Tagged With "School-Justice Partnership"
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Top Trends in State Criminal Justice Reform, 2019 [sentencingproject.org]
From The Sentencing Project, January 2020 The United States is a world leader in incarceration and keeps nearly 7 million persons under criminal justice supervision. More than 2.2 million are in prison or jail, while 4.6 million are monitored in the community on probation or parole. More punitive sentencing laws and policies, not increases in crime rates, have produced this high rate of incarceration. Ending mass incarceration will require changing sentencing policies and practices, scaling...
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Trauma-informed Care: It Takes More Than a Clipboard and a Questionnaire
California is about to launch an ambitious campaign to train tens of thousands of Medi-Cal providers to screen children and adults up to age 65 for trauma, starting on January 1, 2020. It is well-established that the early identification of trauma and providing the appropriate treatment are critical tools for reducing long-term health care costs for both children and adults. Research has shown that individuals who experienced a high number of traumatic childhood events are likely to die...
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Trauma Informed Delaware launched at May 1 symposium in Dover
When the history of Trauma Informed Delaware is written, two dates will stand out—the day when Governor John C. Carney signed Executive Order 24 “Making Delaware a Trauma-Informed State” on October 17, 2018 and the day of the inaugural Trauma Awareness Month Kickoff in Dover on May 1. About 350 activists, stakeholders, and officials came together at Delaware State University to be inspired, to learn, and to celebrate. First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney , who has propelled the statewide...
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Traumatic Experiences Widespread Among U.S. Youth, New Data Show
[This is a media release from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.] New national data show that at least 38 percent of children in every state have had at least one Adverse Childhood Experience or ACE, such as the death or incarceration of a parent, witnessing or being a victim of violence, or living with someone who has been suicidal or had a drug or alcohol problem. In 16 states, at least 25 percent of children have had two or more ACEs. Findings come from data in the 2016 National Survey...
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Update on Bumper Crop of State ACEs bills in 2017—46 bills in 20 states
The latest update of state legislation considered by state legislatures in 2017 reveals the growing interest by state policymakers across the country in addressing trauma across sectors. The attached “At-A-Glance” table shows 46 bills in twenty states reference Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) or trauma-informed policy and practice. Take a look at the attached “At-A-Glance” table and leave a comment if your state considered ACEs/trauma legislation that is not included here. A handful of...
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Vivian Watts: Justice system reforms will help protect children [pilotonline.com]
By Vivian Watts, The Virginian-Pilot, May 6, 2020 In my career as the former executive director of Fairfax CASA, as well as my work as the former secretary of Transportation and Public Safety and in the Virginia House of Delegates, I have fought to protect vulnerable children from abuse and exploitation knowing that our failure to do so has catastrophic consequences. For more than 20 years clinicians and social scientists have studied the impact that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and...
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Washington, D.C. 2018 Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the profile for Washington, D.C. 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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What can Pennsylvania schools do to address the prevalence of trauma among students? [pennlive.com]
Childhood trauma is a widespread issue. According to Child Trends, nearly half of children in the United States and in Pennsylvania have experienced at least one adverse childhood experience, or ACE, which often leads to traumatic stress. Research is clear that traumatic stress in children can negatively impact cognitive, academic and behavioral outcomes. Yet schools are not equipped to address these problems. A recent ACLU report notes that 90 percent of U.S. public schools do not meet the...
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What I can find about Michigan and Projects to became Trauma Informed
Grants Project Partnering to Effectively Reduce the Impact of Violence to Children in Kalamazoo (2010 to 2016) Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's Safe Start Promising Approaches Initiative ...
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Youth Survey Data Shows Rise in Vaping, Depression [vtdigger.com]
By Lola Duffort, Vermont Digger, February 7, 2020 Half of all high school students in Vermont have tried electronic vapor products like e-cigarettes, up from just 30% in 2015. That’s according to results from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a study administered statewide to thousands of Vermont students every two years. The YRBS was developed by the Centers for Disease Control in 1990 to monitor behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disease and injury among young...
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Missouri 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Missouri. 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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Nebraska 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Nebraska. 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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New Community!!! Ardmore OK Behavioral Health Collaborative
I'm excited to announce the newest ACEs Connection geographic community for my region, the Midwest & TN: Ardmore OK Behavioral Health Collaborative . This community is a partnership of local organizations taking a trauma-informed stance on behavioral health in Carter County, OK. Their goal is to build a healthy, connected and resilient community. The community manager is Ashley Godwin . Ashley Godwin joined Ardmore Behavioral Health Collaborative in March 2017 as the Director where she...
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Northeast and Mid-Atlantic trauma leaders share successes to make big change at May 1 convening
Leaders in ACEs/trauma/resilience movement from nine states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and the District of Columbia gathered for a networking call on May 1 to learn about flexible funding opportunities for states under the CARES Act, ways to get involved in advocacy, and 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...
