Tagged With "Executive Director"
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Resilience Screening in Cleveland County
Recently, Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence partnered with Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina (PCANC) to host a community screening of the film Resilience in our Cleveland County-Partners Behavioral Health Management partnership. The screening provided the opportunity for the community to come together to learn not only about the impact trauma has on developing youth and their families but also on the importance of building resilient communities to support them. To introduce the film,...
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Resilience Week [resilienceweek.co]
By UNC TV, November 6, 2019 UNC-TV Public Media North Carolina presents the statewide broadcast premiere of the special documentary feature Resilience: The Biology of Stress & the Science of Hope, Tuesday, November 19, at 8 PM, as part of Resilience Week—a statewide initiative to build awareness of childhood trauma, prevention and resilience. The hour-long film focuses on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), what Dr. Robert Anda and Laura Porter of ACE Interface have termed, “the...
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Resilience Week [resilienceweek.co]
By UNC TV, November 6, 2019 UNC-TV Public Media North Carolina presents the statewide broadcast premiere of the special documentary feature Resilience: The Biology of Stress & the Science of Hope, Tuesday, November 19, at 8 PM, as part of Resilience Week—a statewide initiative to build awareness of childhood trauma, prevention and resilience. The hour-long film focuses on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), what Dr. Robert Anda and Laura Porter of ACE Interface have termed, “the...
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SaySo and Karen McLeod Honored at NC Child’s Voices for Children Breakfast
The 2019 Voices for Children Breakfast was hosted by NC Child earlier this month. Members of the child advocacy community came together to celebrate achievements in their work with families and children and recognize leaders who have made a difference. SaySo (Strong Able Youth Speaking Out) was awarded the first-ever Community Voices Award. SaySo is a statewide association of youth aged 14 to 24 who are, or have been, in the North Carolina foster care system. As youth who have first-hand...
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The Sacramento Violence Intervention Program, Trauma & ACEs
On May 22, I had the opportunity to experience a presentation by DeAngelo Mack on the Sacramento Violence Intervention Program, Trauma and ACEs. The presentation was at Kaiser Sacramento and was directed to residents in the organization. I have worked with @DeAngelo Mack, @Chris Cooper and @Esmeralda Huerta through Resilient Sacramento for the past few years and have admired their work in the community, this was the first opportunity I had to attend...
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Benchmarks - Partnering for Excellence Job Post - Pitt & Craven County Project Assistant
Hi Everyone! Benchmarks is expanding and we are super excited to announce that we will be hiring for a Project Assistant for Pitt and Craven County’s Partnering for Excellence initiative! Attached is a PDF of the job description and qualifications in detail. We anticipate filling this position by the end of January! Please if you would, share with those that you feel may qualify. Thank you in advance! Lavita
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Broken Places Strengthens Cleveland County
In the historical novel, A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway made a significant observation regarding trauma and resiliency. He wrote “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are stronger in the Broken Places .” These very words inspired Roger Weisberg, writer, producer and director, to create a unique film that reexamined four decades of film footage in relation to the impact of toxic stress on children. Thus, the film, Broken Places, was produced by Weisberg who invited the viewer into the...
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Community Broken Places Screening in Rowan County
Last week, the Stop Intergenerational Trauma (SiT) workgroup, part of Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence, hosted a free screening of the documentary Broken Places open to everyone in the community. Broken Places revisits three different families that were filmed 15-30 years ago to see how the toxic stress and trauma that they experienced has affected them over the years. It turns out that some people are really damaged by toxic stress and trauma, while others are able to thrive, and the...
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Farewell Friend: Longtime Benchmarks NC Member & PFE Champion Margie Christopher Retires
Last month, Benchmarks North Carolina celebrated another year at our Annual Dinner and Conference. While there was much to celebrate, Benchmarks had the bitter sweet privilege of honoring and saying farewell to long time member and child and family advocate Margie Christopher, Executive Director of Children’s Homes of Cleveland County (CHCC). This year’s annual meeting was the last in which long time Benchmarks member and innovative thinker Margie Christopher will have been in attendance.
