Tagged With "California's Surgeon General"
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16,000 California K-12 Students had Shootings at Their Schools Since Sandy Hook [mercurynews.com]
By John Woolfolk, The Mercury News, November 14, 2019 The sight of another school shooting like the latest mayhem Thursday at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita has become sadly familiar. Since the horror unleashed in 2012 by a deranged gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, about 16,000 California students have experienced some sort of shooting at 15 schools in the Golden State. “This is every student’s worst nightmare,” Julia Runkle, 17, a volunteer with Students Demand...
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2020 Child Health, Education, and Care Summit [apps.ccfc.ca.gov]
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...
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4CA Campaign Statement on ACEs Screening in California
Please read and share this 4CA statement on ACEs Screening in California.
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5 Things to Know as California Starts Screening Children for Toxic Stress [californiahealthline.org]
By Barbara Feder Ostrov, California Healthline, January 7, 2020 Starting this year, routine pediatric visits for millions of California children could involve questions about touchy family topics, such as divorce, unstable housing or a parent who struggles with alcoholism. California now will pay doctors to screen patients for traumatic events known as adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, if the patient is covered by Medi-Cal — the state’s version of Medicaid for low-income families. The...
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9 Big Questions as California Starts to Screen Kids for Trauma, ACEs [salud-america.org]
By Amanda Merck, Salud America!, February 12, 2020 Early childhood adversity like abuse and divorce is a root cause of many of the greatest public health challenges we face today. But doctors don’t even screen children for exposure to adversity. That’s changing in California, thanks to Dr. Nadine Burke Harris and other child advocates. As of Jan. 1, 2020, almost 100,000 physicians in 8,800 clinics will be reimbursed for routinely screening Medi-Cal patients for adverse childhood experiences...
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A Black Immigrant Woman Is Now the Most Powerful Health Official in California [vice.com]
By Richard Morgan, Vice, July 18, 2019. It was an early summer morning at the San Ysidro Health Center, situated on the Mexican border. A flu outbreak gripped a nearby ICE detention center, where a larger humanitarian crisis continued to unfold, threatening the future of hundreds of children. In a small conference room, brimming with 20 or so of the San Diego area’s most diverse academic and activist minds, Nadine Burke Harris sat at the head of the table. The 43-year-old pediatrician from...
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A 'fire of infections' could sweep California evacuation centers. Here's the plan to stop it [sacbee.com]
By Ryan Sabalow, The Sacramento Bee, April 29, 2020 The town of Paradise and the surrounding communities had burned to the ground. The victims, many of them poor and with nowhere to go, barely escaped. They were exhausted and scared. Then the norovirus hit as they crammed together in churches and a local fairground. They shared restrooms and slept shoulder-to-shoulder on cots. At the East Ave Church in Chico , some 300 Camp Fire evacuees had it better than some others in Butte County. Only...
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A Landmark Lawsuit Aimed to Fix Special Ed for California's Black Students. It Didn't. [kqed.org]
By Lee Romney, KQED, October 18, 2019 Darryl Lester was at his mom’s place in Tacoma, Washington, when a letter he’d been waiting for arrived in the mail. At 40, he was destitute, in pain and out of work. The letter delivered good news: Lester would be getting disability benefits after blowing out his back in a sheet metal accident. But he crumpled it up and threw it in the trash. Why? Because he couldn’t read it. From first through seventh grades, Lester had attended three public schools in...
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A Message to California Health Care Providers About COVID-19 and Toxic Stress [acesaware.org]
By Nadine Burke Harris and Karen Mark, ACEs Aware, March 30, 2020 Our global community is facing confusing and uncertain times. As the unprecedented novel coronavirus continues to spread, the health and safety of our nearly 40 million Californians is the number-one priority for our state, the Office of the California Surgeon General, and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). This includes the physical, mental, and psychological well-being of all individuals. As the crisis deepens,...
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A Quarter Century On, Schools in California Now a Welcoming Place for Undocumented Students [edsource.org]
By Louis Freedberg, EdSource, November 8, 2019 Exactly a quarter of a century ago, on Nov. 8, 1994, Californians went to the polls to vote on Proposition 187, an initiative to expel undocumented students from its public schools and universities. That was despite a Supreme Court ruling a dozen years earlier that schools were required to educate all students regardless of their immigration status. Among its many provisions was that schools officials would have had to identify all undocumented...
