August 2022 Newsletter
August is Back-to-School Month in California
In this edition of the ACEs Aware newsletter, we share several education resources, including a new video in the Storytelling Series about the impact that educators at Laguna High School in Sonoma County are having by employing trauma-informed care to mitigate the impacts of toxic stress in their population of at-risk students. We also share resources for addressing ACEs in a K-12 environment from our friends at PACEs (Positive & Adverse Childhood Experiences) Connection and Kaiser Permanente.
We applaud all of California’s educators and the tremendous work they have done under very difficult circumstances during the past few years. As Allie Green, Principal of Laguna High School, said in the video: “We know that having one grown-up that believes in you, one grown-up that tells you ‘You can do it’, can change the trajectory of a child’s life.”
Thank you, educators. We hope you enjoy the remaining weeks of summer.
New and Noteworthy
ACEs Aware Storytelling Series – Two New Videos
We are excited to announce the launch of two new videos in the ACEs Aware Storytelling Series:
Learning with ACEs: An Educator's Story
This video takes us to Sonoma County, where educators at an alternative high school partnered with the County Office of Education to train staff on trauma-informed practices, ACEs, and toxic stress. Since they began implementing trauma-informed practices three years ago, the school has seen its graduation rate rise from 55 percent to 95 percent.
Click here to watch the video.
Healing from Toxic Stress with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris
In this installment of the ACEs Aware Storytelling Series, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California’s first Surgeon General, defines the toxic stress response and its potentially harmful impact on health, especially in children. She also discusses evidence-based practices that individuals can adopt to regulate the biological stress response and improve health outcomes.
Click here to watch the video.
Want to see more? Watch the first two videos in the Storytelling Series on the ACEs Aware website:
July Data Report: 793,000 Medi-Cal Beneficiaries Screened for ACEs
The ACEs Aware initiative has released a new quarterly data report detailing the number of Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) screenings conducted for children and adults in California between January 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021. The report also tracks the number of clinical team members that completed the “Becoming ACEs Aware in California” online training between December 4, 2019, and May 31, 2022.
Click here to download the report.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
On July 16, 2022, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number transitioned to an easy-to-remember three-digit number (988). Anyone can call or text 988 or chat at988lifeline.org to receive support when experiencing a suicidal, mental health, and/or substance use related crisis. The California Health & Human Services agency haslaunched efforts to develop a plan to support connections among prevention efforts, like warm lines and peer support services, 988 suicide and crisis call centers, mobile crisis response, and community-based crisis care at the local level.
ACEs Aware Community Spotlight
Dr. Shannon Thyne is a Co-Principal Investigator of the UCLA-UCSF ACEs Aware Family Resilience Network (UCAAN). She is a Vice-Chair in the Department of Pediatrics, Chief of Pediatrics at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, and Director of Pediatrics for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.
She is also a board-certified pediatrician with leadership experience in clinical operations, medical education, and clinical care for children and youth in the safety net. Her clinical and academic areas of focus include asthma, foster care, childhood adversity/resilience, and behavioral health.
Dr. Thyne earned a B.A. in Psychology from Yale College and an M.D. from Brown University. She completed her residency at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and served as a Pediatric Chief Resident at San Francisco General Hospital.
How did you get involved with ACEs Aware? What makes you passionate about this work?
I have been providing care to foster children and youth through my entire career, and screening and responding to trauma before I ever learned the term ‘Adverse Childhood Experiences’ (ACEs). As evidence emerged about the health impacts of ACEs, the ACEs Aware initiative offered providers like me a framework to support standardization of screening and response to childhood trauma. Former California Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris and I connected through our clinical work in San Francisco, and we partnered in the care of children and youth impacted by trauma. After I relocated to Los Angeles, Dr. Burke Harris’ advocacy for provider reimbursement for ACE screening was a catalyst for engaging Los Angeles County in ACE screening and response.
Events, Resources, and Research
Events
Upcoming Virtual Symposium: Adapting & Thriving in the New Era of Healthcare
September 22, 2022 | 8:30am – 3:30pm | Community Health Association Inland Southern Region
Recorded Webinar: Lessons on the Impact of Trauma
May 2022 | NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
Recorded Webinar: “Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in California: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), ACEs 2013-2019”
June 2022 | Center for Healthy Communities
Access the Webinar →
Read the Report →
Resources
Thriving Schools Program
Kaiser Permanente
A comprehensive effort to use knowledge of ACEs to create a trauma-informed culture of health and wellness for students, staff, and teachers in K-12 schools.
PACEs in Education
PACEs Connection
A PACEs Connection resource to share ideas on mitigating the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences in the K-12 environment.
Free Tools from the Adverse Childhood Experiences Recovery Workbook
Glenn R. Schiraldi
From The Adverse Childhood Experiences Recovery Workbook, “Heal the Hidden Wounds from Childhood Affecting Your Adult Mental and Physical Health”, by Glenn R. Schiraldi, Published by: New Harbinger Publications: Research (requires free registration)
Research
Early Adverse Childhood Experiences and exclusionary discipline in high school
January 2022 | Journal of Social Science Research
Role of thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness and psychological distress in the association between Adverse Childhood Experiences and suicidal ideation in college students
February 2022 | BJPsych Open, Vol. (8)2
The role of Early Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in predicting academic problems among college students
April 2022 | Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Overdose: Lessons From Overdose Data to Action
June 2022 | American Journal of Preventive Medicine
The Adverse Childhood Experiences – International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ) in community samples around the world: a systematic review (part I)
July 2022 | Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect
The “Becoming ACEs Aware in California” training is not only for clinicians.
It is also useful for all patient-facing staff, community workers,
and educators in settings where children, adults, and families
receive health care or supportive community services.
Partner with us to become ACEs Aware certified.
Click here to take the training.
“I can be changed by what's happened to me,
but I refuse to be reduced by it.”
– Maya Angelou
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