Blog

Reformists hold certain truths to be self-evident: Systems that enact policies contrary to the good of those it serves are in need of reform. Systems in need of reform are seldom reformed because those in control cannot discern the harmful contrariety of their policies. Those unable to discern harmful policies must be compelled to change them using whatever lawful means necessary. These truths have been guideposts in my work off the bench to enhance my due process role on the bench. When I...

This week, Colorado's Peace Officer Standards and Training board recommended stricter psychological evaluation requirements for police officers in the state, according to  the Denver Post. Currently, state laws and the POST board—which outlines the criteria applicants must meet to become certified law enforcement officers—only require such exams before officers are initially hired. But even that requirement is not always met, according to the Post, and POST...

Saginaw, Mich., is one of those places where economic recovery has been slow to arrive. The city has been hit hard over the years by factory shutdowns. Unemployment is high. And people have left, by the thousands. Now, residents John and Katrina Vowell are trying to help turn things around — with music. The couple says they love Saginaw, despite its many problems, which include high poverty, drugs and drive-by shootings. The city doesn't look that bad — there are tidy, modest...

Resilience can be defined as establishing equilibrium subsequent to disturbances to a system caused by significant adversity. When families experience adversity or transitions, multiple regulatory processes may be involved in establishing equilibrium, including adaptability, regulation of negative affect, and effective problem-solving skills. The authors' resilience-as-regulation perspective integrates insights about the regulation of individual development with processes that regulate...

It has long been recognized that early adversity can have life-long consequences, and the extent to which this is true is gaining increasing attention. A growing body of literature implicates Adverse Childhood Experiences, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, in a broad range of negative health consequences including adult psychopathology, cardiovascular, and immune disease. Increasing evidence from animal, clinical, and epidemiological studies highlight the critical role of...

The San Francisco Bay Area Trauma-Transformed (T2) regional center put together this grid of trauma-informed organizational assessment tools to assist with the beginning stages of transformation. Follow up tools coming soon! Trauma-Informed Organizational Assessment Tools

High-quality evaluations document that schools with the Quiet Time program have significantly improved in key areas: 1. Decreased teacher turnover After three years of the Quiet Time program at Visitacion Valley Middle School, teacher turnover dropped to zero, leading to the institution’s removal from the district’s “Hard to Staff” school list. 2. Greater academic achievement Youth who meditated at Quiet Time schools had improved grades, attendance, and standardized...

Emerging research suggests a childhood family breakup can have long-term negative consequences for the children with girls’ health especially at risk. University of Illinois researchers discovered girls’ mental and physical health are more affected by family fragmentation than boys’ health although they discovered both genders may have adult health problems. Investigators looked the impact of a family breakup on overall health, depression, and smoking and finds that, for...

Casey Hodge stepped from the prison van, trembling under the weight of her thick handcuffs and leg shackles. The slight 25-year-old was led with a group of other women into a small room and ordered to strip naked. “Show me your pink,” said a female corrections officer, instructing her to squat and cough so that they could peer between her legs and certify that she wasn’t concealing anything. Hodge, who has been legally blind since she was 16, then was told to remove her...

Last year there were 11,000 referrals to juvenile court in Connecticut, representing enough children to fill more than 22 average-sized public schools. Most of these children have been repeatedly exposed to trauma and a majority have unmet mental health needs. Trauma exposure includes domestic violence, sexual abuse, physical and emotional maltreatment, community violence, natural disasters, and traumatic loss. Although many youth exposed to trauma do not experience ongoing concerns, the...

(l to r, Joyce Dorado, UCSF HEARTS; Jennifer Lynn-Whaley, Contra Costa County's Youth Justice Initiative; Barbara McClung, Oakland Unified School District; and Anh Ta, Bay Area Regional Trauma Transformed Center) __________________________________________________________ Over 130 residents from across the San Francisco Bay Area representing education, health, and law enforcement attended the sold-out screening of Paper Tigers and panel on December 9 at the Brower Center in Berkeley,...

Pain, grief and emotional loss follow mass shootings in America, and there are also other costs that add up to violence's financial toll . It's Ted Miller's job to crunch numbers on social ills like mass shootings. He's a health economist with the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. For example, when then-U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot in a 2011 incident that left six people dead and 13 injured (including Giffords), her medical costs alone were well over $500,000, Miller says.