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A Snapshot of California's Working Poor [ppic.org]
By Sarah Bohn, Caroline Danielson, Tess Thorman, and Vicki Hsieh, Public Policy Institute of California, October 2019 Employment does not eliminate poverty. Struggling workers in California can face many barriers to exiting poverty, including low wages, a high cost of living, and a changing job market. Minimum wage increases may be helping some of the working poor, but exiting poverty is complex. Additional policy responses are critical. Employment hours Policies that promote more...
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August 29 Children’s Advocacy Institute Hosts Roundtable Discussions
The Children's Advocates Roundtable , established in 1990, is an affiliation of over 200 statewide and regional children's policy organizations, representing over twenty issue disciplines (e.g., child abuse prevention, child care, education, poverty, housing, juvenile justice). The Roundtable is convened by the Children's Advocacy Institute (CAI), and is committed to providing a setting where statewide and locally-based children's advocates gather with advocates from other children's issue...
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Bankruptcy and privatization will not lead us to recovery. [preventioninstitute.org]
By Rachel A. Davis, Prevention Institute, May 7, 2020 My father, a farmer, called me a few weeks ago to share that he had just stopped picking mid-harvest because of disruptions in produce distribution lines due to the coronavirus pandemic. I felt concerned for my family, for other farmers, and for families across the country that were struggling to feed their children. In the meantime, my sister, the ranch manager, spent days personally handpicking and boxing 1,600 pounds of the unpicked...
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Bay Area Doctors Target Health Consequences of Childhood Trauma [sfchronicle.com]
By Erin Allday, San Francisco Chronicle, January 5, 2020 A screening tool developed by Bay Area pediatricians to identify adverse childhood experiences, ranging from homelessness and food insecurity to physical and sexual abuse, will now help doctors statewide address trauma affecting patients’ health. The California Department of Health Care Services approved the tool — called PEARLS, for Pediatric ACEs and Related Life-Events Screener — last month. As of Jan. 1, its use is covered by...
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Being homeless during coronavirus adds hardship for California college student [edsource.org]
By Marisa Martinez, EdSource, April 17, 2020 Mornings for student Cristina Zetino at California State University, Los Angeles are as normal as they can be. Before she packs up her things, she checks in with the family that offers her an occasional place to lay her head for the night. The self-described “couch surfer” alternates between three different homes throughout the week while juggling work and classes. Always in her possession are three bags: “One bag for school, one for clothes and a...
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Bipartisan trauma resolution passes the House unanimously
In the late afternoon on Feb. 26, the House of Representatives unanimously passed H. Res. 443 , a resolution recognizing the importance and effectiveness of trauma-informed care and calling for a national trauma awareness month and trauma-informed awareness day. The impetus for the resolution resides with the First Lady of Wisconsin, Tonette Walker, who has taken a strong leadership role in advancing trauma-informed policy and practice statewide through Fostering Futures , and has elevated...
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Black People Disproportionately Homeless in California [calmatters.org]
By Kate Cimini, Cal Matters, October 5, 2019 Just a few years ago, Yolanda Harraway was living in a tent on the streets of Chinatown in Salinas, an agricultural hub struggling with a growing homeless community. Harraway’s slide into homelessness began when her son was taken from her custody by Child Protective Services. She struggled with addiction and had several felonies on her record, which cut her off from various state and government-funded housing options. She also had a hard time...
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Black Youth Experience Highest Felony Arrest Rate in California
Kidsdata.org recently shared their interactive online platform for data related to felony arrests for children and youth under age 18. Youth who have contact with the juvenile justice system are at increased risk for a number of negative long-term outcomes when compared with the general youth population. For example, an estimated 30 percent of the youth who enter California's juvenile justice system have mental health issues and those who have been held in detention have higher rates of...
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Breakdown: California’s mental health system, explained (calmatters.org)
"Mental health advocates have long described California’s fragmented mental health system with words like “struggling” and “broken.” Evidence of its consequences can be found in our jails and prisons, our hospitals and clinics, our schools and colleges. The problem touches those living in comfortable middle class suburbs, remote rural towns, and on the streets of the state’s biggest cities." "Not only do a sixth of Californians experience some mental illness, but 1 out of every 24 have a...
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Budget Breakdown: Money For Diversion, Probation, Reform, And More [witnessla.com]
By Taylor Walker, Witness LA, January 14, 2020 On Friday, California Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled his plans for the 2020-2021 budget, a $222.2 billion proposal that features important changes to probation and pretrial diversion, jail reforms, and a potential prison closure, among other big changes in the world of justice. Below, WitnessLA has compiled some of the highlights from the governor’s proposed criminal justice spending. Based on Newsom’s January budget proposal, spending for the...
