Tagged With "trauma-informed care"
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Gov. Wolf: Office of Advocacy and Reform Announces Plan to Build a Trauma-Informed Pennsylvania [phila.gov]
The Office of Advocacy and Reform (OAR), established by Governor Tom Wolf’s 2019 executive order to protect Pennsylvania’s vulnerable populations, today announced the launch of a volunteer think tank comprised of 25 experts representing a diversity of fields and backgrounds who will develop a plan to make Pennsylvania a trauma-informed state. “The people of Pennsylvania are compassionate, thoughtful and resilient. We take care of each other, and that drive to protect our families and our...
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Governor Carney Announces Trauma-Informed Initiatives [news.delaware.gov]
WILMINGTON, Del . – Governor John Carney on Tuesday announced two new initiatives from the Family Services Cabinet Council to implement Executive Order 24 , which launched efforts to make Delaware a trauma-informed state. The Family Services Cabinet Council – a cabinet-level group reestablished by Governor Carney in February 2017 to coordinate public and private services for Delaware families – will promote Trauma Awareness Month throughout Delaware during May 2019 and launch the...
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Governor Carney Signs Executive Order Making Delaware a Trauma-Informed State [Delaware.gov]
Governor Carney on Wednesday signed Executive Order #24 making Delaware a trauma-informed state. This Order provides direction for the Family Services Cabinet Council to help mitigate the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and build resilience in children, adults and communities. ACEs can include physical, emotional, or sexual abuse; physical or emotional neglect; household dysfunction, including substance abuse, untreated mental illness, or incarceration of a household member;...
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Governor Declares May 3-9 Resilience Week in Virginia
As Greater Richmond SCAN , in collaboration with members from the Greater Richmond Trauma-Informed Community Network and the 26 Trauma-Informed Community Networks across the state , began planning for the first annual Resilience Week Virginia, we certainly did not imagine we would be celebrating in the midst of a global pandemic. We worked to adapt activities and events to be done virtually as it became clear that the week, May 3-9, would take place in the midst of these strange new...
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Handle With Care funding is part of federal opioid legislation [WVMetroNews.com]
By Shauna Johnson in News | October 17, 2018 at 11:25AM CHARLESTON, W.Va. — President Donald Trump is expected to soon sign into law the 2018 SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, the comprehensive, bipartisan legislation aimed at addressing the opioid epidemic across the United States on many fronts. Included in it is funding to support programs that offer trauma-informed care for young people, specifically programs like Handle With Care which got its start in West Virginia and has...
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Hawaii 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Hawaii. To review the entire profile, open the PDF that is attached to this post. If you have corrections or additions, please leave them in the comments section of this post. We’ll be reviewing the comments regularly and doing fact-checks. The information you give us will also help us determine how to organize and expand the information in the state profiles. We will be turning this post into a living profile that, with your help and input, we’ll...
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Hearing in U.S. House Education and Labor Early Childhood Subcommittee addresses intersection of trauma and education
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris (l) and Karina Chicote, Churchill Fellow from western Australia meet after congressional hearing After watching the hearing on a monitor in the overflow room, Karina Chicote, a Churchill Fellow from western Australia, and I hustled to the hearing room in hopes of speaking to the lead witness, Nadine Burke Harris, MD, the first Surgeon General of the State of California. She was deep in conversation with others, including a young woman who wanted to tell her how...
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HHS releases additional $487 million to states, territories to expand access to effective opioid treatment; 2019 SOR grants will total $1.4 billion [hhs.gov]
[March 20, 2019] Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an additional $487 million to supplement first-year funding through its State Opioid Response (SOR) grant program. The awards to states and territories are part of HHS’s Five-Point Opioid Strategy and the Trump administration’s tireless drive to combat the opioid crisis. Together with the $933 million in second-year, continuation awards to be provided under this program later this year, the total amount...
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House-passed HEROEs Act includes references to “trauma-informed” care and services
The $3 Trillion Heroes Act that passed the House of Representatives on May 15 is primarily a statement of House Democrats’ priorities for the next stimulus COVID legislation and will not be the starting point for the Senate when it returns after the Memorial Day recess. The slim Republican majority in the Senate, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, questions whether a large spending bill is the right approach, saying that states and localities must demonstrate that they are spending the...