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OK Trauma-Informed Care Task Force to launch
(l to r) Joe Dorman, CEO, OK Institute for Child Advocacy, OK State Rep. Mark Lepak _______________________________________________________________ Joe Dorman, CEO of Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) , and former Oklahoma state representative and challenger to Republican Governor Mary Fallin in 2014, conveyed surprise and satisfaction when he told me that Fallin gave him the pen she used to sign a bill to create a Task Force on Trauma-Informed Care ( SB 1517 ) in April. This...
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Partnership expands mental health resources for schools [news.iu.edu]
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University's Indiana School Mental Health Initiative has partnered with The Lutheran Foundation to provide online resources to support schools and community partners as they address students' social, emotional, behavioral and mental health needs. The Lutheran Foundation’s statewide LookUp Indiana website provides information along with a resource directory of mental health provider agencies searchable by name, city or ZIP code. The Indiana School Mental Health...
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Personal stories from witnesses, U.S. representatives provided an emotional wallop to House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on childhood trauma
Room erupts in applause for the grandmother of witness William Kellibrew during July 11 House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing. The power of personal stories from witnesses and committee members fueled the July 11 hearing on childhood trauma in the House Oversight and Reform Committee* throughout the nearly four hours of often emotional and searing testimony and member questions and statements (Click here for 3:47 hour video). The hearing was organized into a two panels—testimony from...
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Realizing Opportunity for All Youth: Members of the National Academies Report Committee discuss the Report
April 3 2020, Charlottesville VA, presented by Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy, School of Medicine, University of Virginia. Members of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine report committee present and discuss Realizing Opportunity for all Youth . Faculty for the day will be Richard Bonnie, Professor with the UVA School of Law, and ILPPP Director, who was chair of the committee producing the report, and other members of the report committee including...
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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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State Trends Show Fewer Young People Tried As Adults, New Report Says [jjie.org]
WASHINGTON — The number of young people locked into adult jails and prisons has plummeted nearly two-thirds since 2009 and the number automatically sent to adult courts for criminal trials has fallen by nearly half from 2007 to 2014, a new report says. The numbers of youth tried as adults will likely fall even further by 2020, when four states — Louisiana, South Carolina, North Carolina and New York — fully implement reform laws passed over the last few years, said the new report from the...
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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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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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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 Newsom announces Nadine Burke Harris to be CA's first-ever surgeon general
Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the appointment of Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, a national leader in pediatric medicine, to serve as California’s first-ever Surgeon General. There is overwhelming consensus in the scientific community around early warning signs and childhood determinants of serious health outcomes. As California's Surgeon General, Dr. Burke Harris will urge policymakers at every level of government and leaders across the state to consider the social determinants of health,...
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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 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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Illinois Governor Signs Law to Include Social-Emotional Screening in School Health Exams
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and Diana Rauner, President of Ounce of Prevention Fund _____________________________________________ Consistent with being the first state to adopt standards for social emotional learning (SEL) in the country, Illinois recently passed legislation (SB 565, Public Act 99-0927 ) to require social and emotional screenings for children as part of the their school entry examinations. Governor Rauner (R) signed the bill on January 20. It goes into effect June 1 of...
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Illinois Governor Signs Law to Include Social-Emotional Screening in School Health Exams
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and Diana Rauner, President of Ounce of Prevention Fund _____________________________________________ Consistent with being the first state to adopt standards for social emotional learning (SEL) in the country, Illinois recently passed legislation (SB 565, Public Act 99-0927 ) to require social and emotional screenings for children as part of the their school entry examinations. Governor Rauner (R) signed the bill on January 20. It goes into effect June 1 of...
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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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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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Lawmaker Pushing Mental Health Reform: It's 'More Needed Than Ever' [khn.org]
By Samantha Young, Kaiser Health News, April 28, 2020 During the first week of school closures in San Jose, state Sen. Jim Beall’s office received more than a dozen phone calls from distressed parents and caregivers. The problem: They couldn’t get free lunches because school district rules required children be present to receive a meal. A grandmother caring for at least seven children couldn’t fit them all in her car. One parent had a sick child who needed to stay at home, and another was...
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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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Louisiana 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Louisiana. 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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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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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 House Health and Social Services Committee refers HCR 21out of Committee
The Alaska State House Health and Social Services Committee, chaired by Representative Paul Seaton, took testimony on HCR 21, titled "Urging Governor Bill Walker to join with the Alaska State Legislature to respond to the public and behavioral health epidemic of adverse childhood experiences by establishing a statewide policy and providing programs to address this epidemic." [ LINK HERE ] HCR 21 now goes to the House Finance Committee but it has no fiscal note, so that shouldn't be an...
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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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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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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...
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Building Community Resilience - Policy Guide & Webinar
Blog Written by Jeff Hild Policy Director, Redstone Center for Prevention and Wellness At the Building Community Resilience (BCR) collaborative and network — based at the Redstone Center for Prevention and Wellness , George Washington University School of Public Health — we are working to improve the health and wellbeing of children, families and communities across the country. We do this by working to align systems to address the “Pair of ACEs” — adverse childhood experiences in the...
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Colorado 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Colorado. 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...