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By Dave Mason, Santa Barbara News-Press, June 19, 2021 There’s help available for children and families experiencing toxic stress. Cottage Health, on behalf of the Pediatric Resiliency Collaborative (PeRC) and Resilient Santa Barbara County, is now accepting applications for the Network of Care Buffering Services Grant Program. The Buffering Services grants integrate community-based services to support children and families experiencing toxic stress. The grantees will partner with pediatric...

By Deke Farrow, The Modesto Bee, June 16, 2021 To better engage families with their children’s educations, Modesto City Schools is preparing to launch a Parent Ambassadors program for the upcoming school year. Eventually, there will be an ambassador at each school, the Board of Education was told at its June 7 meeting. They will connect parents to internal and external resources, answer questions and share information on ways to get involved with student activities and athletics, school...

Have you ever suffered from the shame of addiction or at a complete loss about how to help someone you love who is struggling with addiction? More than 200 people are dying every day from drug overdose, according to the CDC — 81,000 each year, most due to opioids. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says that 23 million adults ARE struggling with substance abuse. Join us on June 23 for a real and honest conversation that will enlighten, inspire and leave us feeling...

By Nigel Duara, Cal Matters, June 18, 2021 Eleven mayors, including two in California, announced today their commitment to support federal reparations legislation and establish pilot programs for Black residents in their cities as part of a new nationwide coalition. The mayors of Los Angeles and Sacramento will join nine other mayors, from cities as populous as Denver to tiny Tullahassee, Okla., one of the oldest surviving Black towns in the West, on the Mayors Organized for Reparations...

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has released the latest version of its Five-Year State Prevention Plan (the Plan) for the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA). This new plan reflects some notable changes from the prior draft that went out in March, including the following: Clarification of the vision of the FFPSA Prevention Services Program, including connecting the goal of reducing disproportionality to specific actions in the Plan; Inclusion of all...

Hi. I'm Alison Cebulla and many of you may know me as a Community Facilitator at PACEs Connection of the Northeast, Midatlantic, Southwest, and International Communities. I also produce our A Better Normal series and other live Zoom events. Many burgeoning community leaders ask me, "what can I do to make a bigger difference?" This is a big question with no one right answer. So I'm going to start writing small pieces with little tips that can help. Community Leader Tip #2: Consistency Builds...

RISE From Trauma Act Would Expand Support For Children Who Have Experienced Trauma And Address The Cycle Of Violence And Addiction WASHINGTON – U.S., 06.16.21 Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), along with U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), today introduced bipartisan legislation to increase support for children who have been exposed to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and trauma, including witnessing community...

The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies are joining together to create the Public Health and Education Equity Collaborative. Our first event is a two-part forum (on Zoom), titled " Student Well-Being and School Based Public Health ." The goal of this forum is to provide a platform for education and public health professionals to discuss the intersectional inequities exacerbated by COVID-19 and foster cross-sector collaborations for...

Por Richard Pan, Cal Matters, May 25, 2021 La Declaración de Independencia proclama “Sostenemos que estas verdades son evidentes por sí mismas, que todos los hombres son creados iguales”, pero a pesar de nuestras aspiraciones, todos los estadounidenses no disfrutan de las mismas oportunidades. La pandemia de COVID subraya las disparidades actuales en la salud, la educación y la riqueza que se ofrecen a diferentes estadounidenses según su raza. El coronavirus no discrimina por motivos de...

By Charlotte West and Angel Fabre, Cal Matters, June 16, 2021 In early June, 19-year-old Brian Cruz was on a break from his warehouse job at Amazon, listening to music. He scrolled through the messages on his phone and saw an email from the college and career center at his old high school in Hemet, a high desert town in Southern California. Even though Cruz graduated from Tahquitz High School last year, the email invited him to make an appointment with a school counselor. Last spring, Cruz...

By Roni Caryn Rabin, The New York Times, June 14, 2021 To a wide circle of friends and family, Jesse Ruby was the go-to guy. The father who would drop everything and drive across town if his sons needed a ride. The cousin who spent weekends helping relatives move. The partner who worked odd jobs on weekends with his girlfriend, Virginia Herrera, to help make ends meet for an extended household in San Jose, Calif. “If he was your friend, or he considered you a friend or family, all you had to...

By Linh Tat, Los Angeles Daily News, June 14, 2021 Rap legend Dr. Dre and music producer Jimmy Iovine are teaming up with Los Angeles Unified to open a new magnet high school focused on design, business and technology, with the goal of giving historically underserved students an opportunity to become the next generation of leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs. Opening in fall 2022 on the campus of Audubon Middle School in South L.A., the magnet school aims to provide students with hands-on...