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How Can Massachusetts Become A Trauma Informed State?
On Monday, March 2, 2020 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM in the Hogan Campus Center at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester Massachusetts state legislators will gather with community partners, families and professionals to learn how gateway cities can lead Massachusetts to becoming a trauma-informed state.
To register for this free event, complete the brief form at this link: https://form.jotform.com/DCStraining/building-resilient-communities-
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How to Keep Children's Stress From Turning Into Trauma [nytimes.com]
By Stacy Steinberg, The New York Times, May 7, 2020 Children may be processing the disruptions in their lives right now in ways the adults around them do not expect: acting out, regressing, retreating or even seeming surprisingly content. Parents need to know that all of this is normal, experts say, and there are some things we can do to help. “Our natural response to scary things is biologically to release stress hormones,” said Dr. Nadine Burke Harris , a pediatrician and surgeon general...
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"How to talk policy and influence people": a special series of Law and Justice
"No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference" is the title of Greta Thunberg's book, which is a compilation of her speeches on the need for urgent action to tackle climate change. One of those speeches is entitled "Together We Are Making a Difference". I had planned to organise an event on the topic of “How to talk policy and influence people” kindly supported by the Cork Education and Training Board in Ireland on the 2nd of April 2020. Unfortunately, the event had to be cancelled due to the...
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Hutchison: First Lady of Oklahoma Visits Duncan for Childhood Trauma Awareness Event
The mental health of children was at the forefront of a discussion led by the First Lady of Oklahoma in Duncan today. The event started with a showing of the documentary Resilience, which focuses on studies into how experiencing trauma as a child could negatively impact you as an adult. Those studies centered around a test called the ACE Test, with ACE standing for adverse childhood experiences. That test asks you questions about your childhood, such as if you were ever abused, if you lived...
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‘I Began Feeling Like I Mattered’: How On-Campus Mental Health Counseling can Make a Big Difference [washingtonpost.com]
By David Leffler, The Washington Post, August 19, 2019 At 9 on a chilly February morning in Austin, Elizabeth Minne met in her office with a former counseling client and her mother. The three were all smiles, catching up for the first time in ages. As their laughter faded, they recalled their weighty introduction five years before, when Minne’s mission to create a comprehensive mental health-care system for Austin’s schools was still in its infancy — and her client, Sarah Luna Newcomer, was...
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Idaho 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Idaho. To review the entire profile, open the PDF that is attached to this post. If you have corrections or additions, please leave them in the comments section of this post. We’ll be reviewing the comments regularly and doing fact-checks. The information you give us will also help us determine how to organize and expand the information in the state profiles. We will be turning this post into a living profile that, with your help and input, we’ll...
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Illinois 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Illinois. To review the entire profile, open the PDF that is attached to this post. If you have corrections or additions, please leave them in the comments section of this post. We’ll be reviewing the comments regularly and doing fact-checks. The information you give us will also help us determine how to organize and expand the information in the state profiles. We will be turning this post into a living profile that, with your help and input, we’ll...
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Implementation of new Vermont law begins with the appointment of legislators to bicameral, bipartisan ACEs Working Group
After the 2014 Vermont legislative session, Rep. George Till was picking himself up, dusting himself off and reflecting on what he called an “ALE or Adverse Legislative Experience” when his ambitious legislative vision fizzled and became a tiny bubble of hope along the path to a trauma-informed state. Policymakers in Vermont are now preparing to implement the most recent ACEs-related legislation ( No. 43, H. 508 , signed by Republican Gov. Phil Scott on May 22) and while the law calls for...
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Indiana 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Indiana. To review the entire profile, open the PDF that is attached to this post. If you have corrections or additions, please leave them in the comments section of this post. We’ll be reviewing the comments regularly and doing fact-checks. The information you give us will also help us determine how to organize and expand the information in the state profiles. We will be turning this post into a living profile that, with your help and input, we’ll...
