Tagged With "Penn State"
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Florida will require mental health education for students in sixth grade and above (CNN)
By Lauren M. Johnson , CNN July 18, 2019 Florida will become the third state in the US to require students to learn more about mental health, behind Virginia and New York. The Florida State Board of Education voted on Wednesday to require public schools to provide students in grades six and above a minimum of five hours of mental health education annually. The announcement comes as studies reveal more about how screen time and social media impacts teenagers mentally. According to the...
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Former Youth Corrections Officials: We Want to Help Close Youth Prisons [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
A juvenile detention facility in Alabama. Photo: Rob Carr/ The Nation It’s time to close this nation’s youth prisons. They don’t serve their purpose: keeping our neighborhoods safe and helping young people turn their lives around. They fail to fulfill this core mission despite costing $150,000 per youth per year. In New York State, starting in 2008, we closed 26 juvenile jails. This came after Human Rights Watch and the ACLU, the state Inspector General , and the United States Department of...
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Four Ways to Integrate a Structural Racism Lens into Neighborhood Health Research [howhousingmatters.org]
Photo: Joao Victor Bolan/Shutterstock Structural racism refers to the institutional practices, policies, and norms that shape opportunity and assign value based on race, including the macro-level forces that often appear race-neutral but maintain existing racial hierarchies. In health disparities research, structural racism is often represented as neighborhood disadvantage or racial residential segregation, but some scholars argue that this approach fails to acknowledge structural racism as...
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Free 2-Day Course on Community Resiliency Model
August 15-16, 2019 , 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Valencia College School of Public Safety 8600 Valencia College Lane, Room 149 Orlando, Fl., 32825 NO COST Registration Link: https://web.spcollege.edu/survey/28951 The Community Resiliency Model® (CRM) introduces participants to six wellness skills to help create “trauma-informed” and “resiliency-informed” individuals and communities that share a common understanding of the impact of trauma and chronic stress on the nervous system. Resiliency can be...
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Hope for the Opioid Crisis--Community Meeting
The Central Florida community continues to look for solutions to the ongoing opioid crisis. Join Project Opioid's leadership team as we convene business and faith leaders from across Central Florida to learn how they can make a difference and help stop the opioid crisis. Registration Link: https://hope-for-the-opioid-crisis.eventbrite.com/ With special guests: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis At this free event, you will learn about: The current status of...
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How do these pediatricians do ACEs screening? Early adopters tell all.
Last week, three pediatricians — with a combined experience of 15 years integrating ACEs science into their practices — reflected on the urgency they felt several years ago that prompted them to begin screening patients for childhood adversity and resilience when there was practically no guidance at all. Along their journey , they accumulated a list of lessons learned for other pediatricians and family clinics to use. The three pediatricians participated in the ACEs Connection webinar,...
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It took 3 years, 6 versions to develop ACEs screener that works for parents & providers
It’s irrefutable: Widespread research shows that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are common. That’s why researchers in a recent study insist: “It behooves pediatric providers to take an active role in preventing and identifying childhood adversity in order to reduce the health consequences of toxic stress.” In other words, if you want your kids to have a good shot at a healthy life, make sure they — and you — are educated about and screened for ACEs and resilience. In a recent study —...
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Join National Grassroots Campaign to Address Childhood Trauma and Build Resilience by Engaging and Educating Congress
Dear Friends & Colleagues: I am on the board of a national group to address trauma and we’d love you to Join a New National Grassroots Campaign to Address Childhood Trauma and Build Resilience by Engaging and Educating Congress . We launch ed the National Trauma Campaign yesterday which calls for federal action to prevent and address childhood trauma and build resilience through educating and engaging Congress. The Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice , CTIPP, founded this...
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Major decline in poverty rate for Central Florida children, report shows [Orlando Sentinel]
There’s some rare good news for Central Florida’s kids — the poverty rate dropped significantly from 2012 to 2017, juvenile arrests were down and more children were covered by health insurance. The findings were released Wednesday by the Florida Kids Count 2019 Child Well-being Index, produced by researchers at the University of South Florida and based on 16 measures of health, financial stability, education and social welfare in each Florida county. On the whole, St. Johns County — in the...