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From A to R: Lessons at the Child Fatality Prevention Summit
Benchmarks' Partnering for Excellence Project Director, Jenny Cooper, had the opportunity to talk about everything from ACEs to Resiliency at North Carolina's Child Fatality Prevention Summit. The Summit was the first of its kind in the state and brought together Community Child Prevention Team and Child Fatality Taskforce Teams from throughout the state. While the morning plenary session spoke of ACEs and the high rates of ACEs in North Carolina, Jenny's presentation took the opportunity to...
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Hurricane Florence first responders receive free trauma/resilience training
In a webinar offered this morning by Elaine Miller Karas , executive director of the Trauma Resource Institute in Claremont, CA, leaders from several North Carolina ACEs Connection communities affected by flooding and other damage by Hurricane Florence learned more about trauma response and how to better help their communities find resilience. Karas, who was delivering her Community Resiliency Model (CRM) training at Duke University in Durham, NC, offered the free training and provided...
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Juvenile Justice Partnerships / County Collaborative Forum
Last week, Partners Behavioral Health Management held the Juvenile Justice Partnerships / County Collaborative Forum in Statesville, North Carolina. The focus of the forum was “Effectively Engaging High Risk Youth in Communities: Identifying Adolescent Substance Use Trends and Using Data to Strengthen Community Collaboration.” Eric Rowles, President and CEO of Leading to Change, led an interactive training in which he provided participants with tools and strategies to implement to connect...
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Passing the Torch: Increasing Access to Support the Whole Child From Birth to Five
Another great resource from the 2018 ACES Connection conference in San Francisco: This was a panel with four individuals that "do varied work around trauma in prenatal, infant care and early childhood. Julie Kurtz, the Co-Director of Trauma-Informed Practices for Early Childhood Education at the Center for Family & Child Studies at WestEd, started off by giving a tour of the neurobiology of trauma." ...
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Personal stories the set tone of hearing in U.S. Senate HELP Committee on Opioid Crisis Response Act
Jennifer Donahue, Delaware Office of the Child Advocate, testifies before the HELP Committee (Jennifer Perry to her right) ____________________________________________________________ Some seasoned advocates say legislators are influenced by stories while their staffs are swayed by data. There was some of both at the April 11 hearing on the draft Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018 of the U.S. Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor & Pensions) Committee but it was the personal stories that...
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PFE Booster
Have you ever needed a boost ? Perhaps it was just a little help to make you taller or did you need a few encouraging words that could help redirect your path? The staff at Cleveland County DSS were showing signs that they needed a boost up after implementing the Partnering For Excellent (PFE) initiative in Cleveland County, NC almost four years ago. With changes in leadership, staff and organizational structure, including the welcome of a new director, along with general fatigue and...
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PFE Hosts Tri-County DSS Meeting
Benchmarks' Partnering for Excellence (PFE) works to implement trauma informed practices inside local social service agencies while also assisting in building a bridge between child welfare and Medicaid managed care for behavioral health (LME/MCOs). Annually, PFE gets the child welfare agencies, Medicaid LME/MCOs, private mental health providers, and stakeholders together to review the current state of the initiative. Out of the last meeting came the idea that the child welfare agencies...
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PFE Presents at The 32nd Annual Research and Policy Conference on Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Behavioral Health
Earlier this month, Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) Program Manager, Jasmine Cain and Ollie Harris Behavioral Health Center's Director, Katie Munger presented in collaboration at the 32 nd Annual Research and Policy Conference on Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Behavioral Health in Tampa, Florida. This collaboration began in an effort to assess the need for trauma-informed behavioral health services for adults in Cleveland County. As a result of Benchmarks’ PFE goal to...
