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Wildfires, floods, mudslides, earthquakes, tsunamis—the list of natural disasters that haunt Los Angeles reads like the 10 Plagues of Egypt. What’s more, the city’s size and diversity mean that different neighborhoods are vulnerable to different events, and because of the city’s level of inequality, some residents are much better equipped to handle disaster than others. In response to these challenges, last week the City of Los Angeles, in coordination with the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100...

The state is moving forward with a plan to reorganize Medicaid services for certain individuals with mental health and substance use disorders. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services applied for a waiver from the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, known as a Section 1115 waiver, to create a Behavioral Health Demonstration project on Feb. 14. Within the project, Medicaid recipients who are children, teenagers and their parents or caretakers with or at risk of...

Franklin County Cares is a new interagency initiative that supports trauma-informed services and community education. “We believe trauma-informed care will help build stronger families and stronger communities,” said Emily Thoenen, program lead coordinator with Lutheran Family and Children’s Services of Missouri in Union. Thoenen, who also is a certified trainer through the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, is spearheading the initiative, but stressed that Franklin County Cares is not...

First 5 Community Connections Grants- Accepting Applications from through April 2 nd ! A mandatory Statement of Intent to Apply is due March 26th First 5 Sacramento offers community grants up to $5,000 for innovative projects that will make a difference in the lives of young children and help with community bonding. For more information, please check out our website at http://www.first5sacramento.net/Programs/Pages/CommunityConnections.aspx .

I attended this Forum on Feb. 6th in Seattle and Dr. Chandra Ghosh Ippen was the keynote speaker. Her presentation was full of wonderful, impactful information and she talked about her book, Once I Was Very Very Scared. I purchased her book. The book is a great read and could be incorporated into working with children in schools, childcare settings, among many other settings that are doing trauma work. I just mention this, as I believe there are many that could benefit from utilizing this as...

I can't keep up with all the posts about the incredible work being done all over the country (and world). I've just been looking at the Greater Richmond (VA) Trauma Informed Community Network site where share the most detailed meeting minutes, including summarizing events and speakers they host. I found resources I'm going to add to the Parenting with ACEs site . and @Lisa Wrightgave me permission to broadcast them all over the home page, too. Here's an excerpt from a recent...

“We’re all humans and we’re all going through the same things,” Kelsey Sisavath explains. “It’s important for everyone to know. It can change your perspective on how you see yourself, how you see others, and how you see the world.” The “it” Kelsey is talking about is trauma-informed and resilience-building practices based on the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) . She has a unique perspective on the topic given her range of experiences throughout her 19 years of life. The story...

Kudos to Johnson and Johnson in India! The company has rolled out an e ight-week paternity leave for new and adoptive fathers during the first year. This move is taken to strengthen the bond between the child and the father. For the last six years in the company, 26 weeks of maternity leave for new mothers was already in force. ...“We think that leaves which encourage employees to be with their families can benefit organisations. They can be excellent motivational factors, i ncrease...

“Welfare makes people lazy.” The notion is buried so deep within mainstream political thought that it can often be stated without evidence. It was explicit during the Great Depression, when Franklin D. Roosevelt’s WPA (Works Progress Administration) was nicknamed “We Piddle Around” by his detractors. It was implicit in Bill Clinton’s pledge to “end welfare as we know it.” Even today, it is an intellectual pillar of conservative economic theory , which recommends slashing programs like...

Sen. Marco Rubio sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Attorney General Jeff Sessions this week wrongly blaming the Parkland shooting on the Department of Education’s School Discipline Guidance package. This guidance, released in 2014, reminded schools of their responsibility to address racial discrimination in school discipline, which affects students in every state. The guidance includes a series of recommendations to help close the school-to-prison pipeline, including...

My youngest will be going off to college next fall, meaning I’ll soon be an empty nester. After having raised my kids for the last 22 years or so, a large part of my purpose in life will leave along with my son. I know I’m not alone in feeling both sad and panicky about this big shift—a lot of other people face similar feelings. We wonder what life will be like and what we will do with ourselves once our kids have flown the coop. One possibility is to renew our sense of purpose. [For more on...

Have you ever considered the journey endured by historical freedom fighters, those in the abolitionist movement who led thousands of enslaved Africans to freedom mile by mile on foot? One group of women has. And this week they are walking 100 miles, from sunup to sundown, in the footsteps of Harriet Tubman on the Underground Railroad from the eastern shore of Maryland crossing the Mason–Dixon Line into Delaware and ending at the Tubman Garrett Riverfront Park. In honor of Tubman, the 10...