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Make it count: How Census 2020 benefits the Tampa Bay Area [83Degrees]
The importance of the Census being accurate is much greater than just gathering a mathematical abstract of how many people live in a particular city. Knowing how many people reside within particular geographical areas, including blocks, groups of blocks, zip codes, and various corners of the city, helps apportion funding for everything from schools and senior services to roads and police coverage.
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ACEs Science Champions Series: Meet Florida's Johnny Appleseed. She plants seeds of ACEs science!
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,...
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Nadine Burke Harris Prepares to Launch Universal Trauma Screenings [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
Soon after being appointed California’s first-ever surgeon general , Nadine Burke Harris took off on a barnstorming tour across the state to talk about adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress, an issue she calls “the biggest public health crisis facing California today.” Before the pediatrician was appointed to her position in January by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Harris had founded and led the Center for Youth Wellness, organization focused on addressing toxic stress and the study of...
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NEMOURS CEO LARRY MOSS: LET'S INVEST MORE IN KIDS' HEALTH [HealthLeaders]
Medical care represents only a fraction of what we should consider when we think about health, Moss said. The rest includes things like social determinants of health, in their various forms, including education, literacy, housing, safety, freedom from adverse childhood experiences, and other social factors.
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New ‘Handle With Care’ system alerts Manatee schools to kids in possible trouble [Bradenton Herald]
This is not a "new story" but I think this program is critical to consider for Central Florida (as far as I understand we have not implemented this here). At a recent trauma-healing conference I was able to hear about the success of this program in Manatee County Schools and I believe this could be a model for what is possible her in Central Florida. Please see the article by the Brandenton Herald below: BY GIUSEPPE SABELLA APRIL 02, 2018 04:59 PM Detention may be the wrong option for a...
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New Study Reveals Annual Cost of Childhood Adversity in California Is Approximately $113 Billion [prnewswire.com]
SAN FRANCISCO , Jan. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ The Center for Youth Wellness announces the release of an in-depth study on the health-related cost of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the state of California . A number of studies have investigated the cost of child maltreatment, but the current study, entitled " Adult health burden and costs in California during 2013 associated with prior adverse childhood experiences ," is the first to examine the cost associated with adult health...
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One state. One year. (Partial) Cost of ACEs = $5.2 billion.
In looking at the impact of childhood trauma, you can’t get much clearer than this: In 2017, ACEs among Tennessee adults led to an estimated $5.2 billion in direct medical costs and lost productivity from employees missing work. That’s just one year, according to the new report, “ The Economic Cost of ACEs in Tennessee ," released on Feb. 1, 2019 by The Sycamore Institute in Nashville, Tenn. And to provide some perspective, $5.2 billion is one-seventh of the state’s annual budget . This $5.2...
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Press Release: Central Florida’s Working Families Continue to Struggle - New United Way ALICE Report Reveals 46% of Households Fail to Cover Basic Needs [Heart of Florida United Way News]
Photo: ALICE Florida Report 2018/ United Way Orlando, Fla. (February 6, 2019) – Heart of Florida United Way announced that more than 350,000 households in Central Florida struggle to afford basic necessities such as housing, food, transportation, health care and child care, according to the 2018 ALICE Report. Statewide, 46% of households face the same financial challenges. In Central Florida, the number of low-income workers struggling to cover essentials grew by approximately 1.1 percent...
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Promoting a Community Approach for Mental Well-Being in Our Littlest Citizens [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Andrea L. Lowe, The Chronicle of Social Change, June 10, 2019. Several years ago , my sister and I watched my 2-year-old nephew’s behavior change dramatically. He started wetting the bed, throwing temper tantrums and getting frustrated so quickly. In any other child, it might have been normal “terrible twos,” but in him we knew something was definitely wrong. At the time, my sister and her husband were getting divorced. Ultimately, we found out that my nephew thought it was his fault,...
