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By Claudia Harmata, PEOPLE, April 17, 2020 With social distancing in full effect due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, parents are wondering if and when it’s OK to take their kids to the doctor, whether for a routine appointment or if their child is sick. While it’s important that families stay home when they can, health experts say parents should not skip routine appointments, especially those that involve vaccinations. “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that we keep...

By Jeremy Loudenback and John Kelly, The Chronicle of Social Change, April 16, 2020 This week was supposed to be a triumphant one for a Northern California mother of two, a 39-year-old home health aide. Soon after a long-scheduled court date at the Sonoma County Hall of Justice this week, she imagined she would soon be able to gather her 1-year-old daughter in her arms at last and end what has been the most terrifying experience of her life: the seven months her toddler has spent in foster...

Click on the pdf link for the full child-friendly article.

We at Penn State have launched a world-wide survey, now translated into 20 languages to study the effective (vs ineffective) ways of communicating the the COVID pandemic related messages. This survey has been already completed by over 10,000 people around the globe since we launched it few days ago. Our humble goal is to reach 1 million responders by the end of April / early May.

Editor's note: Dr. Harise Stein at Stanford University edits a web site — abuseresearch.info — that focuses on the health effects of abuse, and includes research articles on ACEs. Every month, she's posting the summaries of the abstracts and links to research articles that address only ACEs science. Thank you, Harise!! -- Jane Stevens] Nelson CA 3rd, Gabard-Durnam LJ. Early Adversity and Critical Periods: Neurodevelopmental Consequences of Violating the Expectable Environment. Trends...

On a recent day in early March, Laura Lopez met a former patient of hers in the waiting room of Highland Hospital’s pediatric clinic in Oakland, CA. The patient had forgotten her Medi-Cal card and called Lopez asking for help. But in the brief conversation, Lopez, a family specialist with the DULCE program, learned about some dire changes in the patient’s life. Laura Lopez “Without me even asking, she shared with me that she had separated from her partner, that she needs to apply for food...

Dr. Eric Rossen and a team of educators from the Trauma Informed Educators Network Facebook group developed a comprehensive list of considerations for educators to think about when we eventually return to school. These considerations were put into an information video by Paradigm Shift Education and is now accessible on YouTube. Feel free to listen, like and share it if it resonates with you. https://youtu.be/P4qU-QzT2Q0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW8HGlTnjjw Ten Words: Anxious Depressed Afraid Frustrated Angry Ashamed Alone Lonely Exhausted Numb Think of the worst you have felt in the past day or week and attach the feeling word from the list above that most accurately describes it. Now say it aloud in your mind and see if you agree with it or want to change it to another word or perhaps more than one word or other words that are not on the list. When you’ve finally selected it say to yourself, “Yeah,...

This story was developed in collaboration with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network to help young children and families talk about their experiences and feelings related to COVID-19 and the need to stay inside. In the story, the virus has spread to Littletown causing changes in everyone's lives. The story opens doors to conversations about family and community strengths, challenges and feelings related to COVID-19, ways grown-ups help children keep safe, and our gratitude for...

By Nessia Berner Wong, Kimberly Libman, Sabrina Adler, and Rebecca Johnson, Change Lab Solutions, April 21, 2020 COVID-19 has urgently demonstrated that everyone needs to live in safe and healthy communities. The people most affected by COVID-19 are communities of color , people with low income , immigrants , and other underserved groups. These groups are most vulnerable because of existing laws and policies that affect the fundamental drivers of health inequities . Communities and local...

From Heal SF, April 2020 (See attached file for guidelines.) On behalf of Mayor Breed, Our Children Our Families Council, and all those most impacted by our COVID 19 response, I’d like to take a moment to thank you for your time, expertise, commitment and passion that you brought to the Heal SF Clinical Advisory Body. Without your gracious contributions, we would not have guidelines to support our first responders and those most impacted by this unprecedented circumstance. The guidelines...

By Chiara Sottile and Erik Ortiz, NBC News, April 19, 2020 Every third day, someone from Dr. Michelle Tom's family navigates their pickup truck 14 miles over the pothole-pocked dirt roads of the Navajo Nation to a community center. There, for about $95 a week, her family fills their water tank and hauls it back home to the double-wide trailer she shares with seven relatives in northeastern Arizona. Or at least that's how Tom was getting water before she had to cut off physical contact with...