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Resilience
On the 27th of April 2018, Rowan-Salisbury School System hosted a showing of the movie Resilience at the Norvell Theater in Salisbury, North Carolina. Upon entering the lobby of the Novell Theater, shortly after 6pm that evening, the amount of enthusiasm and partnership surrounding the showing of Resilience and the trauma work being done within the community was breathtaking. The lobby was filled with teachers and social workers and many key community stakeholders, all working together to...
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Resilience Screening at 2019 Special Needs Mini Conference
A couple weeks ago, Partners In Learning hosted its annual Special Needs Mini Conference for anyone in the community interested in learning more about various techniques, practices, and programs that influence children, particularly those with special needs. Partners In Learning’s mission is to model the highest quality learning environment that stimulates families and the community to provide optimal growth and development of children. The focus of this year’s conference was resiliency. The...
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Worth the Effort: Building Resilience in Social Workers
Let’s talk ·R·E·S·I·L·I·E·N·C·E! Resilience is an individual’s ability to overcome adversity, and it is influenced by many factors. A person’s resilience is strongly impacted by their environment and support systems within their lives. A supportive environment, relationships, and connections with other trusted and dependable human beings can make a tremendous difference in the lives of children and families who have endured toxic stressful and traumatic situations. We know how important...
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Standardized Assessment Protocol Spotlight: Surry and Yadkin Departments of Social Services
Over the past year, Surry and Yadkin Counties' Departments of Social Services have partnered with Benchmarks' Standardized Assessment Protocol pilot to bring about positive outcomes for children, ages 4 and up, in their foster care program. Both Surry and Yadkin joined the project before CoVID-19 changed every aspect of their jobs. What began as an in-person implementation project, quickly, and without warning turned into being completely virtual-- all while partnering with a coordinator...
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Rockingham County Youth Services Rockstar Spotlight
Rockingham County Youth Services (RCYS) is a local county government agency in Rockingham County, NC that provides counseling and other community alternatives for school-aged youth and their families. RCYS began in Rockingham County in 1979 as a program for troubled youth. Since then, the agency has evolved to provide programs that include counseling for children and adolescents, parenting classes, as well as programs ranging from teen court to substance abuse prevention. The evolution of...
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Nazareth Child & Family Connection: Empowering Youth and Families
Nazareth Child and Family Connection has been a vital member to Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) partnership since 2012. While they offer amazing services to the children and family involved in the project, Nazareth is also a huge contributor to innovative and best practice in and around their community. Nazareth was founded in 1906 and has since continued to provide an array of services to meet the needs of children and families located in Rowan and Davidson Counties. Their...
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Rally for House Bill 914: Support our Direct Care Workforce
Thank you to everyone who reached out to legislators for our rally day on House Bill 914 Support Our Direct Care Workforce! A special thanks to Lutheran Family Services , Universal Mental Health Services , Alexander Youth Network , A Small Miracle and ACI-Dungarvin (North Carolina) , for having attendees who came to the legislature! If we missed anyone else who came to Raleigh, we apologize and hope you will let us know you were there! We had a fantastic press conference with Representative...
Member
Donna Cagler
Member
Jay Ruebel
Member
Joseph Craver
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Trauma-Informed Early Childhood Initiatives [CTIPP]
CTIPP CAN Call - Trauma-Informed Early Childhood Initiatives - September 15th, 2-3:30pm ET/11am-12:30pm PT - Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/742183645 Meeting ID: 742 183 645 One tap mobile +19292056099,,742183645# US (New York) Please join us for next week's CTIPP CAN Call, which will focus on building mental well-being for infants, toddlers and preschoolers and the adults who care for them. This month's presentation will feature Drs. Kaitlin Mulcahy and Gerry Costa, and Kelly...
