climate change . I was surprised to be asked as my recent professional expertise is tied to addressing childhood adversity. Bob changed my perspective on the relevance by saying, "Adversity and trauma are the social side effects of climate-related disasters. Imagine the social-emotional impacts on Katrina survivors." The connection was a glimmer in my mind, but I agreed to support a California conference .
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Press Democrat Features Paper Tigers Screening and Efforts to Help Struggling Kids
On Saturday May 14th, the Press Democrat featured local ACEs efforts in South Sonoma County in the article "Petaluma schools implementing new approach to work with struggling students." The Petaluma Health Care District and the Health Action Chapter sponsored a Paper Tigers screening on May 12 that drew 221 folks. Reporter Christi Warren captures the experience here: On a recent school day in Petaluma, 57 students were on a waitlist to see a city schools therapist. The number of students...
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Prevent Child Abuse - Sonoma County annual report 2014-2015
In case you missed picking up a copy of the 2014-2015 annual report from Prevent Child Abuse-Sonoma County, here it is. This year, it provides a snapshot of child abuse and neglect data, a two-page overview of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study,...
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Preventing Early Childhood Adversity Before It Starts: Maximizing Medicaid Opportunities [CHSCS.org]
The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are a critical window for cognitive, physical, and social development. Exposure to adverse experiences during this period and beyond in early childhood dramatically increases the potential for lifelong poor health and social outcomes. This in turn can result in substantially increased health care costs across an individual’s life span. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) — including neglect, abuse, exposure to violence, family dysfunction, etc. — also...
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PREVENTION: A key solution to reducing ACEs
Bringing Baby Home Training of Trainers, Sacramento May 17-18, 2018 A friend of mine recently referred her grandchild and his pregnant wife to a Bringing Baby Home class, because she noticed that the wife had a horrible background of abuse and at times had difficulty functioning. What the grandmother noticed with this couple was a change in the family dynamics. The couple knows how to get along, the father is engaged in parenting, and the baby thriving. This is really starting at the root of...
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Proactively preparing teens and children for 13 Reasons Why, season 2 (Netflix)
By Tracie Dahl, LCPC, Middle School Therapist with Intermountain School-based Services (Helena, MT) 13 Reasons Why is about to drop its second season in just a matter of days. Since Season 2 is no longer adapting Jay Asher's 2007 YA novel and telling a completely new story, as service providers who work with young adults, we would like to know what we can expect from the upcoming string of episodes. We were more reactive than proactive when Season 1 came out and it’s easier to be more...
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Program offers hundreds of young men, boys safe space to heal from ACEs
Dennis McCollins recounts some of the experiences that caused him to harden against the world as a teenager. “There were times I went to more funerals than birthdays,” says McCollins, who is the clinical director of the School Based Health Center at Greenwood Academy in Richmond, Calif. And it took its toll: “I spent time homeless. I got expelled [from school]. I was so angry and upset and mad,” he says. Dennis McCollins Then a man that he met when he was sent to Job Corps as a teen turned...
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Program promotes the importance of positive parenting [UkiahDailyJournal.com]
There was a sense of urgency at the workshop given by Dr. Matt Sanders at the Ukiah Conference Center on March 12. The workshop focused on “Triple P,” the Positive Parenting Program pioneered by Sanders and his fellow researchers at...
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Prop. 64 Stakeholder Group: Prioritize Trauma-Informed Approach to Youth Substance Use Education, Prevention and Treatment
In November 2016, California voters legalized adult use and sales of cannabis, and authorized state excise taxes that are estimated to generate up to $1 billion in revenue for regulation, research, public safety, prevention and treatment. A group of stakeholders representing youth-serving organizations and agencies across the state has issued recommendations for use of the tax revenue allocated to youth substance use education, prevention and treatment that emphasize a trauma-informed approach.
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Proposed Changes to Sonoma County ACEs Connection Working Guidelines
Holly asked me to review the SCAC Working Guidelines we developed at the retreat and prepare a document for approval at the October meeting. I invite all members to send me any comments or suggestions regarding the current document. For the purposes of this vote, I am limiting proposed changes to only those issues where there is a discrepancy, disagreement or lack of clarity concerning an existing guideline. Any brand new guidelines should be proposed and adopted later. The current version...
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Proposed Changes to the SCAC Working Guidelines: Vote at October Meeting
At our October meeting, we will vote to approve a set of working guidelines for Sonoma County ACES Connection. Attached you will find a description of the recommended changes. Please read and be ready to discuss and vote on the proposed changes at our meeting on the 26th. How we developed these recommendations I had requested that SCAC members post any comments or concerns about the proposed guidelines. I received comments from a few persons and invited all of them to participate in an ad...