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By Chad Dion Lassiter, Penn Live, August 31, 2020 In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, protests have erupted across the nation. The news cycle has been dominated by one graphic scene after another of a police officer killing an unarmed, subdued Black man. Unfortunately, children born at the turn of the millennium are growing up against a backdrop of unending images of lethal police brutality and violent White supremacy. It is well-documented that prolonged exposure to violence is...

I am interested in attending a training/webinar/have conversation OR offer a webinar on how this Pandemic is impacting our Children, Families, and Communities. I have been searching for this information and cannot seem to find, so I am open to collaborating and providing a webinar. The coronavirus has shattered the system that protects children, leaving some confined in troubled homes or lingering in foster care. The social/emotional effects have yet to be fully seen on how this is damaging...

I recently had the pleasure of attending via zoom, a Trauma-Informed Care training. I wanted to share some take always and encourage all to attend one. Hosted by Community Resilience Initiative, with trainer Rick Griffin. The trainer had such a lovely way of taking heavy topics that can feel uncomfortable to talk about and deliver them in a gentle, authentic way that provided the human touch with extensive knowledge. This being my first formal training on just Trauma-Informed care I learned...

Dr. Elisa Nicholas, a pediatrician and chief executive officer of TCC Family Health Clinics in Long Beach, California, relays an example of how the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the lives of the clinics’ patients. Most had already been struggling financially prior to the pandemic. “Both the mother and father came down with coronavirus,” said Nicholas. “Their child was in on a telephone visit with one of our doctors. They did not have any way to get food. They had no money to pay for...

In Fresno, volunteers from local churches were already working with the schools, mentoring kids and running weekend recreation programs. Community-based non-profits were in conversation with educators; pastors were talking to social-service providers. The problems were clear: nearly 30% of Fresno’s residents living in poverty (the rate tops 40% for Black residents), with a 20-year gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest parts of this sharply segregated city. For several years,...

Five years of convening Newark’s ACE Impact Team has taught Keri Logosso-Misurell a crucial lesson: Fight the urge to reinvent the wheel.

By National Family Support Network and Families Canada, August 2020 Play and outdoor activities have positive and measurable effects on young children, such as increased educational performance and achievements, health, well-being, as well as social and personal development. Play is also a way to bring families together, strengthen relationships, build trust and bonds, and have lasting impacts on family health and well-being as a whole. This webinar will explore how can programs promote the...

State Rep. Ramon Alexander , D-Tallahassee, plans to bring out a bill “creating a Victim Compensation Crime and Trauma Fund for victims of police shooting incidents and their families.” Alexander said on Monday that he will introduce the legislation for next year’s legislative session. “Trauma experienced by survivors and loved ones can be social, physical, and emotional. As lawmakers, it is imperative that we provide trauma-specific services and a greater awareness of the effects of...

An important new report based on data from the National Survey of Children's Health identifies significant economic and racial disparities in the frequency of adversity among children ages 0-3. Adversity in Early Childhood: The Role of Policy in Creating and Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences from the Center for American Progress underlines the importance of social policy initiatives to advance primary prevention and racial and economic justice. See...

Transform Trauma with ACEs Sciences Film Festival & Follow-Up Discussions The following weekend watch parties and follow-up discussions are co-hosted by ACEs Connection, The Relentless School Nurse , and The Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy & Practice (CTIPP) . We appreciated the filmmakers for making these films free to watch for our members and for the public programming of PBS. The films we’ll feature are as follows: Portraits of Professional Caregivers Whole People Part 1...

As we enter the school year, with so much uncertainty… one thing IS certain. We are ALL going show up, whether in person or virtually, with BIG FEELINGS. Here are some resources to make processing those emotions more manageable.

The March meeting of the New Jersey Education Association’s ACEs Task Force opened without an agenda. It was a virtual gathering with more than 50 people—educators, social workers, professionals in pediatrics, juvenile justice and child abuse prevention. The pandemic had landed emphatically close to home, with a governor’s order to close all schools on March 18, and participants were grappling with what that meant for their students, their families and themselves. So ACEs Task Force co-chair...