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In recent months, there has been a surge of legislative actions for children’s health advocates. New laws have been passed that provide funding for programs and research initiatives essential for improving the health and well-being of children and families across the country. Here, NICHQ provides an update on the legislation, as well as a brief analysis of the impact on children’s health. We share this update to help our readers stay informed about policies that influence children’s health...

Homelessness in early childhood is a known risk factor for children’s health and well-being. Because high-quality early care and education (ECE) programs can buffer some of the negative effects of homelessness on a child’s development , federal ECE programs (such as child care subsidy, Head Start, and early intervention) have begun to prioritize these children for care. Unfortunately, ECE providers in the field often have difficulty identifying families eligible for child care slots that are...

At 86, Bob Bastion would be forgiven for sleeping in on the recent subzero mornings in Alcona County, Michigan, a one-stoplight former timber community of around 10,000 in the northeast part of the state's lower peninsula. Instead, the retired dairy truck driver often wakes up at 3 a.m., climbs five feet into the seat of a six-wheel Champion road grader and drives the roads of Lost Lake Woods Club, the private gated community and resort where he lives with his wife, clearing snow so cars can...

Welcome to a new feature on the Relentless School Nurse website: "What Happened at School Today?" The idea for this view from different health offices is the result of discussions with school nurses across the country who wanted to share their practice settings. Last year, Abby Pelletier and I shared pictures taken from our perspective health offices. I am in an urban NJ school and she is in rural NH, so the differences were quite distinct. "What Happened at School Today?" will feature...

7 months ago, i stopped binge eating and increased my own work therapudically and within my mindfulness practice. I am having a challenging time understanding that for those of us who come from a history of trauma and violence, that the eating disorders community here at home is reluctant to speak about this going forward for me. As a professional and someone who has never been formally diagnosed with disordered eating and have been working to develop a consistent regulated way of being,...

Join me in the Capitol Building of Juneau, Alaska, or via webcast, for a presentation to legislators and legislative staff. The presentation will discuss the impact of ACEs on our communities, workplaces and state. ACEs are a significant contributor to all the issues we struggle with, and cost Alaska an estimated $866 million per year. Learn examples of trauma-informed approaches to policy-making. For those not in Juneau, the Lunch and Learn will be broadcast live and archived at...

ROCKFORD (WREX) – From drug abuse to domestic violence, health officials say the impact of trauma can be traced back to many community issues. That’s why there’s a new push in Rockford to become a trauma-informed community. “We are thinking more along the lines of what’s happen to you, rather than what’s wrong with you,” Children’s Home & Aid site director Lori Poppen said. [For more on this story, go to...

After an almost one-year delay of the Louisiana bill that raises the age of criminal responsibility to 18, the first stage of the landmark law goes into effect Friday, but not without some apprehension across the state. In this first phase of the Raise the Age law, the state will no longer automatically arrest, detain and prosecute 17-year-olds as adults when the teens are accused of nonviolent crimes. That change, advocates hope, will better rehabilitate youth, but many officials worry how...

More than 85,000 of California’s most vulnerable low-income residents, including those who are homeless and have been recently incarcerated, are now enrolled in a pilot project designed to link health care to social services. Twenty-five counties and the city of Sacramento are participating in the Whole Person Care project, a $3 billion initiative funded by the state and the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The five-year project, which began in late 2016, is an...

CRI is Proud to Present the 2019 Beyond Paper Tigers Conference Session Descriptions and Presenter Biographies! Join us for the latest information, and strategies to build RESILIENCE! CRI is honored to have expert presenters in their fields to showcase a diverse selection of sessions revolving around the BPT Conference theme, "Building Resilience Across the Life Span." Conference Session Descriptions and Presenter Biographies are now available for review! If you have not purchased conference...

I am grateful to have had the chance to sit down with Joyelle Brandt to discuss her mission of helping those who are parenting with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Thank you, Joyelle, for sharing your personal story and the beautiful work you are doing helping others along their parenting and healing journey. What a gift for those families and the children who will benefit from the steps their parents are taking to heal.

OBJECTIVES: Our purpose in this study was to adapt and validate the Traumatic Events Screening Inventory (TESI) as a primary-care childhood adversity screening tool for children living in vulnerable neighborhoods using a community-partnered approach. METHODS: In this cross-sectional, descriptive study, we used a sample of 261 children (3–16 years old) who were seeking services at a Federally Qualified Health Center with colocated behavioral health services in Chicago and had a positive...