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Parents are often reminded to keep harmful substances out of their child’s reach. But what if a child’s experiences at home were as toxic to their health as household solvents and cleaners? On a basic level, toxins are poisonous substances that lead to disease. Although not stored in a bottle or on a shelf, stress in childhood meets the criteria. The phrase “ toxic stress ” describes the body’s reaction to negative experiences that are not only intense and chronic but also caused by the...

Just days after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014, civil rights activists DeRay Mckesson and Johnetta Elzie were on the ground in Ferguson, Mo., documenting on social media the unrest that ruled the streets. Shortly thereafter, the two connected with Brittany Packnett, the then-executive director of Teach for America in St. Louis. As #Ferguson became a rallying cry on social media, Oprah Winfrey leveled a critique at the Black Lives Matter...

Coming up with a unique, innovative way to solve a problem is great, but sometimes borrowing an existing idea is just as good. The city of Tulsa, Okla., is looking to earmark $25,000 to fund a program that will combat panhandling by offering cleanup jobs and social services to people on the streets. It got the idea from a neighbor to the west: Albuquerque, N.M. “Certainly, we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. We are shamelessly stealing the idea,” says Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, a republican...

Courts around the country tried to ease the burden of fines and fees in the wake of riots in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 that brought attention to a torrent of traffic and other minor citations that saddled people with debt and even sent them to jail. But legal observers say no court appears to have made as dramatic an attempt at reform as San Francisco, where judges no longer issue warrants to arrest people who fail to show up in court or pay tickets for infractions such as urinating in...

D'Andre Brooks is celebrating a milestone. The 31-year-old graduated from San Diego City College on Friday with an associate’s degree in sociology. He’ll begin classes at San Diego State University in the fall. He’s come a long way from four years ago, when Brooks — who admits he was once “gang-affiliated” — was released from state prison after doing 10 years on an assault conviction. Now, he’s a small-business owner and youth mentor who has set his sights on a brighter future. [For more of...

For as long as people who lived in the neighborhood could remember, the bottom floor of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health’s headquarters was surrounded by a chain-link fence, closed off from their view. Then a few months ago, something changed. The fence was pushed away. The space inside cleaned, painted and furnished. On May 1, the doors at Vermont Avenue and Sixth Street opened to the county’s first peer-resource center for people who need help finding peace of mind from...

Why do people cut themselves? Here's a story of my work with Renee and how we helped her find better ways to deal.

If you're a new father, spending plenty of time with your baby could boost his or her mental development, a new study suggests. British researchers looked at how 128 fathers interacted with their infants at 3 months of age. When the kids turned 2, the researchers measured their mental development. Infants whose fathers were more engaged and active when playing with them in their first few months of life did better on thinking skills tests at age 2 than other infants. Many factors have a...

Marbella Munoz was a foster child for most of her life. As is true for many foster children bounced through multiple placements, she was frequently forced to change schools. Despite the repeated changes, Munoz said she managed to keep up her grades. When she was 17, school administrators told her she had been referred to a program called “school-based supervision.” The “supervision” was not provided by a school guidance counselor or a teacher but by a juvenile probation officer. [For more of...

I have been blessed by the response to the curriculum "Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks," now having sent it out to ministries in 26 States and the District of Columbia. I have already received a little feedback and made some minor changes to content, but what I am most excited about is that t he curriculum is now available in a downloadable digital format! For those that have not seen previous posts on the curriculum, the study is for adult small groups or classes and is laid out into the...

Child abuse and neglect are among adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that are commonly included in ACEs research. Also, included in the ACEs research are other types of household dysfunction or challenges such as parental divorce or substance use. A large ACEs literature exists that shows that ACEs are related to an increased likelihood of many poor health and social outcomes. Although these studies have included physical abuse defined as pushing, grabbing, shoving, slapping, and hitting...

Parents who believe their child is being "counseled out" of a charter school in California could soon have the right to request a hearing to challenge the student's removal. This provision is part of a broader deal State Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) brokered between charter school lobbyists and teachers union leaders in Sacramento, potentially paving the way for state lawmakers to change state laws governing charter schools' enrollment or discipline policies this session. The deal would...