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Butte County's low-income children suffer in coronavirus pandemic [chicoer.com]
By Natalie Hanson, Chico Enterprise-Record, May 11, 2020 It’s not unusual to see Chapman Elementary’s Principal Mike Allen driving through neighborhoods in the Chapman neighborhood, knocking on students’ doors and bringing food, toiletries and other supplies. Since the California shelter-in-place order, Allen said to keep making physical contact with children, he has made home visits to about 20 households. After calling every family, the school is trying to get back in touch with 15-20...
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CA ACEs Aware Initiative webinar provides roadmap for ACEs screening
What is the economic toll of ACEs in the State of California? $112.5 billion , said California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris to attendees of a webinar on February 26. That cost, she said, was one clear reason that she and other early adopters of screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences are urging their fellow health care providers in California to join the ACEs Aware Initiative that launched at the beginning of the year. In January, the State of California put screening...
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CA Governor's 2020-21 Budget Proposal Summary
Governor Newsom proposed his 2020-21 budget on Friday. Here are some highlights from the perspective of support for children and families from Children Now. See attached for the full summary report that summarizes funding related to child welfare, health, K- 12 education, early childhood, emergency preparedness and response, and adverse childhood experiences. The Governor’s budget proposes a number of initiatives, investments, and restructuring to transform the health care system to better...
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CA Health in All Policies is hiring a Racial Equity Associate!
Join California’s Health in All Policies team and lead the implementation of the Government Alliance for Race and Equity (GARE) Capitol Cohort! The Public Health Institute is hiring a Racial Equity Associate to manage the Government Alliance for Race and Equity (GARE) Capitol Cohort , and support California’s Health in All Policies efforts. The Capitol Cohort is a state-level capacity building program to promote racial equity through changes to government policies, programs, and policies –...
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CA Surgeon General and DHCS Launch ACEs Aware Initiative and Website
Join a live webinar with California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris and Dr. Karen Mark Medical Director, Department of Health Care Services for a Medi-Cal provider introduction to the new ACEs Aware Initiative and the www.ACEsAware.org website. The Office of the California Surgeon General and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), in the first public unveiling of the initiative, will host a live webinar to share details of the new ACEs Aware Initiative for Medi-Cal providers...
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CA Surgeon General and DHCS Launch ACEs Aware Initiative and Website
Curious about California moving forward on ACEs screening, and preventing and mitigating toxic stress in California residents? Beginning January 1, 2020, California will begin reimbursing Medi-Cal providers for their participation in this new statewide effort known as the ACEs Aware Initiative. California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris in partnership with the Department of Health Care Services has launched the ACEs Aware website , which includes: Fact sheets about ACEs Aware , a FAQ...
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CA Surgeon General Talks Black Mental Health [sacobserver.com]
By Genoa Barrow, The Sacramento Observer, April 29, 2020 As a pediatrician, Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris has spent years trying to get African American families in San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point area to see the long term benefits of addressing their mental health. As California’s first Surgeon General, Dr. Burke-Harris is driving home the message on a larger scale. She’s done extensive research on adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress and getting to their root causes. In speaking...
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ACEs Aware: On Jan. 1, 2020, Medi-Cal Providers Can Receive Payment for ACEs Screenings
ACEs and toxic stress represent a public health crisis that has been, until recently, largely unrecognized by our state’s health care system and society, but there’s hope. Together, we can screen for ACEs, respond with trauma-informed care, and significantly improve physical and mental health across the state. All Medi-Cal providers are encouraged to get trained today . Beginning on January 1, 2020, eligible Medi-Cal providers can receive a $29 payment for conducting qualifying ACEs...
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ACEs Aware: Request for Proposal Issued – Applications Due on February 10, 2020 [acesawareorg]
A Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued today for the ACEs Aware initiative , California’s effort to screen, treat, and heal the harmful effects of childhood trauma. The RFP supports the work of the Department of Health Care Services and the Office of the California Surgeon General to implement ACEs Aware. Please visit the ACEs Aware Learning & Engagement Opportunities page for further updates. RFP applications are due on Monday, February 10, 2020, and should be sent in Microsoft Word...
