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Over the past 15 years, the United States has seen drastic reductions in its world-leading rates of youth incarceration. Nowhere were these reductions more dramatic than in California, which once boasted the largest youth corrections system in the world. To put this change in perspective, in 1996 California confined nearly 10,000 youths in 11 correctional facilities. Today, the state’s youth corrections system is comprised of three aging institutions with a combined population of about...

Professionals who work with domestic violence offenders and victims say they’re not surprised by the recent revelations of alleged domestic violence by Johnny Manziel, but they are surprised more isn’t done to prevent domestic violence by organizations like the NFL. “I don’t think any of us can be surprised when you have a story like today’s story or the Greg Hardy story comes up on the news,” said President of SafeHaven Tarrant County Kathyryn Jacobs.

Strong mission statements have long guided nonprofit organizations . But mission statements usually focus on external goals rather than internal ways of working. To shape an organization’s internal organizational atmosphere—and to attract talent—nonprofits, social enterprises, and benefit corporations (or B Corps) should consider developing a culture manifesto. The approaches of B Corps Method Products, Etsy, and Warby Parker offer several ideas for how organizations can...

As  The Chronicle of Social Change has been reporting over the past two years, various jurisdictions have been exploring new tools to focus the attention of child welfare systems on the children most at risk of subsequent abuse or neglect. The mainstream media has begun to notice, as demonstrated by CNBC’s recent report on Los Angeles’ contract with software company SAS to develop such a tool for its child welfare system. These new approaches generally rely on predictive...

New research shows that mindfulness meditation training reduces interleukin-6, an inflammatory health biomarker, in high-stress, unemployed adults. The biological health-related benefits occur because mindfulness meditation training alters brain network functional connectivity patterns, according to the study, which was published in Biological Psychiatry. “We’ve now seen that mindfulness meditation training can reduce inflammatory biomarkers in several initial studies, and this...

After viewing meaningful entertainment — shows that provide the viewer with a warm, uplifting feeling — people appear more likely to lend a hand to those they consider different, according to a new study at Pennsylvania State. These positive and meaningful shows evoke “elevated” feelings in the viewer which in turn lead to these altruistic actions, say the researchers, who report their findings in the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media. [For more...

At the Booth Memorial Child Development Center  in Oakland, California, kids bike across a new patio or sit cross-legged on a floor that no longer aggravates their allergies or asthma. Those improvements were funded in part by $70,000 in grants from the Low Income Investment Fund , a national community development finance institution. In neighborhoods around the country, similar groups help plan, fund, and build early-education centers like Booth Memorial, where children learn,...

Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court Judge Frank Somerville believed at the start of his career that incarceration was a primary solution to societal ills. One of the things that you thought you could do is jail your way out of the problems. If you just put everybody in jail, everybody would get cured, we wouldnt have any more problems, Culpeper would be safer and wed save money, he said during a panel discussion last week at the State Theatre about the...

   When members of the consortium Creating Sanctuary in the Columbia River Gorge gather for a meeting, they always begin the same way. Each person will turn to the next and ask: How are you feeling today? What is your goal for our time together? If you need support in this meeting, whom would you look to for help?    It’s not just an exercise, said Trudy Townsend, coordinator of the consortium. “What we’re doing is creating community. Building...

“ Wellness and the Black Molecular Future ” is an article written by the Health and Wellness director at Dignity and Power Now . Their primary interest is for the incarcerated Black American. As I scan the web for thoughts and ideas about ACEs, I pay particular attention to nutrition. Few people are talking about nutrition specific to addressing ACEs, and although this article does not mention nutrition in the context of ACEs, it does address trauma and the Flint, MI,...

Scientists work with facts. Learning how to formulate a hypothesis, do a literature search, and read to understand the current state of the research are all positive attributes of good scientists. We question without judgment in order to test the level of knowledge the person we are talking with has. When we hear new content, we listen with attention and ask clarifying questions. If we have an alternative hypothesis, we debate in front of other knowledgeable scholars. By following this...

Representative Geran Tarr, (D-Anchorage) introduced a resolution in the Alaska State House of Representatives yesterday to encourage the governor and legislature to address ACEs in Alaska. Here is the title of the Resolution: “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.” The...