For three decades, I have listened in awe to the brave voices of children, youth and families who have shared, in anguish, their past experiences — experiences that anyone would objectively call “adverse” and ones that can have lasting effects on health and well-being.

The seminal ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) study opened my eyes to how pervasive their stories were and how these findings might influence the development of effective interventions and treatment, especially for system-involved young people.

In the late ‘90s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente released the first ACE study, one of the largest studies of childhood abuse and neglect and their connections to later-life health risks. The study’s results, as well as subsequent related studies, have, in part, hastened the spread of “trauma-informed” approaches that have permeated into the nomenclature and delivery of human service today.

[For more of this story, written by Alisa Santucci, go to http://jjie.org/what-does-trau...foster-youth/288641/]