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The inputs a brain experiences during its developmental stages have a profound impact on whether that person will develop a substance use disorder (if they choose to drink or use other drugs). In turn, developing a substance use disorder (SUD) as a tween, teen, or young adult dramatically influences that person's brain development. And why is understanding this causality important? The risk factors for developing a substance use disorder are the result of inputs the brain experiences (or...

By Samantha Howell, November 25, 2019 While Florida has taken steps toward integrating trauma-informed practices in the juvenile justice system, the state needs to reconsider its treatment of youth. Notably, utilizing trauma-informed care in the juvenile justice system, while necessary, is not sufficient — prevention should be the goal, with trauma-informed services implemented in all child-involved systems. The state must also stop incarcerating children with adults and offer all juveniles...

By Dominic Cappello Anna, Age Eight Institute at Northern New Mexico College www.AnnaAgeEight.org “What percentage of our children should be traumatized?” This is a question New Mexico state senator Bill Soules is asking his fellow lawmakers. He believes 100% of children, students and families should be trauma-free. The senator has been the strongest advocate for our Anna, Age Eight Institute in Santa Fe and our 100% Community initiative focusing on the data-driven prevention of ACEs and...

Robin Saenger, Founding Director of Peace4Tarpon and a Champion for ACEs, will be the special guest for the entire hour on "Breaking the Silence with Dr. Gregory Williams" Radio Show this Sunday evening LIVE at 8:00 pm Central Standard Time.

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Dr. Vicky Kelly has over 35 years of experience as a psychotherapist, administrator, consultant and trainer. She is a nationally known trainer in the areas of trauma and attachment. Her career has included positions in a variety of human service, mental health, and child welfare organizations. She currently serves as the Director of the Delaware Division of Family Services . The common thread across her...

Here is a grant application opportunity (below) for those who might be interested in applying. This is directly related to ACEs prevention. For more information about this opportunity, please go to: https://www.grants.gov/custom/viewOppDetails.jsp?oppId=319157#relatedDocumentsTab .

Nicole Wetsman The Red River runs north, up along the border between North Dakota and Minnesota, before spilling into Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. Its water flows slowly through a 10,000-year-old glacial lakebed, in one of the flattest stretches of land in the United States, and because it points north, it’s sometimes blocked by ice jams—all of which makes the river prone to flooding . In March 2009, one such flood threatened the city of Fargo. Residents watched for a week as the...

We developed ACEs Connection's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Tool — called the Inclusion Tool, for short — to ensure that ACEs initiatives across the world focus on being inclusive when forming a steering committee, recruiting leaders, providing education about ACEs science, recruiting members, or providing resources and services within their communities. The more inclusive your ACEs initiative is, the more diverse it will be, giving your initiative a real shot at achieving equity and...

MIAMI , Nov. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are known to lead to a number of negative health and behavior outcomes, including delinquent and criminal behavior. A new study has found exposure to adverse childhood experiences is also associated with lower self-control in teenagers, especially when those experiences are related to maltreatment. Researchers in Florida and Michigan found that a greater variety of adverse experiences in childhood leads to lower levels...

Dr. Mimi Graham is Florida’s Johnny Appleseed, but instead of planting apple trees, she’s been seeding hundreds of ACEs-science-informed schools, courts, juvenile detention centers, hospitals, childcare centers, home visiting programs, mental health agencies, law enforcement agencies, and drug treatment centers. Graham, who has served as director of the Florida State University Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy in Tallahassee since 1993, focuses on early childhood,...

Ibram X. Kendi Director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University I had a 30-minute ride to the train station. I nestled into my seat, opened my phone, and saw that Representative Elijah Cummings had passed away. I gasped and covered my mouth. The driver peeked at me in his rear-view mirror. He saw me shaking my head and whispering what many Americans whispered last Thursday: He was only 68 . My mind turned to my father, whom I had just left at a hotel in Princeton,...