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My project for the Center for Health Journalism’s California Fellowship was focused on childhood trauma, zeroing in on a town in Northern California. In the fall, that town — Paradise, California — burned in a harrowing wildfire. The story quickly changed to one of community loss. The story of trauma in two counties My initial project was about Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs. ACEs are one way to quantify how much childhood trauma a person has experienced before the age of 18. Through...

Nurse @Wendie Skala worked with teens who were victims of street violence — and she always felt she was getting to them too late. Eventually, she learned about something called “adverse childhood experiences,” or ACEs : The idea that trauma early in life can cause disruptive and unhealthy behavior. And that’s when Skala says a “huge light bulb” went on. “Instead of saying, ‘What’s wrong with these kids?’ We could finally say, ‘What happened to these kids that they’re ending...

Lesbian, gay and bisexual students in California’s middle and high schools are much more likely than their straight peers to feel depressed, abuse substances and skip school, according to a new report by Kidsdata .* The report examines data from two state-sponsored surveys, one looking at student wellbeing in grades 7,9 and 11 and non-traditional students, and another that gauges the opinions of staff at elementary through high schools on student behavior, policies and programs, and overall...

School districts laboring under higher mandated expenses would receive a surprise windfall — pension-cost relief — in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first proposed state budget for 2019-20, which will also provide big spending increases for early and higher education. Using surplus money from the state’s General Fund, Newsom would wipe out $3 billion of districts’ rising obligations to CalSTRS, the pension fund for teachers and administrators, including $350 million each of the next two fiscal years.

In the years since the 2007 Great Recession, economic commentary has veered between hailing the subsequent recovery and sounding the alarm about rising inequality. Income inequality is often identified as a sign of both the country’s underlying economic troubles and public policies that disproportionately benefit the wealthy. An alternative indicator of the nation’s social and economic health pertains to wealth, specifically the growing wealth gap among people of different races and...

Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to announce plans to spend big on babies and toddlers, significantly expanding a range of programs, from helping parents care for their small children at home to identifying developmental delays early. In his first budget proposal, which is due to the Legislature by Thursday, Newsom plans to propose $100 million to expand a home-visiting program — in which nurses and social workers visit young, low-income parents to give health and parenting advice — and another...

From Ed Source : Each year the Legislative Analyst's Office publishes the essential facts about California – the state of its health, finances, housing and population – in graphics. This year's edition of Cal Facts includes 12 pages about education, including national rankings, demographics and other data on K-12 and higher ed. To read the report, go to https://lao.ca.gov/reports/2018/3905/calfacts-2018.pdf

The California Behavioral Health Planning Council (Council) is under federal and state mandate to advocate on behalf of adults with severe mental illness and children with severe emotional disturbance and their families. The Council is also statutorily required to advise the Legislature on behavioral health issues, policies and priorities in California. The Council advocates for an accountable system of seamless, responsive services that are strength-based, consumer and family member driven,...

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a broad overhaul of health care on his first day in office Monday, promising to throw the financial power of the state into an effort to lower prescription drug costs, expand Obamacare so middle-class families can receive subsidies to buy insurance, and offer Medi-Cal coverage to undocumented immigrants up to age 26. Newsom aides said the changes would be funded in part by a California version of the individual mandate — the former federal requirement...

ACEs Connection presents, "Starting & Growing Resilient Communities: Online & In Real Life (IRL)" , an interactive webinar training series focused on developing existing and potential online community managers and IRL ACEs champions. If you are not a current online community manager, please know that ALL are welcome. This series is dedicated to providing insight into creating sustainable and effective online & IRL ACEs intiatives. "Starting & Growing Resilient Communities:...

Sneak Preview for ITRC ACEs Connection Members! Next Tuesday, Jan. 8, the ITRC will release a major report Preparing People on the West Coast for Climate Change. The media release about the report is below (and attached). It includes a link to the webpage for the report, where people can download the full report, and find a link to the webpage with examples of resilience programs across the west coast. You can connect with the ITRC CA and PNW Facebook page:...

California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN) CPEHN was proud to sponsor Senate Bill (SB) 1152 in 2017-2018. Thank you to author Senator Ed Hernandez and to all of our community partners who helped lobby for this bill. CPEHN stands committed to seeing a successful implementation of the law surrounding this important issue. Read below to find out more about the changes we will see this year. Beginning January 1, 2019, all hospitals in California must develop a plan for safely discharging...