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At a March 6 hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) addressed the impact of family separation on the mental and physical health of children at the border. Her questions to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen focused on the impact of toxic stress caused by family separation on short and long-term health outcomes for children. Sec. Nielsen was unfamiliar with the concept of “toxic stress.” Here’s a short description of the 6-minute exchange...

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between parental disengagement in childhood and adolescent gun carrying and determine whether this association is accounted for by externalizing problems and affiliation with delinquent peers during early adolescence. METHODS: The sample included 503 boys (55.7% African American, 40.6% white, 3.7% other) recruited from first-grade classrooms in Pittsburgh public schools. Multi-informant assessments were conducted regularly (semiannually then annually)...

WASHINGTON — On a long, low shelf at Safe Shores in downtown Washington, colorful figurines of wild animals, army soldiers, a winged dragon and an angel appear to be the toy collection of an overly neat child. It's the "sand tray room," where young survivors of sexual assault arrange figures in a tray of sand to tell stories about their experiences, often, too difficult to put into words. One 10-year-old girl, abused by her father, remained silent through five sessions of therapy. Only after...

Health Status of Children Enrolled in a Family Navigator Program to Eliminate Intergenerational Poverty , Clinical Pediatrics All Traumas Are Not Created Equal JAMA Pediatrics Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Case-Based Workshop Introducing Medical Students to Trauma-Informed Care The Journal of Teaching and Learning Resources The Evidence on School-Based Health Centers: A Review Global Pediatric Health Adverse Childhood Experiences in Infancy and Toddlerhood Predict Obesity and Health...

Last November, the California Department of Managed Care gave its stamp of approval to a new version of Whole Child Assessment 2.0 , a tool that screens for children’s adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). It was recommended as part of recently passed legislation calling for trauma screening for children in California. But the Whole Child Assessment 2.0 (WCA) does more. It also queries patients about other critical safety and health issues, including whether they have enough to eat, whether...

The experience of natural spaces, brimming with greenish light, the smells of soil and the quiet fluttering of leaves in the breeze can calm our frenetic modern lives. It's as though our very cells can exhale when surrounded by nature, relaxing our bodies and minds. Some people seek to maximize the purported therapeutic effects of contact with the unbuilt environment by embarking on sessions of forest bathing , slowing down and becoming mindfully immersed in nature. But in a rapidly...

As state and federal lawmakers prepare for the year ahead, there is tremendous momentum for bold ideas that move families toward opportunity. The second Aspen Forum on Children and Families , held this week on February 26-27, will bring together national leaders – policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and philanthropists – to surface big ideas for investing in the full potential of children and families, two generations at a time. While in-person registration for this convening is...

How does epigenetics relate to child development? New resource from the Harvard Center on the Developing Child explains. Science tells us that the interactions between genes and environment shape human development. “Epigenetics” is an emerging area of scientific research that shows how environmental influences—including the experiences we provide for children—actually affect the expression of their genes. This means that the old idea that genes are "set in stone" has been disproven. Nature...

Don't worry that chores are too stressful for kids with ACEs, says trauma researcher Bob Sege, MD. “You don’t want to coddle them,” Sege said, “because the message they will get is that they are damaged goods. They need to know that the adversity they suffered is only one part of them; it’s not all of them.”

Becoming a Pilot Site is a great way to get the support you need! Identify and implement an ACEs screening protocol that’s right for your practice and patient population Help your peers in the broader NPPC network by sharing data, best practices and insights from your pilot experience If you are ready to apply, please click the link below to access the application. NPPC Pilot Site Cohort 2 Application For more information, you can find the recording of our informational webinar and the...

Our brains grows so much in the first few years of life that any trauma we experience during that time can affect our health forever. California's new, first-ever surgeon general, Dr. @Nadine Burke Harris, has made the link between childhood adversity and long-term health the focus of her work. She was sworn in by Gov. Gavin Newsom last week and calls her new role a "dream job." [For more on this story by PRISKA NEELY, go to ...

Physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, child life professionals, and other patient service providers are invited and encouraged to join a webinar entitled: "Crossroads of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Developmental Disabilities" Increased levels of toxic stress, which can be caused by recurrent or chronic exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), can impair neurodevelopment, behavior, and overall health of a child (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services...