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We all have a role to play in making sure children have the opportunity to thrive. In Child Abuse and Neglect: What It Is and What to Do About It , you will learn more about the types of child maltreatment, what to do when you think a child or family needs more support, and how to make a report if you suspect that a child has been abused or neglected. We all want children to be safe and healthy. However, the heartbreaking reality is that every year thousands of children are victims of child...

New Guidance: California's Mandated Reporting Requirements and ACE Screening We are pleased to share this joint letter from the California Department of Social Services, the California Department of Health Care Services, and the Office of the California Surgeon General providing clarifying guidance on the responsibilities of health care clinical teams who conduct screenings for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in the context of the state’s mandated reporting requirements. The Child Abuse...

By Heather Tirado Gilligan, California Health Care Foundation, August 9, 2021 Throughout her pregnancy, Altagracia Mejía was nagged by feelings of anxiety and depression. Mejía, who lives in the Panorama City neighborhood of Los Angeles, gave birth to her daughter Alexa in September 2020. Within two months, the new mother’s feelings shifted to thoughts of suicide. “In my most lucid moments, I ask myself over and over again what is happening to me ,” Mejía told Los Angeles Times reporter...

By Adele Peters, Fast Company, August 6, 2021 For the last six months, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that works with people experiencing homelessness tried a simple experiment: If it gave some people a small basic income of $500 a month, how much could it help? The nonprofit, called Miracle Messages , pairs unhoused people with volunteer “buddies” who make weekly calls and texts and offer support. (The volunteers also use social media to reconnect people experiencing homelessness with...

By Heather Tirado Gilligan, California Health Care Foundation, August 16, 2021 Jenise Dixon fell behind on rent after losing her job in the film industry last year. Dixon, who lives in Los Angeles, applied for rent relief in April and has yet to receive any help from the billions in federal funds set aside for that purpose. Despite her pending aid application and local and federal protections against eviction, Dixon’s landlord has served her with an eviction notice, Sam Levin reported for...

View Free On-Demand (CC) webinars from CALIFORNIA ACES ACADEMY CALIFORNIA ACES ACADEMY, a grantee of ACEsAware, is a collaboration of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) , the Academy on Violence and Abuse (AVA) , the California Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (CAPSAC) , and the Center for Innovation and Resources, Inc. (CIR) working to support California's ACEsAware initiative . The CALIFORNIA ACES ACADEMY webinar series aspires to educate...

By Jesse Bedayn, Cal Matters, August 4, 2021 Antes de que COVID-19 barriera el estado, las personas desempleadas necesitaban demostrar que estaban buscando trabajo para recibir los pagos. Ese requisito se eliminó durante la pandemia, pero se restableció recientemente. Si no sabe por dónde empezar a encontrar trabajo, el Departamento de Desarrollo del Empleo de California ofrece recursos para quienes buscan trabajo, junto con los criterios para demostrar que está tratando de encontrar un...

By Ashley A. Smith, EdSource, August 11, 2021 Just who is Daisy Gonzales, California’s new acting community colleges chancellor? Her journey, which she describes as an “incredible story,” may resonate with many of the system’s 2 million students. “I became aware that I was in foster care at the age of 4” she said. As a child, Gonzales grew up in a variety of places including group homes, child care facilities, and even with relatives. As she made her way, earning a Ph.D. and serving the last...

By Jesse Bedayn, Cal Matters, August 3, 2021 Before COVID-19 swept the state, people on unemployment needed to prove they were looking for work to receive the payments. That requirement was lifted during the pandemic but was recently reinstated. If you don’t know where to start to find work, California’s Employment Development Department is offering resources for job-seekers, along with the criteria to prove you’re trying to find a job. But your job-hunting skills may be rusty. We spoke with...

By Sue Grinnell, Kathryn Stewart, Shauna Olsen, and Lisa Tadlock, Public Health Institute, July 20, 2021 The impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can be seen in communities across the state of California and beyond. The prevalence of ACEs varies across counties yet, rural Northern California has a toxic stress crisis that affects not only the current well-being of the communities but also future generations: the region has the highest rate of ACEs in the state, per capita. This...

By Rebecca Ruiz, Mashable, July 11, 2021 The monarch butterfly, known for its distinctive orange color, is now on the verge of extinction. Numbering in the millions in the 1980s, the monarch population has been in steep decline thanks to habitat loss, pesticide use , and climate change . So, in fall 2020, when I spied several monarch caterpillars feasting on a neighbor's milkweed plant, I excitedly pointed them out to my young daughters. We soon noticed the caterpillars inching their way...

A Better Normal is a live Zoom event series by PACEs Connection in which we imagine and create a better normal together that is informed by PACEs science. PACEs = Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences. For an overview of PACEs science, check out this 5-minute video . Join us for our next event: Institutional Child Sexual Abuse: Problem and Prevention Wednesday, August 18, 2021 Noon to 1:00 PM PDT Hosted by PACEs Connection staff including @Natalie Audage (PACEs Connection Staff) and...