Tagged With "children with special needs"
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"How to talk policy and influence people": a Law and Justice interview with Dr Wendy Ellis
In this special interview in the "How to talk policy and influence people" series of Law and Justice, I speak with Dr Wendy Ellis, Director of the Center for Community Resilience at The Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University. We discuss journalism, data gathering, analysis and stories. We talk about the significance of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) evidence, resilience/protective factors, structural inequity, adverse community environments, the...
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How I Can Offer Reparations in Direct Proportion to My White Privilege (yesmagazine.org)
I had a fascinating breakfast conversation with my 11-year-old daughter a few days back. The nigh before I had a fitful dream - one that was short on plot and imagery, but chock-full of emotion. In this case, the feeling was of a deep, immovable sorrow. When I awoke, it didn't take long to recognize that the article I'd been working on - this article - was definitely working on me, too. During breakfast I knew my daughter could tell I wasn’t on solid ground. She’s a sensitive soul, and I...
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Commentary: Why so many black Americans are dying from COVID-19 and how to make health care equitable (sandiegouniontribune.com)
Evidence suggests that during the early phase of the coronavirus pandemic, blacks are suffering the greatest death rates compared to all other ethnic groups. Why? I can assure you that the coronavirus does not discriminate based upon skin color or ethnicity. Instead, it has a predilection for populations with the highest rates of chronic diseases, poor access to health care and too little information from trusted sources. For decades, the National Medical Association — which represents more...
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U.S. Southeast trauma leaders share successes, challenges in making changes
Leaders in ACEs/trauma/resilience movements from 10 states in the Southeast U.S. met for a networking call on May 21, 2020, to learn about flexible funding opportunities for states under the CARES Act, ways to get involved in advocacy, and how to share their successes and challenges in building statewide coalitions. The meeting of leaders was organized by ACEs Connection and the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) in response to COVID-19 and the growing interest in...
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Invitation to July 28 Webinar On The Urgent Need, Methods, and Benefits of Enacting the New ITRC Mental Wellness and Resilience Policy
You are invited to join a free 1 hr. webinar on Tuesday , July 28 from 12:30-1:30 pm Pacific Time (3:30-4:30 pm ET) on the new ITRC Mental Wellness and Resilience Policy Click here to register for the free webinar What is the Need for a New Climate Change Mental Wellness and Resilience Policy? Climate science indicates that global temperatures will, in the not too distant future, rise above the 2.7-degree F. temperature threshold that unleashes civilization-changing impacts. The U.S. is...
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Congress urged to address trauma in the 4th COVID bill
Now that the July 4 th congressional recess has ended, negotiations around the fourth major COVID relief bill are underway between the Congress and the Administration. How the chasm between Congress and the White House will be bridged is a path uncertain, with massive differences between the House and Senate complicating the work. As the pandemic rages across the U.S., there is now at least a consensus that action is needed. But no agreement exists on a payroll tax cut, unemployment...
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Wolf Administration Releases ‘Trauma-Informed PA’ Plan with Recommendations and Steps for the Commonwealth and Providers to Become Trauma-Informed [PA Governor Tom Wolf Press Release]
July 27, 2020 As a companion to Governor Tom Wolf’s multi-agency effort and anti-stigma initiative, Reach Out PA: Your Mental Health Matters, the Office of Advocacy and Reform (OAR) is releasing the “Trauma-Informed PA” plan to guide the commonwealth and service providers statewide on what it means to be trauma-informed and healing-centered in PA. This plan is the result of four months of work from OAR and the Trauma-Informed PA Think Tank, formed in February. The think tank was made up of...
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Bill introduced in US House of Representatives to substantially increase "Safe Babies" courts
Rep. Rosa DeLauro speaks to students at John Lyman Elementary School, Middlefield, CT A bipartisan bill ( H.R. 7868 )—Strengthening America’s Families Act (SAFA)— was introduced Friday, July 30 by lead sponsors Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL). The bill provides seed money to states to develop and enhance infant-toddler court teams (ITCTs, aka Safe Babies Court Teams) and authorizes a national resource center to guide state and local programs to develop their...