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[Indiana] Teachers’ group wants mandatory kindergarten, trauma-informed care [wishtv.com]
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indiana State Teachers Association published its 2018 legislative priority list Thursday, calling on lawmakers to make big changes for Hoosier students and schools next year. The ISTA has 16 wishes for the new year ranging from changing teacher qualifying exams to making kindergarten mandatory. “We are often accused of complaining about a lot of things but never offering solutions,” ISTA President Teresa Meredith said. “We have really been cognizant of solutions. We...
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[Indiana] Teachers, social workers address child trauma in schools [wishtv.com]
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana teachers and mental health experts are advocating for communities to implement mental health programs emphasizing a method called “trauma-informed care” inside schools. “Trauma-informed care started from something called the ‘Adverse Childhood Experience Survey,’ and it shows that childhood experiences affect behavior,” said Stephanie Shene, communications coordinator for the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS). “Instead of ‘kids act badly,’ some...
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Interim report of the President’s opioid commission says its final report will address early intervention strategies for children with ACEs
On August 8, President Trump spoke to the opioid crisis in this country and declined to declare a national emergency as recommended by the “President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis.” Instead, the President emphasized the law and order aspects of the problem and the importance of preventing drug use in the first place since addiction is so hard to overcome. The Commission will make a final report in the fall. The recently released interim report makes eight...
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Iowa 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Iowa. To review the entire profile, open the PDF that is attached to this post. If you have corrections or additions, please leave them in the comments section of this post. We’ll be reviewing the comments regularly and doing fact-checks. The information you give us will also help us determine how to organize and expand the information in the state profiles. We will be turning this post into a living profile that, with your help and input, we’ll...
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Iowa ACEs Advocacy Coalition Promotes a Resilient Iowa
The Iowa ACEs Advocacy Coalition kicked off the Iowa legislative session with efforts to promote a Resilient Iowa. With a growing advocacy coalition of community based organizations, associations, advocacy groups, philanthropy and business, the group advances joint policy priorities to prevent ACEs and promote resiliency and trauma-informed care. Last week, the coalition held its first advocacy day at the Iowa Capitol, educating elected officials on Iowa ACEs data. The group also promoted an...
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Julián Castro: Partner with tribes 'for a fairer and more prosperous future' (Indian Country Today)
Presidential candidate and former Obama Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro released a comprehensive platform on Indigenous issues, the first detailed plan from a 2020 campaign. Castro will follow up on that announcement with a meet-and-greet on Meskwaki Settlement in Iowa Friday where he will discuss his blueprint for Indigenous communities and vision for the future of our nation. “For generations, Indigenous communities have been treated as second-class citizens rather...
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Kansas 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Kansas. To review the entire profile, open the PDF that is attached to this post. If you have corrections or additions, please leave them in the comments section of this post. We’ll be reviewing the comments regularly and doing fact-checks. The information you give us will also help us determine how to organize and expand the information in the state profiles. We will be turning this post into a living profile that, with your help and input, we’ll...
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Kentucky 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Kentucky. To review the entire profile, open the PDF that is attached to this post. If you have corrections or additions, please leave them in the comments section of this post. We’ll be reviewing the comments regularly and doing fact-checks. The information you give us will also help us determine how to organize and expand the information in the state profiles. We will be turning this post into a living profile that, with your help and input, we’ll...
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Legislation Signals Growing Support for Significance of Trauma Indicators
by David Gorn, California Healthline Sacramento Bureau Thursday, January 28, 2016 As a college student, Rob Bonta had a summer job working as a counselor for troubled kids. Now, two decades later he is bringing legislation to address some of the needs he saw then. "I worked with some of these kids as a counselor out of college, and I'd walk them home and hear some of these stories," Assembly member Bonta (D-Oakland) said. "Shootings they heard. Or shootings they witnessed the night before."...
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Live webcast with U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro: how Congress is responding to families’ needs during the COVID-19 pandemic [Zero to Three]
Responding to Families’ Needs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Conversation with Representative Rosa DeLauro, sponsored by Zero to Three Join ZERO TO THREE, Think Babies, and partners this Friday, March 27 at 11 am EDT for a web broadcast with U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) about how Congress is responding to families’ needs in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. She will share what is in the bill on issues such as child care, Early Head Start, and paid family and medical leave, and...