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FREE WEBINAR - The Impact of Mind Matters: Preliminary Evidence of Effectiveness in a Community-Based Sample
Becky Antle, Ph.D., Professor of Social Work and esteemed University Scholar at the University of Louisville, won The Dibble Institute’s national competition to evaluate Mind Matters: Overcoming Adversity and Building Resilience in 2019. As a result, Dr. Antle and her colleagues have conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of Mind Matters on a host of outcomes related to trauma symptoms, emotional regulation, coping and resiliency, and interpersonal skills for at-risk...
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All Systems Go! Vaya Health and Benchmarks Kickoff Child Welfare Project with DSS Directors
Earlier this month we announced Benchmarks will be working on a new project with Vaya Health, a Medicaid managed care organization in North Carolina, to improve the lives of children in the child welfare system. Benchmarks will provide consulting and training services regarding the alignment of practices of the local child welfare system and the behavioral healthcare provider system. To jumpstart this effort, Vaya and Benchmarks invited each DSS Director from Vaya’s current 22 counties as...
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Partnering to Care for Families: Highlighting the Work of Integrated Family Services
Benchmarks’ Center for Quality Integration (CQi) would like to say Happy Anniversary to our partners at Integrated Family Services! A year ago, the agency made the decision to join the Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) initiative between Trillium Health Resources and two of their partnering child welfare organizations in Pitt and Craven counties. Since joining, Integrated Family Services (IFS) has been more than just a stellar partner. Their commitment to collaborating with...
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Saying Farewell: Rockingham County Continues SAP Independently
Rockingham County Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social Services (RCDHHS-DSS) began their journey with the Standardized Assessment Protocol (SAP) in 2019. During this time, the DSS staff have worked to increase their knowledge of trauma-informed practices to best meet the needs of children entering permanency planning. The SAP process includes timely screening for trauma in order to quickly identify a child’s need for further assessment, so that they are more likely to...
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Takeaways from the 2022 Kids: Empowered Communities Driving Change Conference
Benchmarks’ staff attended the virtual policy summit hosted by NC Child and the NC Essentials for Childhood Initiative on March 29 th and 30 th . The two-day conference was packed with inspirational messages from child advocates across North Carolina. After a formal opening from NC Child Executive Director, Michelle Hughes, and a moving keynote address with a call to action by Reverend Dr. Starsky Wilson of the Children’s Defense Fund, organizers from across the state came together to host...
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Pamlico Child & Family Therapy - Partner Spotlight
Benchmarks’ Partnering for Excellence (PFE) project works to align local private providers, LME/MCO partners, and local Departments of Social Services, as well as the community to better address the trauma-related needs of children and families encountering the child welfare system. Research shows that addressing trauma early on is imperative to bettering the outcomes of those who have experienced it. With so many children and families having trauma exposure, we recognized a need to...
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Partner Spotlight: Cleveland County DSS
In this month’s Partner Spotlight, Benchmarks would like to highlight our partners at Cleveland County DSS. Since 2016, Cleveland County has been working with Benchmarks’ Center for Quality Improvement to implement Partnering for Excellence (PFE), a project that aims to ensure child welfare involved youth are appropriately screened, assessed, and treated for trauma in a timely and effective manner. Recently, Cleveland transitioned to the sustainability phase of the project which means all...
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Children’s Center of Northwest North Carolina: SAP Provider Spotlight
The Benchmarks’ Standardized Assessment Project (SAP) and Surry County’s SAP Leadership Team welcome The Children’s Center of Northwest North Carolina as our newest Trauma-Intensive Comprehensive Clinical Assessment (TiCCA) provider! The Children’s Center of Northwest North Carolina (Children’s Center) provides a wide array of programs and services for children and families in the Northwestern region of North Carolina. Community Relations Coordinator, Valerie Smith, states “The Children’s...
Member
Kevin McLeod
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The Standardized Assessment Protocol Welcomes Cabarrus County to the Fold
Benchmarks is excited to welcome Cabarrus County DSS as the newest member of our Standardized Assessment Protocol (SAP) project! The SAP project is a process created to ensure prompt trauma screening for children over the age of four entering foster care to quickly identify a child’s need for further assessment, which increases their likelihood to receive the treatment necessary to reach their full potential. This treatment goes beyond just mental and behavioral health; treatment...