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Recording and slides now available for webinar on Florida’s Early Childhood Courts: Transforming Child Welfare
Information (recording, slides, and resources) on the June 6 webinar "Florida’s Early Childhood Courts: Transforming Child Welfare" is now available (and soon to posted in the ACEs Connection webinar section on the homepage). This well-attended and received webinar was sponsored by the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health and co-sponsored ACEs Connection and the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice ( CTIPP ) Webinar Summary Every six minutes in the...
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Resilience, Race, and Preschool Expulsion [Devereux]
When Dr. Walter Gilliam’s groundbreaking national study was released, exposing expulsion rates in state preschool programs, the findings asked us to explore not only the way we meet the social and emotional needs of young children, but how our implicit bias plays a role. The data showed that 4-year-olds are 50% more likely to be expelled than 3-year-olds, Black preschoolers are 3.6 times as likely as White preschoolers to be expelled, and boys are more than four times as likely as girls to...
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Resource Feature: The Center for the Study of Social Policy
There is a wealth of information and resources around the Strengthening Families Protective Factors which can be found at The Center for the Study of Social Policy website - www.cssp.org . All resources are free and can be used to provide training and education around these Protective Factors. These Protective Factors when active and present in families act as mitigators for adversity and help reduce the possibility of abuse and neglect. Training Opportunity: Trauma/Adverse Childhood...
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Observing Ramadan Amid COVID-19: Respecting Silence [Peace and Justice Institute at Valencia College]
Observing Ramadan Amid COVID-19: Embracing Silence By Sofiya Asedrem Respect silence. " Silence is a rare gift in our busy world. After someone has spoken, take time to reflect without immediately filling the space with words. This applies to the speaker, as well – be comfortable leaving your words to resound in the silence, without refining or elaborating on what you have said.” For the close to 2 billion Muslims around the world, Ramadan is the month when the first verses of the Quran were...
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‘Sarasota Strong’ addresses trauma in our community [Palm Beach Post]
*Note: While Sarasota, FL is not Central Florida, it felt relevant to share this opinion piece here to examine what other Florida cities are doing to advocate for and build resilient communities. -- By Carrie Seidman ... Sarasota Strong seeks to build “a community that cares for itself” by “empowering people to thrive through trauma education, connection, and healing.” Its metaphoric symbol will be the banyan, a tree that begins its life clinging to another plant and eventually produces...
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Sheltering in Place: ACEs-Informed Tips for Self-Care During a Pandemic
Millions of lives have been affected in unprecedented ways by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We are all grappling with uncertainty—our daily routines interrupted, not knowing what is to come. For those of us who have Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), these times can be particularly distressing. At the Center for Youth Wellness (CYW), we know that childhood trauma can have a significant impact on an individual’s health and well-being – both physiologically and psychologically. Since the...
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The Greatest White Privilege Is Life Itself: Like so many other black men in America, Elijah Cummings died too young [The Atlantic]
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,...
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The Tiny Cell that Connects our Physical and Mental Health, and Solves a Decades-old Mystery of Why Toxic Stress Leads to Brain Changes that Spark Depression, Anxiety
More than a decade ago, I was diagnosed with several autoimmune diseases, one after another, including Guillain-Barré syndrome , which left me paralyzed twice while raising two young children. All told I spent six years in and out of bed and hospitals, learning, between crises, to use a cane or walker to navigate life as a working-mother-with-chronic-illness. My immune system was repeatedly and mistakenly attacking my body, causing the nerves in my arms, legs, and those I needed to swallow...
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Tools and how to use them is focus of second webinar on Community Resiliency Model, May 14, 2020
The second of two free Community Resiliency (CRM) webinars with Elaine Miller-Karas , key creator of the CRM, will be held Thursday, May 14, from 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET, (10 a.m. CT; 9 a.m. MT, and 8 a.m. PT) and will include the practical application of tools of the model. CRM is an ACEs science-based biological model for helping individuals become emotionally regulated during natural disasters and other dysregulating times. Miller-Karas will be joined by CRM trainers from Wilmington, NC:...
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Trauma-informed Care in Juvenile Detention Is Not Enough [Juvenile Justice Information Exchange]
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...
