Tagged With "Collective Impact"
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State and Federal Support of Trauma-Informed Care: Sustaining the Momentum
Policymakers increasingly recognize the impact of trauma and adverse childhood experiences on lifelong physical, emotional, and social health and are beginning to support efforts for incorporating trauma-informed care into the health and social service sectors. This new CHCS blog post looks at how proposed state and federal legislative, regulatory, and contracting policies aim to reduce trauma and toxic stress and promote resiliency and trauma-informed practices. It also explores how federal...
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State Budget Fallout: 'A Hurricane That Hits All Over the Country' [Governing]
April 9 The revenue drop from COVID-19 is barely starting to show up in official figures, but already furloughs and major shortfalls are common in state and local governments around the country. The pain may be sudden, but it could last for years. Photo credit: Shutterstock On March 2, Wesley Harper started his new job as executive director of the Nevada League of Cities and Municipalities. A few days later, he went to Washington to meet with members of the state’s congressional delegation,...
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STATE HEALTH CARE STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS CHILDREN’S TRAUMA, EXPOSURE TO VIOLENCE AND ACEs
I found this document by Futures Without Violence to be a useful resource. From the forward: The health care system plays an important role both in identifying children who may be exposed to extreme adversity and violence, currently and in the past, and in providing the evidence-based interventions that can help children heal from trauma and prevent health conditions and other poor outcomes associated with trauma and ACEs. The health care system is also central in supporting the greatest...
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State profiles for 50 states and District of Columbia
Hi, Everyone: We’ve made a first pass at gathering highlights of ACEs initiatives in each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Within the text, below, are links to the individual posted profiles for each state. If you see corrections or want to make additions, we’d love that. Just add them in the comments section of that individual post. Instructions are at the top of each individual post. We will be turning those posts into living profiles that, with your help and input, we’ll keep...
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States Produce a Bumper Crop of ACEs bills in 2017—nearly 40 bills in 18 states
A scan done in March by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) through StateNet of bills introduced in 2017 that specifically include adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the text produced a surprising volume of bills (close of 40) in a large number of states (18). A scan done a year ago produced less than a handful. NCSL is a bipartisan organization that serves both state legislators and their staffs. The shear volume of bills in so many states represents a promising...
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“Strategic Advocacy: Winning Policy Change without Crossing the Lobbying Line”: Webinar summary & links
(l to r) Kelly Hardy, Allen Mattison, Jeff Hild _____________________________________________________ The stakes in today's public policy debates are as high as they've ever been. So, how does a nonprofit organization separate legitimate and perceived barriers to find the sweet spot for maximum engagement and not cross the lobbying line? The three panelists on the “Strategic Advocacy: Winning Policy Change without Crossing the Lobbying Line ” webinar held March 14, 2019, covered the fine...
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Telehealth Is Improving Health Care in Rural Areas (hbr.org)
Intermountain Healthcare is addressing the pressing needs of people who live in rural areas through telehealth, which uses secure video and audio technology to connect care providers in smaller health care facilities with specialists in large hospitals. The results we’ve experienced hold promise for rural communities throughout America. Patients are frequently transferred to distant acute care centers to receive specialized care. Local caregivers don’t get the opportunity to learn from...
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Connecticut 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Connecticut. 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,...
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Could where you live influence how long you live? (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
How does where we live affect our opportunity to be healthy? For the first time in our history, the United States is raising a generation of children who may live sicker and shorter lives than their parents. Reversing this trend will of course depend on healthy choices by each of us. But not everyone in America has the same opportunities to be healthy. According to the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , average life expectancy in the U.S. is 78.6...
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CTIPP-CAN hosts conference call with presentation by Laura Porter on social investment bonds to fund trauma-informed programs
Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2:00 EST, Laura Porter will present on the use of social investment bonds to fund the implementation of trauma-informed programs as part of a Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice-Community Advocacy Network ( CTIPP-CAN ) conference call. In an announcement from CTIPP-CAN organizer, Dan Press says “this is a novel, challenging and potentially invaluable approach for overcoming the problem many of us see –local and state governments unwilling or unable to...