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Coping with Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic: One-Pager
Coping with Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic: One-Pager
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Massachusetts Prepares for Children's Mental Health Needs During Covid
Months into the pandemic, we know the Covid-19 virus doesn’t just pose a threat to our physical health: it has serious repercussions for our individual and collective mental health too. Given ACEs Connection members’ interest in trauma-informed initiatives that support the needs of children, the Massachusetts Childhood Trauma Task Force (CTTF) wants to share its recent report on Covid-19 and children’s mental health.
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Standing on the shoulders of giants: Trauma-Informed Pennsylvania builds on a foundation of early leadership and many community initiatives
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...
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Does VP Candidate Kamala Harris know about ACEs? You bet!
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...
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Mobilizing ACEs, Trauma and Resilience Networks to Support and Strengthen Pandemic Response Efforts
“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.
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"It's All Connected": NJEA ACEs Task Force Reaches Beyond Educators
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...
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From Awareness to Action, with Voices of Lived Experience: Wisconsin’s Collective Impact Initiative
Perhaps it wasn’t the optimum time to update the network’s vision and values statements: a virtual meeting held in the midst of a global pandemic. But a record number of people—51, compared to the typical 30—tuned in for the May 1 Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health (OCMH) Collective Impact Council, and they gave the new values statement, which highlights inclusivity and collaboration, an enthusiastic thumbs-up. At the virtual table were members from key state departments—Children...
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Alive and Well: Moving Missouri Toward Grass-Roots and System-Wide Change
On the eastern edge of Missouri, leaders of the Alive and Well network had generated a robust media campaign to help people understand the impact of trauma and toxic stress on health and well-being. There was a monthly column in an African-American newspaper, spots about toxic stress and resilience on urban radio stations and weekly public service features on the NBC affiliate, with physicians, clergy and teachers advocating ways to “be alive and well.” Two hundred and fifty miles to the...
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Police 'Pretext' Traffic Stops Need to End, Some Lawmakers Say [pewtrusts.org]
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 .]
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CTIPP invites everyone to participate in calls on pressing national issues, starting this Wednesday on climate
The monthly Zoom virtual gathering sponsored by national organization “ Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) ” will complete this year’s series by tackling some of the most pressing issues this country is facing. With a focus the role of trauma-informed approaches to help manage solutions to these challenges, the CTIPP-CAN (Community Advocacy Network) meetings for the remainder of the year will address climate this Wednesday followed by policing in October, peer...
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SF announces pilot program to provide basic income to pregnant Black and Pacific Islander women [sfgate.com]
By Tessa McLean , SFGATE Updated 3:30 pm PDT, Wednesday, September 16, 2020 Mayor London Breed announced today the launch of a new pilot program that will provide a basic income to Black and Pacific Islander women during pregnancy and after giving birth. The 150 women chosen will receive a monthly income supplement of $1,000 for the duration of their pregnancy and for the first six months of their baby’s life, with the goal of eventually providing a supplement for up to two years...
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Reasons for Being Uninsured Among Adults Aged 18–64 in the United States, 2019 (National Center for Health Statistics - CDC)
Select key findings Data from the National Health Interview Survey In 2019, 14.5% of adults aged 18–64 were uninsured in the United States. Hispanic adults (30.4%) were more likely than non-Hispanic white adults (22.3%) to indicate that they were uninsured due to ineligibility. Men (26.8%) were more likely than women (14.6%) to indicate that they were uninsured because coverage was not needed or wanted. Previously published data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) reported that...
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Children's Health Is Too Often Ignored in Elections - Here Is Evidence to Help Change That [jamanetwork.com]
By Alison A. Galbraith and Aaron E. Carroll, JAMA Pediatrics, October 5, 2020 When elections focus on health policy, children are too often ignored. This is as true during the present election cycle as any other. Because children do not vote, are disproportionately poor and disenfranchised, and usually incur lower health care costs than older adults, their health issues are given less attention in public policy debates. Very few Democratic Congressional campaign websites discuss pediatric...