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Local Organizations honored for Trauma-Informed Awareness Day [Daily-Journal.com]
The Daily Journal staff report | May 15, 2019 Illinois is one step closer to becoming a trauma-informed state. Senate Resolution 99 and House Resolution 248, sponsored by state Sen. Julie Morrison and Rep. Karina Villa, designates May 15 as Illinois’ Inaugural Trauma-Informed Awareness Day to highlight the impact of trauma and the importance of prevention and resilience through trauma-informed care. Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a proclamation recognizing May as Mental Health Awareness Month and...
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Maine 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Maine. To review the entire profile, open the PDF that is attached to this post. If you have corrections or additions, please leave them in the comments section of this post. We’ll be reviewing the comments regularly and doing fact-checks. The information you give us will also help us determine how to organize and expand the information in the state profiles. We will be turning this post into a living profile that, with your help and input, we’ll...
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Maryland Essentials for Childhood Hosts Advocacy Day at the State Capital
Maryland Essentials for Childhood, a statewide initiative educating policy makers and communities on the science of ACEs, developing brains, and how we can build resilience for children, families and communities in Maryland, is poised to meet with Maryland elected officials this coming Thursday, ,February 7th, 9-1 pm. We will educate legislators on the science and policies that reduce or mitigate ACEs and other childhood trauma. Key policies being considered by the General Assembly are:...
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Medicaid expansion could help 400,000 mentally ill Texans, report says [MyStatesMan.com]
About 406,000 Texans with mental illness and substance abuse disorders could have health insurance if the state expanded Medicaid, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Monday. Texas is one of 20 states that have not expanded Medicaid coverage, opting out of many provisions of the Affordable Care Act. “Today’s report shows that Medicaid expansion is an important step Texas can take to address behavioral health needs, including serious mental illness...
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Medicaid Expansion Improved Health in Southern States: Study [thehill.com]
By Peter Sullivan, The Hill, January 7, 2020 A new study finds that Medicaid expansion improved people’s health in Southern states, resulting in fewer declines in people’s health. The study published in Health Affairs finds that Medicaid expansion made declines in health status 1.8 percentage points less likely in states that expanded the medical coverage. It examined 12 Southern states, including those that have accepted the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, like...
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Michigan Lawmakers Declare Childhood Trauma a Critical Health Issue [wwmt.com]
By Rachel Glaser, WWMT West Michigan, February 13, 2020 Childhood trauma has life-long, wide reaching consequences, according to a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on adverse childhood experiences, also known as ACEs. In early February, Michigan lawmakers passed a resolution declaring that ACEs a critical health issue. State officials estimated 70% of Michigan adults experienced one ACE before the age of 18. The CDC scores people on a scale of 0-10 for adverse...
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Mining the “lessons learned” from trauma legislation successes
L to R: Afomeia Tesfai, Rep. Geran Tarr, Jeff Hild _____________________________________________________________________ The planned agenda for the “Learning Series: Policy Approaches to Childhood Adversity” workshop at the 2018 ACEs Conference: Action to Access went out the window when an unexpected guest— California Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, MD —was invited to open the session and join the other participants in lively exchanges about their advocacy experiences and perspectives on...
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A look at the prevalence of mental illness in California and the U.S. (ocregister.com)
Mental illness cases have risen in California, while treatment and funding have not kept up. Every Southern California county has experienced an upward trend in the rate at which children under 18 years are hospitalized for a mental health issue. “The mental health system has been plagued by gaps in services, access and funding,” says Dr.Clayton with St. Joseph Hoag Health. “People with severe mental health and substance abuse conditions struggle to receive needed care in their communities...
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A Message from the President of the Illinois Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Dear Illinois ACE Connection members, Children and families from all demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds in Illinois experience trauma, adversity, and chronic stress. Social determinants such as where we live, work, and play, can further exacerbate positive or negative physical, emotional, and behavioral health issues. The critical factor that determines if a child, family, and/or community can manage trauma, adversity, and chronic stress successfully is resilience : the process by...
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A New Effort to Bolster Child Welfare Leadership in State Legislatures [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
State legislatures are an ever-changing landscape. Some states cram in a year of policy into short sessions, and the membership is constantly turning over. It can be a tough environment for child welfare issues to find traction, even with widespread concern over increases in foster youth and shortages in foster homes. One national organization is taking a crack at embedding more state houses with legislators poised to take the lead in this arena. The National Conference of State Legislatures...
