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By Marsha Mercer, Pew Stateline, September 3, 2020 On a family vacation in Virginia in 2017, Democratic Maryland state Del. Charles E. Sydnor III was driving in the left lane on a nearly empty, unfamiliar highway when a state trooper pulled him over. Sydnor’s wife and three daughters — ages 9, 10 and 13 — were in the car. “Are you going to jail?” one of his girls asked. [ Please click here to read more .]

August 12, 2020 | 2:03 p.m. | ASTHO Staff The movement to address racism through policy change in the U.S. is receiving significant political support at every level of government. Government institutions are acknowledging the systemic oppression of people of color that persists in the United States and elevating racism as an urgent public health emergency comparable to other public health crises. At the local level a growing number of cities and counties are issuing declarations . Public and...

“What are your signs of stress?” asked the leaders of a recent mindfulness webinar hosted by the Philadelphia ACE Task Force (PATF), held during the week that U.S. cases of COVID-19 neared half a million and more than sixty Philadelphians had died of the disease. Participants spilled their responses into the chat box: “headache…teeth grinding…can’t think clearly…nervous stomach…ruminating thoughts…muscle pain…itchiness…bad dreams.” [ At left: #TakeCarePHL during COVID-19 #StayHome #StaySafe.

The March meeting of the New Jersey Education Association’s ACEs Task Force opened without an agenda. It was a virtual gathering with more than 50 people—educators, social workers, professionals in pediatrics, juvenile justice and child abuse prevention. The pandemic had landed emphatically close to home, with a governor’s order to close all schools on March 18, and participants were grappling with what that meant for their students, their families and themselves. So ACEs Task Force co-chair...

State Rep. Ramon Alexander , D-Tallahassee, plans to bring out a bill “creating a Victim Compensation Crime and Trauma Fund for victims of police shooting incidents and their families.” Alexander said on Monday that he will introduce the legislation for next year’s legislative session. “Trauma experienced by survivors and loved ones can be social, physical, and emotional. As lawmakers, it is imperative that we provide trauma-specific services and a greater awareness of the effects of...

By Cristina Novoa and Taryn Morrissey, Center for American Progress, August 27, 2020 Since the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020, the United States has seen a proliferation of cases, record-breaking unemployment, and economic instability. Meanwhile, many public health measures that severely restrict social interactions—including stay-at-home orders and school and child care closures, among others—have been prematurely lifted, with...

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create anxiety and uneasiness and impact people’s mental health and overall well-being, a Clinton Foundation partner shares her expertise and resilience-building strategies to use during uncertain or challenging times. This blog post was written by Dana Brown, Organizational Liaison, ACEs Connection. Dana is an ACEs Science Statewide Facilitator, and through the organization, Learn4Life, she works within the Trauma-Informed Work Group and Steering...

Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families | Featured Posts | Date Posted: Wednesday, August 26, 2020 WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Wednesday announced Delaware was one of four states chosen by the National Governors Association to participate in a learning collaborative focused on recognizing and responding to adverse childhood experiences. The State of Delaware will join teams from Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wyoming in the Improving Well-being and Success of...

August 25, 2020 The CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention announces four recipients of funding from CDC-RFA-CE20-2006: Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences: Data to Action (PACE: D2A) . The awardees will measure, track, and prevent adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in their state. The new recipients are: · Georgia Department of Public Health · Connecticut Office of Early Childhood · Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Public Health · University of Michigan Public Health...

Back in May, we ran an article in NPQ that noted that “ discussion has abounded as to whether the economic recovery might take the shape of a V (quick recovery), U (long recession), L (very long recession or depression), or W (double-dip recession).” Now, five months later, it appears that the economic “recovery”—such as it is—matches none of these letters. Instead, reports Heather Long in the Washington Post , economists have started to label our economic path a “K-shaped” recovery, so...

Nadine Burke Harris, California’s Surgeon General, has a lot in common with the vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris—Jamaican heritage, surname, home state—and a commitment to addressing ACEs and toxic stress. As reported in the New Yorker article by Paul Tough, “The Poverty Clinic,” Dr. Harris told Kamala Harris, then San Francisco district attorney, about ACEs in 2008 and in response, she offered to help. District Attorney Harris then introduced her to professor of child and...

Governor Tom Wolf, Pennsylvania When Governor Tom Wolf’s office announced the release of “Trauma-Informed PA: A Plan to Make Pennsylvania a Trauma-Informed, Healing-Centered State” on July 27, it was a significant milestone in the state becoming trauma-informed but only one of many over the long and storied history of addressing childhood adversity in the state. In 2005, Dr. Sandra Bloom and her Philadelphia colleagues began their pioneering work on the Sanctuary model (see Sanctuary...