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The Best for our Children: Considering ACEs in Voter Engagement.
The presidential race is a big-ticket item, but hundreds of other state and local races will impact critical issues like school funding, childcare and early education, nutrition programs, and health care. Every seat in the NC General Assembly is on the ballot, along with the Governor’s race, a US Senate seat, congressional races, and more. When it comes to elevating the importance of racial equity, voting is vital to make marginalized voices heard. Policies and systems can be changed by our...
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AG Grewal and Education Commissioner Dehmer Announce Statewide “Handle With Care” Program [Insider NJ]
AG Grewal and Education Commissioner Dehmer Announce Statewide “Handle With Care” Program to Protect Children Who Experience Traumatic Events AG Showcases Program in Videos with Middle Township Police Chief Christopher Leusner and Special Agent in Charge Susan Gibson of DEA’s NJ Division, Who Pioneered Program in State Click here for videos TRENTON – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and Interim Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer today announced a new Statewide “Handle With Care” Program to...
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State and federal policy to foster California’s children to thrive—Reflecting on what the lessons of 2020 mean for 2021
Against the backdrop of the stresses and strains of the pandemic, the racial reckoning, the fires, a diverse group of advocates presented, questioned, speculated about where trauma-informed policy at the state and federal levels is headed going into 2021.
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Spreading the Science: Michigan's NEAR Collaborative Aims to Infuse ACEs Science into State Departments and Agencies
Mary Mueller likes to call herself an “opportunistic infection.” What that means is that Mueller, project coordinator for trauma-informed systems in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), is determined to share the science of ACEs and resilience wherever she goes. After Mueller attended the state’s first ACE master trainer two day session hosted by the Michigan ACE Initiative , she wanted to bring the foundational science shared by ACE Interface back home—to her MDHHS...
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Children and families need resources to address trauma at its roots [statnews.com]
By Ayanna Pressley and Carolyn B. Maloney, STAT, October 21, 2020 Like many nations across the globe, the U.S. continues to combat the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic. The Trump administration’s deficient response has elevated the emotional, physical, and economic harm suffered by families in America. As we move through this moment of collective trauma, we must adopt focused, evidence-based approaches to make our country whole again and ensure that these approaches prioritize a...
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Think beyond ACEs screening, advises California funders workgroup in new report
Californians have experienced an alarming epidemic of adverse childhood experiences. Between 2011 and 2017, 60 percent of Californians reported experiencing at least one type of childhood adversity; about 16 percent experienced four or more. People who experience four or more ACEs are 1.5 times as likely to have heart disease, 1.9 times as likely to have a stroke, and 3.2 times as likely to have asthma as people who have experienced no ACEs. (For more information about ACEs and ACEs science,...
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New California preventive mental health coverage puts ACEs science front and center
A mother, frantic with worry, brought her newborn in for a checkup at the pediatric clinic at San Francisco General Hospital. But there wasn’t anything wrong with the baby. And over the next several months, no amount of reassurance could convince the mom that her child was eating, sleeping and growing just fine. If anything, the mother’s worry led to behavior that raised alarm bells for her health care providers. Dr. Kate Margolis “[The family] wasn’t returning calls from the provider, and...
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Policy Opportunities to Spread HOPE [positiveexperience.org/blog]
By Bob Sege and Kay Johnson, 11/19/20, positiveexperiences.org/blog This week, we focus on opportunities to spread HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) with the new Biden-Harris Administration. With the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout, families feel more stress than before, adding to long-simmering concerns about child poverty and its implications. On a more positive note, the recent resurgence in calls for racial justice have spurred many more Americans to work...
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New nonprofit breast milk bank launches in San Diego (sandiegouniontribune.com)
San Diego — Every year, about 260 of the tiniest premature babies in California hospitals develop an often-fatal bowel disease known as necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC. Nobody knows what causes NEC, but a common factor in many cases is the use of formula to feed these very low-birth-weight babies because the mother’s breast milk is not available. Replacing that formula with pasteurized breast milk in every California hospital newborn intensive care unit could be a positive step in reducing...