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Unprecedented childhood trauma hearing in U.S. Congress on July 11 to feature data from new state fact sheets on ACEs prevalence, impacts [ACEs Connection]
A hearing of unprecedented scope and depth on ACEs science and childhood trauma — " Identifying, Preventing, and Treating Childhood Trauma: A Pervasive Public Health Issue that Needs Greater Federal Attention " — will be held this Thursday in the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. You can watch the live stream at 10:00 am ET through a link from the committee site. Along with testimony from trauma survivors, the hearing will include testimony on the prevalence and impact of adverse...
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Upates, good news, recommendation and link to register for Making Meaningful Change: Addressing ACEs through Public Policy Webinar February 18
The World Health Organization has compiled a recent meta-analysis about how much ACEs cost us Millions of adults across Europe and north America live with a legacy of ACEs. Their findings suggest that a 10% reduction in ACE prevalence could equate to annual savings of $105 billion. Programs to prevent ACEs and moderate their effects are available. Rebalancing expenditure towards ensuring safe and nurturing childhoods would be economically beneficial and relieve pressures on health-care...
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Recap of April 25th Virginia Summit On Childhood Trauma And Resilience With Dr. Nadine Burke Harris as Keynote Speaker
On Thursday April 25, 2019 Voices hosted over 950 attendees at the Virginia Summit on Childhood Trauma and Resilience . The goal of the Summit was to connect child-serving professionals and advocates across the Commonwealth to best practices to prevent, and better address, the impacts of childhood adversity. California’s first Surgeon General and well-known ACEs expert, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, provided the keynote address. Both Governor Northam and First Lady Pamela Northam addressed the...
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Webinar: Cultivating Our Best Selves in Response to COVID-19 | Tuesday, March 17 at Noon PDT
How to use the skills of the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) for self and others to be the calm in the storm as we face the unknown. Free Webinar Tuesday, March 17 at Noon PDT Speakers: Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW Linda Grabbe, PhD, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC Zoom Webinar Registration Link: https://zoom.us/j/715837300 Additional ways to join are listed at the bottom of this post. About the webinar leaders: Elaine Miller-Karas is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Trauma Resource Institute and...
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Webinar—Florida's Early Childhood Courts: Transforming Child Welfare on June 6 (3:00-4:30 ET)
Please join this June 6 webinar on Florida’s early childhood courts (aka “safe babies courts”) hosted by the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health and co-sponsored by the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice and ACEs Connection. Background: Every six minutes in the U.S., an infant, toddler or child under the age of 3 is removed from their homes for alleged abuse and neglect and placed in state custody through the child welfare system (Zero to Three).
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Webinar Oct. 17 — Integrating ACEs science in pediatrics: Early adopters share lessons from the field
An ACEs Connection webinar co-sponsored with 4 CA In 2017, California became the first state in the country to pass a law supporting universal screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the 5.3 million children in the state’s Medicaid program. As clinicians around California await the state’s announcement of what this new policy will entail, many are wondering what it takes to integrate ACEs science in a pediatric practice. Meet Drs. Deirdre Bernard-Pearl, R.J. Gillespie and...
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Welcome to ACEs Connection!
Welcome to ACEs Connection! ACEs Connection supports communities to accelerate ACEs science. ACEs Connection is a social network that supports communities to accelerate the global ACEs science movement, to recognize the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in shaping adult behavior and health, and to promote trauma-informed and resilience-building practices and policies in all communities and institutions — from schools to prisons to hospitals and churches — to help heal and to...
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When the Cross is On the Table
Susan Traylor says “When they see the cross on the table, they know someone has died.” The ‘they’ she is talking about are the many folks experiencing homelessness in our small community of Tarpon Springs, Florida. A few weeks ago, the cross was on the table for Terry. I knew him by sight but never knew his name. I observed him over the past few years quite often in a state that makes most people not only uncomfortable, but anxious and fearful as he argued with someone only he could see. He...
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Community Resilience Model - Orlando, FL - May 16-17, 2019
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Community Resilience Model - Orlando, FL - May 16-17, 2019
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Hope for the Opioid Crisis--Community Meeting
Calendar Event
Resilience Screening
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100% can be trauma-free
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...