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A Snapshot of Statutes related to ACEs and Trauma-Informed Policy
A legislative scan in March by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) of bills that specifically include references to ACEs (nearly 40 bills in 18 states) also found seven statutes enacted in six different states. That number increases significantly when laws that reference “trauma-informed” policies are included—the number of statutes totals 20, enacted in 15 different states. These numbers are based on information from various sources (including the NCSL, our own reporting,...
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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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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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Addressing Childhood Adversity in Schools (edweek.org)
We welcome guest author Godwin Higa, Principal, Cherokee Point Elementary School City Heights, San Diego whose work with childhood adversity and trauma is making a difference in the lives of children. At Cherokee Point, located in San Diego's City Heights neighborhood, nearly all of our students deal with some sort of childhood adversity. A hundred percent of our students receive free lunches, and most live under the federal poverty guideline. Many of our students' families face daily...
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Afterschool programs and a trauma-informed approach [Afterschool Alliance]
“A trauma-informed, culturally responsive lens must be a part of everything we do.” This statement by Laura Norton-Cruz, Director of the Alaska Resilience Initiative, sums up the key message of last week’s Senate Afterschool Caucus briefing for Congressional staff which focused on “Afterschool Programs and a Trauma-Informed Approach.” On Wednesday, Sept. 11, the Senate Afterschool Caucus* — in partnership with the Afterschool Alliance, Alaska Children’s Trust – Alaska Afterschool Network,...
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Alaska -- Investing in Prevention: Working Together in Early Childhood for Healthy Alaskan Children, Families, and Communities 2015
An Alaska interagency workgroup began meeting in 2013 to put together this report , which has a large section on the effect of ACEs on Alaska's citizens to demonstrate the urgency for resilience-building programs. The Public Safety, Health...
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Alaska legislature takes up ACEs resolution similar to those passed in Wisconsin and California
A hearing will be held April 2 on Alaska House Concurrent Resolution 21 (HCR 21) to respond to adverse childhood experiences. The resolution is very similar to those passed in Wisconsin and California . Testimony will be heard in the Health and Social Services Committee on the bill introduced by Representative Geran Tarr. In her statement about the bill , Tarr calls on Governor Walker “to establish policy and programs to address the public and behavioral health epidemic of adverse childhood...
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All Together Now: Working for Families in 2019 [ascend.aspeninstitute.org]
With historic demographic shifts in Congress this year, there is even more momentum to address broken policies that can improve the lives of families across our nation. The Aspen Family Prosperity Innovation Community (Family Prosperity) is bringing policy, practice, philanthropy, research, and private sector leaders together to capitalize on the energy and opportunities materializing at the local, state, and national levels to improve family-supportive policies. Family Prosperity is...
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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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Arizona legislation would create “Adverse Childhood Experiences Study Committee”
Dr. Veenod L. Chulani ___________________________ The Arizona House of Representatives Committee on Health heard presentations on Feb. 9 on “Overcoming Adverse Childhood Experiences: Creating Hope for a Healthier Arizona.” During the meeting, House Health Chair Heather Carter noted that the hearing was the first step in an ongoing discussion about the importance of addressing childhood trauma. Rep. Carter H.B. 2198 , sponsored by Rep. Heather Carter and co-sponsored by Rep. Regina Cobb who...
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Arkansas 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Arkansas. To review the entire profile, open the PDF that is attached to this post. If you have corrections or additions, please leave them in the comments section of this post. We’ll be reviewing the comments regularly and doing fact-checks. The information you give us will also help us determine how to organize and expand the information in the state profiles. We will be turning this post into a living profile that, with your help and input, we’ll...
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As coronavirus spreads, the bill for our public health failures is due (washingtonpost.com)
Richard E. Besser, a physician, is president and chief executive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, N.J. In spring 2009, the H1N1 influenza virus surfaced in Mexico, swiftly evolving from “outbreak” to “pandemic” in just two months. As acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the time, I led our work to issue preliminary warnings and evidence-based recommendations to help Americans reduce their risk of infection — very similar to what we’re...