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The Latest Updates from California Children's Trust
Read on to learn about our recent work to advance the transformation of children's mental health. Listen to recordings of other Critical Conversations, and find out how we are Raising Awareness and Taking Action With Our Partners. Critical Conversations In Case You Missed These Webinars NAMI Annual Conference. On October 12 Alex Briscoe and Jevon Wilkes, CCT’s Director or Youth Engagement and the Executive Director of California Youth Coalition (CCY) presented results from a new survey on...
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Highlights from Michigan—one of four states to receive CDC funding for preventing ACEs
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has just launched a three-year, four-state, $6-million project, “Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences: Data to Action (PACE-D2A)” with the potential to energize an already blossoming movement of statewide community-based initiatives to address ACEs. The CDC awards of $500,000 annually for three years, announced on August 25 , were given to the Department of Public Health in Georgia and Massachusetts, the Office of Early Childhood in...
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CTIPP – How it's working for you and how you can get involved.
The Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) was created in December 2016 by representatives from diverse sectors, including education, mental health, justice, civil society, and government. We share a common commitment to preventing violence in all its forms and promoting healthy, just, and resilient communities. We inform and advocate for public policies and practices that incorporate scientific findings about the relationship between trauma, health, and well-being across...
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Opportunity to sign on to “A Trauma-Informed Agenda for the First 100 Days of the Biden-Harris Administration”—Deadline Dec. 8th
The Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice ( CTIPP ) is inviting individuals and organizations to express their support for a set of executive actions for the Biden-Harris Administration to take “to address trauma and build resilience throughout the country.” Most of these actions could be taken early in the Administration and would not require congressional action with the exception of some recommendations that could be included in a new stimulus package. The recommendations are...
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Biden-Harris transition announces key health nominees, including Surgeon General and CDC
Photo (top left to bottom right): California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith Over the last several days, the Biden-Harris transition has announced a number of key health nominees and appointees of keen interest to the ACEs/trauma/resilience advocacy movement. While the positions taken by President-Elect Biden are consistent with the broad policy priorities of many trauma/resilience advocacy organizations, the campaign...
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Trauma recovery centers can help heal Michigan, need legislators to fund (Lansing State Journal)
By Senator Sylvia Santana and Senator Erika Geiss, Guest Writers, November 11, 2020, Lansing State Journal. Over the past several months, Michiganders have faced unprecedented traumatization. The devastation from COVID-19 disproportionately taking lives and impacting residents across our state, along with the anguish from the turmoil during this moment in history, has been traumatic. Community violence, a persisting issue in Michigan, has been exacerbated by the strains placed on communities...
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Oklahoma Trauma-Informed Care Taskforce creates strategy to rebuild social supports through collaboration to address Adverse Childhood Experiences [tulsaworld.com]
By Corey Jones, Tulsa World, December 2, 2020 Oklahoma’s social supports have eroded over time as budgets shrink, but a legislative task force is establishing framework to better coordinate and revive help for children and families across the state. The Oklahoma Trauma-Informed Care Taskforce on Tuesday released its second report in two years, which establishes a strategy to better leverage existing resources as it works to develop pilot programs and an overall plan in 2021. The goal is to...
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Childhood trauma impacts millions of Americans, and it’s having devastating consequences (pbs.org)
Childhood trauma impacts millions of Americans, and its consequences can be devastating. Those experiencing high levels of trauma can see dramatically lower life expectancies, and the CDC estimates it accounts for billions of dollars in healthcare costs and lost productivity. Special correspondent Cat Wise reports as part of our series, “Invisible Scars: America’s Childhood Trauma Crisis." Nadine Burke Harris: We're seeing increased rates of domestic violence, increased rates of substance...