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Cycle of Risk: The Intersection of Poverty, Violence, and Trauma (issuelab.org)
We make the case that the conditions that foster violence and the conditions that perpetuate poverty are interconnected and reinforce each other; we further show the traumatic effects of violence -- and how trauma drives both poverty and violence. We then examine how violence has been used to enforce systems of racial oppression and how communities of color are disparately impacted by violence today. The conditions that perpetuate poverty and the conditions that foster violence often...
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Del. Police to Notify Schools when a Student Experiences Trauma at Home [whyy.org]
By Mark Eichmann, WHYY, July 26, 2019 When a child experiences trauma like a domestic violence incident at home, the impact on their life can last weeks, months or even years. It can also have an immediate effect on their success in the classroom. Gov. Carney signed a law on Friday that’s designed to provide more support for those students — immediately following a traumatic incident. The Take Care Delaware law calls for police or emergency care providers to inform school officials if a...
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Durbin, Capito, colleagues introduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation to address childhood trauma [Office of Senator Durbin of IL]
The following is a press release issued by the office of U.S. Senator Durbin (D-IL) on Monday, June 10, announcing the introduction of bipartisan bicameral legislation that builds on last year’s opioid legislation SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act and recommendations from a recent GAO report. A link to the bill and other information will be provided as soon as possible. In the meantime, an earlier draft of the bill and a section by section are attached to this post. For Immediate...
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Eleven state profiles feature ACEs-science data, initiatives
One of the resources shared with participants in the Sept. 13-14 convening of First Spouses in Milwaukee to address trauma was a series of state information sheets that featured data on ACEs prevalence and ACEs/trauma-informed/resilience-building initiatives. These one-pagers provided a succinct summary of state highlights on trauma that in some instances were well known to the First Spouses but for others, provided new information. In partnership with state trauma leaders, ACEs Connection...
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Energizing a Trauma-Informed Response to COVID-19: An Opening to Seize within Current Federal Funding
Photo: Marlo Nash with her grandfather, Grandpa Johnny In 1918, my grandfather lost both of his parents to the Spanish flu within a week of each other. He was seven when his mother died, had his 8 th birthday the following week, then lost his father. Grandpa Johnny was separated from his three siblings and placed into the abusive home of a relative. At age 12, he escaped to live on the streets until he found his own placement with a couple as their house servant. The most he ever said about...
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Florida Governor's Wife announces mental health aid for Panhandle after Hurricane Michael
Photo credit: Florida's Governor's Office The story below illustrates the urgent need to proactively build psychological and psycho-social-spiritual--Transformational Resilience--for climate change related disasters. It describes how the mental health impacts of these disasters often becomes most acute months after a disaster occurs, which is long after mental health first aid and other disaster mental health services have ended. Prevention is the only solution, and the focus must be on...
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Funding Trauma-Informed Community Networks - We are #TraumaInformedVA
“I know from personal experience that trauma can be life-changing, but I didn’t know that talking about trauma could change my life. And the lives of others,” said Theresa Caldwell, member of the Southside (TICN) Trauma-Informed Community Network , which is supported by the Crater Health District under the leadership of Dr. Alton Hart and Brian Little. The Network works to foster healthy communities through disease prevention and control, health promotion, environmental protection, and...
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Getting Restorative Justice Approved By Your State Political Body Is Worth the Trouble [jjie.org]
It is becoming increasingly clear that diverting individuals from the juvenile justice system, which is consistent with public safety and still holds offenders accountable, is generally a best-practice concept. This can have a significant impact on public safety by increasing successful life outcomes for young people. A crime prevented is far better than a crime successfully adjudicated. Having spent my career in the juvenile justice field and now serving as a Virginia state senator, I have...
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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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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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How Adverse Childhood Experiences Cost $1.33 Trillion a Year (psychologytoday.com)
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/experimentations/201909/how-adverse-childhood-experiences-cost-133-trillion-year
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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 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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Hughes leads meeting on trauma in schools [PhillyTrib.com]
State Sen. Vincent Hughes issued a passionate plea to experts at Temple University to help serve and protect victims of trauma in grade schools in Philadelphia and across the commonwealth. “Too many kids are walking into too many toxic schools, too many toxic situations — from domestic abuse to gun violence — to get an education in [an atmosphere] that’s toxic for educators to work in,” said Hughes (D-7) during a recent hearing at the university with members of the Senate Appropriations...
