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Yesterday, NPR published the following story: CLICK HERE "Childhood trauma causes serious health repercussions throughout life and is a public health issue that calls for concerted prevention efforts. That's the takeaway of a report published Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experiencing traumatic things as a child puts you at risk for lifelong health effects, according to a body of research. The CDC's new report confirms this, finding that Americans who had...

By Elizabeth Castillo, Cal Matters, November 2, 2019 Diana Shalabi had to be sure. She was 15 when she told her dad she needed cash for a high school football game. Actually, it was for pregnancy tests. Test after test confirmed the news she wasn’t ready to face. “I was like, ‘This is not happening,’” Shalabi said. “I was crying every day.” That was four years ago, and she gave birth to a daughter, Amina. Her marriage to the baby’s father lasted less than a year. Today, she says she has sole...

By Sandra Emerson, The Press-Enterprise, November 3, 2019 Riverside County is making it easier for adults in need to pay for housing and food after a lawsuit alleged numerous flaws in its program for the destitute. Before a settlement was reached in the lawsuit, which claimed the county turned away the homeless and helped too few people, 100 clients received what’s known as General Assistance each month and about 90% of those who applied for aid were denied, said Allison Gonzalez, assistant...

By The Times Editorial Board, Los Angeles Times, November 1, 2019 As California continues to burn, the state’s firefighters have spent day after day in the searing heat and ferocious wind, hiking toward the flames, cutting fire lines and protecting homes. It’s grueling, heroic work that saves lives and prevents more devastation. And sometimes, it’s done by prison inmates. Among the thousands of federal, state and local firefighters on the fire lines, there are also more than 2,500 prisoners...

By Risa Johnson, Palm Springs Desert Sun, November 2, 2019 Forty families and 56 children celebrated adoptions at the 11th annual Adoption Finalization Day Saturday at the Riverside Historic Courthouse. Judith Clark, Riverside Superior Court juvenile presiding judge, said in a news release that the court was honored to participate in an event that "shows the strong commitment of community members, and witnesses the joy experienced by joining parents and children together as a new family.”...

By Jim Roberts, The Chronicle of Social Change, November 4, 2019 The goal of the Continuum of Care Reform (CCR) was to reduce group home placements by shifting foster youth to family-based services. There have been some modest accomplishments, but from my perspective, there is a long way to go to really achieve success. The reforms have had some positive outcomes. First, California has seen a reduction in group home placements by about one-third since 2011. Second, all private providers are...

21st Annual Families and Fathers National Conference February 24-27, 2020 Hilton Los Angeles Airport 5711 West Century Boulevard Los Angeles, California 90045 I am honored to announce The Family First Scholarship supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation as a Title Sponsor and State of California First 5 as a Co-Sponsor for the 21 st Annual Families and Fathers Conference, Next Level 2020! the terms "putting family first" and "it takes a village to raise a child" parallels with why we have...

The State of California, Health and Human Services Agency has established a non-emergency hotline to help medically vulnerable Californians and health and community care facilities find resources in their communities during power shutoffs. Please see the Word attachment for more information.

Released last week, the brief “Not Enough Adults to Go Around: Underfunded California Schools Provide Less Support for Kids” compares three similar high schools in California, Illinois, and New Jersey to highlight where dollars are spent and how that translates into actual experiences that benefit students and their success. To read the full brief click here

By First 5 of California, October 31, 2019 We invite you to join us for another outstanding Summit at the beautiful Hotel Irvine in Irvine, California, on February 3–5, 2020. The Summit theme, “Equity in Action: Elevating Children, Families, and California’s Workforce,” represents the natural evolution of this statewide event – from building partnerships, to promoting collective impact, to providing leadership around critical programs and investments designed to benefit young children and...

By California Strategic Growth Council, October 31, 2019 Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program (Round 5) $550 million is available for affordable housing projects to applicants statewide for the current funding Round 5. The program is highly competitive, so make sure to apply for free technical assistance by filling out this survey application (linked), which is due TODAY . [ Apply by filling out this survey .]

Healthcare leaders told The Bee that they are confronting a level of disruption to delivering care and running their businesses that they have never seen in their careers as a result of the California wildfires and Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s planned blackouts . “I actually have never experienced a power outage where we were on emergency generator backup for 40 hours or more,” said Dr. Brian Evans , the chief executive officer at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital in Grass Valley. “We’ve had...