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71 ACEs Initiatives Join ACEs Connection in 2019
We are proud to celebrate the 71 community initiatives that joined the ACEs Connection network in 2019. They are listed below, and can be found along with all existing ACEs Connection communities via the ACEs Connection map. Communities in the United States: Midwest ACEs Indiana Coalition Ardmore (OK) Behavioral Health Collaborative: Chisago County (MN) ACEs Initiative Franciscan Health ACEs Connection FH–Jasper & Newton Counties (IN ) FH–LaPorte County (IN) FH–Lake County (IN)...
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A Florida ACEs Tour
RADICAL GRACE – WHAT I LET GOD SEE AND ACCEPT IN ME ALSO BECOMES WHAT I CAN SEE AND ACCEPT IN MYSELF. AND EVEN MORE, IT BECOMES THAT WHEREBY I SEE EVERYTHING ELSE. ~ RICHARD ROHR For the past three months, I’ve been driving through various parts of Florida witnessing events and gatherings of communities committed to creating safe, loving, trauma informed, and trauma healing spaces. On Friday February 22nd, I was in Tarpon Springs, attending the monthly gathering of Robin Saeger’s...
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ACEs Connection Central Florida Launches at First Annual Conference
Photo by James Encinas Raising yellow “Visions & Commitments” cards, 550 attendees at yesterday’s Creating a Resilient Community: From Trauma to Healing Conference pledged their enthusiastic support to create a more resilient Central Florida. The standing-room-only crowd heard Dr. Vincent Felitti deliver a morning keynote address detailing the findings of the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study) . He also shared moving testimonials of people who are...
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ACEs Connection “Map the Movement” now includes an up-to-date section on laws and resolutions
Photo credit: Texasarchitects.org An updated map of laws and resolutions addressing ACEs science and trauma-informed policies is now available in the “Laws and Resolutions” section of Map the Movement (you can also find "Map the Movement" on the navigation bar on the ACEs Connection home page). The earliest law on the map was passed in the state of Washington in 2011, creating an ACEs science public-private partnership. The data base of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is...
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ACEs Connection's Inclusion Tool makes sure nobody's left out
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...
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Action needed today by trauma advocates to urge Congress to address mental health and trauma in current COVID-19 legislation
The follow is a message from Dan Press, Legal Advisor to the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice ), about the need to contact Congress regarding a COVID 19 funding bill being considered this weekend. He is urging ACEs science/trauma advocates and leaders to send emails to their U.S. Senators and Representatives immediately to address the mental health and trauma implications of this pandemic. All – I hate to bother you on a Sunday, but we urgently need you to contact Congress to...
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Alachua County resources deputies find alternatives to arrests [Florida Times Union]
By Sadie Darnell (Alachua County Sheriff) This column was written in response to the Oct. 6 piece by University of Florida Associate Professor F. Chris Curran, “Arrests show perils of putting police in primary schools.” When law enforcement actions such as the recent arrests of two 6-year-olds in Orlando take place on campuses, we all take a step back and reflect on what our own policies and practices are. Fortunately, for the citizens of Alachua County, we have long practiced restraint and...
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All Over the Map: A Baseline Analysis of the incidence of Childhood Trauma and the Implementation of Trauma-Informed Care in Florida [UF Lastinger Center for Learning]
All Over the Map "... In summary, the State of Florida is at an inflection point. “All over the map” is a phrase that comes to mind in describing the disparate picture across counties both in the incidence of adverse childhood events as well as the implementation of trauma-informed care programming. The analysis and recommendations within this report were developed to inform discussions on effective policy and practice considerations that will ultimately reduce the incidence of these...
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An Early Childhood Development Expert Explains How Trauma and Stress Can Derail a Kid’s Life [sarasotamagazine.com]
By Cooper Levey-Baker, Sarasota, December 19, 2019 Mimi Graham has spent her life fighting for kids. She began her career in the late 1970s as a Head Start administrator before moving into the world of academia to study child development and advocate for public policies that improve the health of mothers and children. Today, she’s the director of Florida State University’s Center for Prevention & Early Intervention Policy, a position in which she advises government agencies and...