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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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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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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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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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Mandatory Minimums Harm Children [thehill.com]
By Nila Bala and James Dold, The Hill, August 27, 2019 Over the last three decades, through both Democratic and Republican administrations, thousands of children have been warehoused in prisons with adults. We have usually ignored the cages these children are in because they were convicted of crimes in the adult criminal justice system. But we cannot ignore the fact that regardless of what they have done, they are still our children. Congress has a chance to enact reforms that assist...
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Maryland 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Maryland. 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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Massachusetts 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Massachusetts. 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,...
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Minnesota 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Minnesota. 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,...
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2019 Starting & Growing Resilient Communities: Online & In Real Life (IRL) Webinar Series
ACEs Connection presents, "Starting & Growing Resilient Communities: Online & In Real Life (IRL)" , an interactive webinar training series focused on developing existing and potential online community managers and IRL ACEs champions. If you are not a current online community manager, please know that ALL are welcome. This series is dedicated to providing insight into creating sustainable and effective online & IRL ACEs intiatives. "Starting & Growing Resilient 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 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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Abortion. Transgender rights. Voting access. Polarizing issues could dominate statehouse agendas in 2020. [Washington Post]
Virginia House Del. Jeffrey M. Bourne, left, stands onstage with Lashrecse D. Aird, center, who won her House District 63 race, and Virginia state Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan at a Democratic election watch party at Hilton Richmond Downtown on Nov. 5. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post) Republican-controlled state legislatures are gearing up to try to tighten abortion laws across the country, while some states controlled by Democrats are looking to enshrine the right to choose into law. It’s...
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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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ACEs Science in Education: The Next Big Challenge is Systems Change #ACEsCon2018
One of the first sessions of the 2018 ACEs Conference: Action to Access discussed the barriers and opportunities for increasing access in the field of education. The main question was: "How can one achieve systematic changes within the field of education?" The session was moderated by Michelle Flowers, a passionate advocate, and the principal of Kinney High in Rancho Cordova, CA, which is part of the Folsom Cordova Unified School District. It included a dynamic and diverse panel of education...
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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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Advocacy in the time of COVID-19—Lessons from New York to create a trauma-Informed legislature
Jenn O'Connor of Prevent Child Abuse New York and Senator George Borrello (R-NY57) Before the official start of her day on March 16— a virtual call with staff members of Prevent Child Abuse New York (PCANY) — Jenn O’Connor, director of policy and advocacy for the organization, and I spoke about how her personal life (suddenly becoming a parent who homeschools) and her worklife changed overnight. O’Connor is managing an ambitious effort to create a trauma-informed legislature in New York. She...
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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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Alaska passes trauma-informed legislation
In the dark early hours of Mother’s Day, May 13th , before the 2018 Alaska legislative session adjourned, Senate Bill 105 was approved by both the Alaska House and the Senate...making Alaska one of only a handful of states to pass ACEs awareness into statute. This represents years of education, collaboration, and some creative and dogged advocacy this last legislative session. It also represents a promising path forward.
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Arizona 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Arizona. 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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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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Bad news-good news: Each additional ACE increases opioid relapse rate by 17%; each ACE-informed treatment visit reduces it by 2%
Each additional type of adverse childhood experience increases a person’s risk of relapse during medication-assisted opioid treatment by a whopping 17 percent. And each visit to a clinic that integrates trauma-informed practices based on ACEs science reduced the relapse rate by two percent, which can carry a person perhaps not to zero, but to a minimal risk of relapse.
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Bi-partisan trauma resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives
A bi-partisan resolution “Recognizing the importance and effectiveness of trauma-informed care” ( H. Res. 443 ) was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 13 by Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and co-sponsor Danny K. Davis (D-IL). The impetus for the resolution resides with the First Lady of Wisconsin, Tonette Tonette Walker Walker, who has taken a strong leadership role in advancing trauma-informed policy and practice statewide through Fostering Futures and of late with the new...
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Bipartisan, bicameral trauma legislation provides support for community initiatives and workforce development
In the current polarized political environment, it is no small feat for a bill to be introduced with bipartisan support in both chambers—a fact that bodes well for the future of the “Resilience Investment, Support, and Expansion (RISE) from Trauma Act of 2019.” Identical bills titled “The RISE from Trauma Act of 2019” were introduced in the Senate and the House on June 10, with bipartisan support from members of Congress representing diverse states, districts, and constituencies. While...