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ACEs Aware Request for Proposal Q&A Released (Applications Due on February 10, 2020)
The Department of Health Care Services and the Office of the California Surgeon General today posted questions and answers (Q&A) about the ACEs Aware Request for Proposal (RFP). Please visit the ACEs Aware Learning & Engagement Opportunities page for the RFP Q&As and other materials. RFP applications are due on Monday, February 10, 2020 . Applications must be submitted in Microsoft Word format and emailed to info@ACEsAware.org . The ACEs Aware initiative is a first-in-the-nation...
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ACEs Aware "Stress Relief" Playbooks for COVID-19 and Beyond
Stress Relief Playbooks and other resources from ACEs Aware
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ACES Aware Webinar: Dec 13th, 12-1pm PT - Public Comments about soon-to-be-released Request for Proposal
The Department of Health Care Services and the California Office of the Surgeon General are hosting a webinar of the Trauma-Informed Care Implementation Advisory Committee’s Provider Education and Engagement Subcommittee. Subcommittee members will discuss a draft Request for Proposal (RFP) released for public comment as part of the ACEs Aware initiative. The draft RFP invites external organizations to apply for grants to support provider training activities, provider engagement activities...
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ACEs screening in CA — a Q and A with Dr. Dayna Long
Last year, the California Department of Health Care Services rolled out its plans for universal screening for trauma among its pediatric and adult Medicaid population. Beginning January 1, 2020, California physicians were able to receive an incentive payment of $29 for each pediatric patient screened for ACEs using the PEARLs ( Pediatrics Adverse Childhood and Resilience Study) tool. Dr. Dayna Long talked with ACEs Connection staff reporter Laurie Udesky about ACEs science, what led to the...
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ACT NOW: Oppose Policies that Separate Children & Families
The Trump Administration has proposed a new rule that could penalize families in their immigration proceedings if they use critical public benefits, such as Medicaid for food-stamps. Nearly half of California's children live in immigrant families , meaning that this rule would do deep harm to families that make up the very fabric of California. It will force families to choose between providing basic needs for their children and keeping their families together. Right now, we have an...
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Action Alert! Campaign for restorative discipline in schools deadline TOMORROW!
The Children’s Movement is helping to promote restorative justice practices in schools by eliminating suspensions or expulsions for “willful defiance” through Senate Bill 607 authored by Senator Nancy Skinner . You can view the letter at this link here , and sign on before the deadline tomorrow, Wednesday 2/21, at 5pm. Five years ago, California schools issued an astounding 709,702 suspensions, nearly half for “defiance/disruption,” a catch-all category used to justify disciplinary action...
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Addressing Homelessness Is High on Governor Newsom’s Agenda [chcf.org]
By Xenia Shih Bion, California Health Care Foundation, March 2, 2020 Governor Gavin Newsom made an unconventional move in his second annual State of the State address — he devoted almost the entire speech to California’s housing and homelessness crisis. It is clearly on the minds of many Californians. A recent CHCF and SSRS statewide poll found that more than 8 out of 10 state residents say addressing homelessness is an “extremely important” or “very important” issue. “The problem has...
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Addressing the Educational Gap in Whittier [kcet.org]
By Neighborhood Data for Social Change, February 10, 2020 The California Department of Public Health reported in 2017 that completing a formal education is a crucial step on the pathway to securing fulfilling employment that can provide food, housing, transportation and other livelihood improvements essential to a healthy life. However, educational attainment differs across economic and racial lines. Since 2003, the achievement gap in California between low-income students and their more...
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Adult Health Burden and Costs in California During 2013 Associated with Prior Adverse Childhood Experiences [journals.plos.org]
By Ted R. Miller, Geetha M. Waehrer, Debora L. Oh, et al., Plos One, January 28, 2020 Abstract Objectives To estimate the adult health burden and costs in California during 2013 associated with adults’ prior Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Methods We analyzed five ACEs-linked conditions (asthma, arthritis, COPD, depression, and cardiovascular disease) and three health risk factors (lifetime smoking, heavy drinking, and obesity). We estimated ACEs-associated fractions of disease risk...
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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
From University of California, San Francisco, University of California Television, May 14, 2020 A special faculty panel discusses the three different initiatives at UCSF aimed at addressing adverse childhood experience that affect peoples well-being throughout their lifespan. Recorded on 02/27/2020. [ Please click here to read more .]
