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[Gov. Rick Scott stands withDept. of Juvenile Justice Secretary Wansley Waters, left. Karl Etters photo] Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday signed a bill rewriting laws that govern the state Department of Juvenile Justice, reinforcing an emphasis on prevention, intervention and the rehabilitation of youthful offenders. The measure (HB 7055) formalizes the department’s strategy of shifting funds to prevention programs, with the aim of keeping kids out of the juvenile system in the first place.

http://blogs.plos.org/citizensci/2014/06/17/exploring-culture-health-building-resilience-undo-effects-childhood-trauma/ ^ an innovative way of tackling childhood trauma, mental health and education. “ Head Start-Trauma Smart  is a model for...

[Photo: Jeff Roberson/AP] Barbershops are a traditional gathering place for African-American men — a place to talk politics, sports and gossip. Now, some doctors in Los Angeles are hoping to make the barbershop a place for combating high blood pressure among black men. Death rates from hypertension are three times higher in African-American men than white men of the same age, says Dr. Ronald Victor, the director of Cedars-Sinai Center for Hypertension in Los Angeles. "Hypertension is...

[Photo: Taylor Glascock, NYTimes] Lena and Robert Serpico knew something was not right before their son was in kindergarten. They had taken him and his younger brother in as foster children from a mother who used drugs, and they later adopted both. The older boy, whose name is not being published at the Serpicos’ request, was restless and impulsive from the beginning and got his first diagnosis at age 4: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He began taking Ritalin in elementary...

[Photo: Better Block Project]  “We had all these rules that stripped away beauty,” said [Jason] Roberts [who lives in Oak Cliff, a part of Dallas generally known for its crime]. It was Dallas, after all — charm was downright subversive. He thought about going to the city government. “But in our community we had rendering fatigue. I got fired up to go to City Hall and see if I could take part in reshaping my community. But there are so many processes, so...

ACEsConnection member Jonathan Purtle, research director at the Drexel Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice, did an overview of ACEsConnection member Roy Wade's recent research for Philly.com' The Public Health column.    Dr. Roy Wade...

A two part report by Annie Gilbertson , Education Reporter for KPCC in Los Angeles highlights how charter and public schools are working to address high levels of trauma among their students.  A survey of students in 4 public high schools in LA...

"Local Control" for Philadelphia School District . . . Philadelphians making progress towards accountability for our own Public School system.   Important discussions and decisions must start prior to "election day". Why have our Urban schools...

Throughout history, societies have existed with far less coercion than ours, and while these societies have had far less consumer goods and what modernity calls “efficiency,” they also have had far less mental illness. Coercion—the...

Dr. Daniel J. Siegel introduced me to brain science, and I write about brain scientists like him ‘cos they saved my life. Without them, I’d still be a successful, all-head talk technical writer for Pentagon sales. I’d be unaware of...

Photo credit: TaxCredits.net,  Flickr What some commentators refer to as the "Great Recession" of 2008 resulted in severe job losses across Europe and the US. And researchers know from previous evidence that job loss among workers is...

Photo credit: dchrisoh,  Flickr What social skills does a three-year-old bring to interactions with a new peer partner? If he has strong bonds to his parents, the child is likely to be a positive, responsive playmate, and he'll be able to...