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Partners Health Management Continues to Partner for Innovative Pilot Project
This week we are giving a shout out to Partners Health Management! They are a valuable teammate in making the Standardized Assessment Protocol (SAP) project successful, and Benchmarks is proud to be partnering with this organization. Partners serves as a Managed Care Organization (MCO) for clients with mental health concerns, intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as substance use disorders, managing services for the behavioral health care needs of these populations. Partners...
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Rockingham County DHHS-DSS Spotlight
Rockingham County Department of Health & Human Services-Division of Social Services is adept at participating in pilot projects in the health and human services realm, and is always interested in doing innovative, trauma-informed work that is for the benefit of the children & families they serve. In 2019, Rockingham County chose to participate in Benchmarks’ Standardized Assessment Protocol (SAP) project and sought to provide foster children with the opportunity to receive a holistic...
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The 2023 Creating Resilient Communities Accelerator Program is now Open For Registration
PACEs Connection is excited to kick off our 2023 Creating Resilient Communities (CRC) Annual Accelerator Program.
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Check Out New July Dates Added to the 2023 CRC Summer Curriculum and the Official Launch of the Dedicated CRC Community Page
July is a time to celebrate all summer has to offer by building bridges and innovating with community to get to the heart of trauma-informed awareness and resilience building. This month, we’ve added new July dates to the summer 2023 *CRC* curriculum—but that’s only half of the good news. Last year, the CRC began as a pilot program. Now that it's evolved, what better time to bring accelerator participants together in a PACEs Connection CRC community than the summer? We are proud to announce...
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Spotlight on Access Family Services
This month, Benchmarks is spotlighting Access Family Services and welcomes them to the Standardized Assessment Protocol (SAP) team. Access Family Services (AFS) is a behavioral health agency that has been serving children and families throughout North Carolina since 1999. Their mission is to deliver culturally sensitive behavioral health services to individuals and families in the community using evidence-based practices to improve overall functioning and well-being. Access Family Services...
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World Mental Health Day: Mobilizing the Human Family Through the CRC & the PACEs Movement
Awareness about health outcomes are as much about the long-term impact caused by adverse childhood experiences as they are by positive childhood experiences. By providing education on trauma-informed awareness and resilience building frameworks, the CRC Accelerator certification is a tool for both.
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Strength Through Unity: Nurturing Trauma-informed Resilience in Families Displaced by Violence Through the CRC & the PACEs Movement
Beyond Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), our members seek to deeply understand strengths-based insights embedded in the remaining ACEs quadrant: Adverse Community Environments, Adverse Climate Experiences, and Atrocious Cultural Experiences.
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Creating Resilient Communities in 2024: The Year of Cultivating Resilient Networks Through Healing Centered Cultural Wisdom
As we head into our full CRC curriculum this January, we invite current and future CRC Accelerator participants to join us with collective care and self care in mind.
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Celebrating Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in North Carolina
In the vibrant tapestry of human diversity, each brings unique perspectives, talents, and challenges. A beautiful and meaningful part of this fabric are those who identify as Intellectual and Developmentally Disabled (I/DD). These individuals experience diverse spectrum of conditions that require more than understanding, tolerance, and support, but inclusion. As we commemorate Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month this March, it is a poignant moment to reflect on the...
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Plans afoot to bring stability to PACEs Connection
To all of you, who, like me, love this website and want to see it and its communities flourish as we work to prevent and heal trauma; build resiliency: please know there is a move afoot by a small group of strategic partners to find a suitable host for PACEs Connection. More will be announced in the coming days. In the meantime, friends, we are figuring out email addresses and other communications logistics and opportunities. PEACE! Carey Sipp, former director of strategic partnerships ...