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An Opportunity the Office of Surgeon General Can't Pass Up
I don't know about you, but I've talked to dozens of people applying for the ACEs Aware RFP, due Feb. 10. Watching myself and my colleagues hustle and brainstorm on how to work together to submit ideas for this opportunity has been very inspiring. Although we have no idea how many grant awards will be made, we know that only a fraction of what must be hundreds of RFP submissions will be funded this year. It would be a tragedy to waste the efforts of those who will have spent many hours on...
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Announcement: Technical Assistance Grant [cdss.ca.gov]
From California Department of Social Services, December 19, 2019 The California Department of Social Services’ (CDSS) Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP) is pleased to announce the availability of funds for a Technical Assistance Program. The Technical Assistance Program will provide technical assistance (TA) to counties and prevention partners participating in collaborative child abuse and neglect prevention initiatives in California for fiscal years (FY) 2020-23. The OCAP is seeking an...
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Archived Webinar: Childhood Adversity – Data to Help Advocate for Change
The recording and slides for the March 29 webinar, Childhood Adversity: Data to Help Advocate for Change , are now available. In this webinar, panelist Marissa Abbott of the California Department of Public Health discussed how to describe the burden of childhood adversity in your community, how to frame your message most effectively, and how to engage and mobilize your community to address the roots and effects of childhood adversity. In addition, panelist Lori Turk-Bicakci of kidsdata.org...
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Army of ACEs with Nadine Burke-Harris
Samuel Merritt University was honored with a talk by Dr Nadine Burke-Harris. The talk is available on youtube for viewing. Check out our surgeon general and the course of action CA is taking around ACEs and Toxic Stress. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mfKrhvq5zY&feature=youtu.be
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Children’s mental health a cause for concern in report on California youth policies
According to the 2020 California Children’s Report Card California from Children Now, California is doing a better job serving children in some areas like health insurance, discipline, and absenteeism. However, CA received an 'F' grade for its school mental health services. https://edsource.org/2020/childrens-mental-health-a-cause-for-concern-in-report-on-california-youth-policies/623070?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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As California Moves to Screen Children for Childhood Trauma, Poverty Has To Be Part of the Equation
In California, we are coming full circle in recognizing the connection between poverty and health.
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CalEITC 101: Expanded State Tax Credit Puts Cash into the Pockets of California’s Transition-Age Youth
John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY) invites you to partner with us in 2020 to support youth in care with filing taxes and claiming the expanded CalEITC. This webinar will include the California Franchise Tax Board and discuss strategies to help transition-age youth access the CalEITC. Description: In the 2019-2020 budget, the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC), a cash-back tax credit that puts money back into the pockets of California’s working families and individuals, was...
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California ACR 140: Positive Parenting Awareness Month, Jan 2020
Child advocates across the State of California are working on the passage of Assembly Concurrent Resolution 140 (ACR 140) authored by Assembly Member Mark Stone (D-Monterey Bay). The initiative seeks to designate January 2020 as Positive Parenting Awareness Month across the state and build upon the county-level proclamations that have spread from Santa Cruz County where it was conceived and launched 8 years ago. Positive parenting is a known remedy for the public health problem of child...
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California Advocates Celebrate as Governor Signs Law to Address Overuse of Suspensions in Schools! [fixschooldiscipline.com]
By Fix School Discipline, September 16, 2019 SB 419 will help keep students in school, increase student success, and increase high school graduation Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation to eliminate suspensions for minor misbehaviors and protect California students from discriminatory and harmful school climates. Under Senate Bill 419, which was introduced by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), school districts will no longer be permitted to use defiance or disruption, as justification...
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California Air Quality: Should You Wear a Face Mask for Wildfire Smoke [nytimes.com]
By Sarah Mervosh, The New York Times, October 28, 2019 With wildfires raging up and down the state of California on Monday, smoke filled the air in many places, ash fell from the sky, and residents were once again left to wonder whether the very air they were breathing was safe. The largest, the Kincade fire in Sonoma County north of San Francisco, nearly doubled in size in 24 hours and was just 5 percent contained on Monday, prompting volunteers downwind in the Bay Area to scramble to hand...
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California Can Lead the Nation in Science-Based Juvenile Justice Solutions [napavalleyregister.com]
By Stephanie James, Napa Valley Register, January 2, 2020 California’s juvenile justice system has evolved as we have learned more about brain development, the effects of adverse childhood experiences and social, emotional, and mental health needs of our young people. While ensuring community safety, we have moved away from the old norms of an overly punitive system to one that follows research and science to fulfill the statutorily stated mission of juvenile justice: rehabilitation. I have...