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Treating trauma early to help children cope down the line (pbs.org)
Just as our understanding of trauma’s long-term impacts has grown in recent years, so too has our grasp of how to treat and prevent it. And this evolution has continued during the pandemic, forcing those who are giving and receiving treatment to adapt. Special correspondent Cat Wise and producer Rachel Wellford report as part of our series, “Invisible Scars: America's Childhood Trauma Crisis." Judy Woodruff: Over the past several days, we have looked at how childhood trauma impacts people...
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Federal Opportunities to Advance Child Health Transformation and Spread HOPE [positiveexperience.org/blog]
Charles Bruner and Kay Johnson, 12/21/20, positiveexperience.org/blog Our country and the world are eager to move toward the coming new year. In 2020, the triple crises of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic downturn, and reckoning on racism have elevated attention to social injustice in both the health care system and our country as a whole. Because of COVID-19, the public and policy leaders have heightened awareness of the importance of physicians, nurses, community health workers, child care...
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How Humility Can Help Us Bridge Our Political Divides (greatergood.berkeley.edu)
At Greater Good , we’ve been studying and writing about various ways to bridge divides, putting together tools to help people connect. But there may be one key character trait that’s necessary for applying those tools in a constructive way: humility. “Humility is a kind of a master virtue that can pull along other virtues if people develop it,” says humility researcher Everett Worthington. Humility, as Worthington defines it, is multifaceted, involving an awareness of our personal strengths...
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'Toxic Individualism': Pandemic Politics Driving Health Care Workers From Small Towns (npr.org)
The virus infecting thousands of Americans a day is also attacking the country's social fabric. The coronavirus has exposed a weakness in many rural communities, where divisive pandemic politics are alienating some of their most critical residents — health care workers. A wave of departing medical professionals would leave gaping holes in the rural health care system, and small-town economies, triggering a death spiral in some of these areas that may be hard to stop. More than a quarter of...
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COVID Relief law creates a $82 billion Education Stabilization Fund for local schools and higher education institutions
While the 5,000-page $900 billion COVID Relief Bill ( H.R. 133, Div. M and N) fell short on some fronts (e.g., did not provide direct fiscal relief to cash-strapped states and localities), it does provide $82 billion in Education Stabilization Funds for states, school districts, and higher education institutions—crucial support for education as students return to school after the holiday. Funding of this magnitude makes a trauma-informed COVID response possible, giving advocates the...
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We are Overdue for a Revolution in Child Welfare [imprintnews.org]
By Jessica Pryce and Amelia Franck Meyer, The Imprint, January 4, 2021 Although child welfare reform has been a topic of conversation for many years, what is often meant by “reform” is evolutionary or incremental change, which are efforts to make the current system better, but not fundamentally different. But many systems leaders who operate significantly improved versions of the current system agree that it still falls short of meeting the needs of families. The Biden administration...
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Latest COVID Relief Bill Provides Increased Access to SNAP for College Students [clasp.org]
By Ashley Burnside, The Center for Law and Social Policy, January 6, 2021 The latest COVID-19 relief bill passed by Congress will allow college students with low incomes to more easily access Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits – temporarily removing strict work and eligibility requirements for students. This is especially important given that unemployment rates are high, especially in the restaurant and entertainment sectors, and that many students are learning...
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2020 Has Shown Us the Way Forward (yesmagazine.org)
“You must find a way to get in the way. You must find a way to get in trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble.” — Rep. John Lewis Illness and death are a part of life. Violence, unfortunately, is too. We grieve. We suffer. Any other year, I might have said these are all a part of the natural order of being human. But this year has been excruciating. For 10 consecutive months, nearly every person in this country, and most people around the world, have experienced grief and suffering so...
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How Mindful Leaders Can Heal Trauma (mindful.org)
In this video, Jenée Johnson explains how healing trauma and mindfulness go hand in hand. San Francisco is in the midst of probably the worst housing crisis in the country, and the San Francisco Department of Public Health is tasked with stewarding the health of the city and county’s population, and inside of that we have recognized that the way we function is often trauma-inducing not only to the communities that we serve. but to the workforce. That we are often bureaucratic, siloed, that...