Tagged With "undocumented young adults"
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2018 "4CA" California Policymaker ACEs Education Day
The second annual 4CA Policymaker Education Day on May 22, brought together 75 community members across California to visit 81 legislators or their staff members and educate them about ACEs, trauma and resilience.
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2018 Community Stories from across the state
Thank you everyone for your help to create community stories highlighting the efforts happening to raise awareness about ACEs from across the state for 4CA’s 2018 Policymaker Education Day ! Attached find a 2018 version of the community stories detailing information about community ACEs initiatives from across the state. Please download and share. And see HERE for a list of CA ACEs Connection communities from across the state.
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2019 Economics of Child Abuse in Mendocino County
Mendocino recently shared 2019 data related to the economic impacts of child abuse. The attached documents are in a printable format.
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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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37th Annual Child Abuse Prevention Symposium Recap
"Speak Out! Confronting the Culture of Child Sexual Abuse and Secrecy" was the theme of Santa Clara County's 37th Annual Child Abuse Prevention Symposium which featured a Keynote conversation with Olympic Gold Medal winning gymnast and current UCLA Assistant Gymnastics Coach Jordyn Wieber. Jordyn, and other athletes and survivors of former USA Gymnastics team doctor and serial child sex abuser Larry Nassar, earlier spoke to a U.S. Senate Subcommittee about a “culture of silence” more...
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4CA 2019 Year in Review - CA children’s state policy advances.
On behalf of the CA Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA) backbone team (Center for Youth Wellness, Children Now and ACEs Connection), we want to give a hearty thank you to the advocates and champions across the state for advancing child-friendly policy and legislation in California in 2019. Here are some examples of what was accomplished this year: More than 730 organizations signed on to the Family Urgent Response System (FURS) budget letter in support of a 24/7 statewide hotline...
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4CA POLICYMAKER EDUCATION DAY JULY 11, 2017 - REGISTER BY JUNE 1 - Link Below.
Join 4CA in Sacramento on July 11 for Policymaker Education Day on Childhood Adversity! Our lawmakers need to hear from you about how childhood adversity affects your community and what they can do to help. Join with allies from across California to engage your elected officials on this important issue. (Bonus! lunchtime pep talk by Senator Holly Mitchell!) Who: 4CA Policymaker Education Day is designed for California residents who care about preventing and mitigating the effects of...
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5 myths making it hard for veterans to land the right job -- and what you can do [
What if you spent years in a job gaining valuable experience and honing useful skills, yet every interview or job lead is a dead end? That's the unfortunate reality for many of today's veterans in Orange County. According to a report by the University of Southern California School of Social Work, more than 60 percent of Orange County veterans believe employers don't understand or value their skills, almost 30 percent of post-9/11 vets are unemployed, and three-quarters earn below the...
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5 things people are doing to help the victims of the California fires.(upworthy.com)
On Sunday night, flames swept into Santa Rosa and other cities across the region with little warning . At least 24 people have been confirmed dead , with hundreds displaced and nearly 300 still reported missing . Meanwhile, hundreds of residents from hotel owners to teachers and students to local government officials to relief workers are marshalling help those to affected. Here's what they've been up to in the days since the devastation began. 1. Farms are taking in displaced animals, and...
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8 Myths About Screening For Adverse Childhood Experiences
I’d like to take this opportunity to address some of the objections to screening for ACEs that I have come across. It is true that some areas of research are still emerging, such as protocols, but in other ways we are twenty years behind using the information we have to make a positive difference in our patients lives and in training new physicians to be more comfortable addressing social and experiential determinants of health.
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A 2014/2015 Visionary of the Year nominee continues to reshape the conversation about childhood [SFGate.com]
Since her nomination for the Visionary of the Year award in 2015, pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris has remained steadfast in her goal to broaden the conversation about the link between childhood trauma and health. In a world where many still believe mental and behavioral health is disconnected from physical health, Burke-Harris’ continues to make a compelling case for how the two are synchronous. “The definition of trauma is changing. Trauma used to be mental and behavioral...
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A California Court for Young Adults Calls on Science [NYTimes.com]
On a cloudy afternoon in the Bayview district, Shaquille, 21, was riding in his sister’s 1991 Acura when another car ran a stop sign, narrowly missing them. Both cars screeched to a halt, and Shaquille and the other driver got out. “I just wanted to talk,” he recalls. But the talk became an argument, and the argument ended when Shaquille sent the other driver to the pavement with a left hook. Later that day, he was arrested and charged with felony assault. He already had a misdemeanor...
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A Guide to Creating “Safe Space” Policies for Early Childhood Programs [CLASP]
From the Center for Law and Social Policy Early childhood programs play an important role in the lives of young children and their families. But in our current immigration policy climate, families across the country are questioning whether it’s safe to attend or enroll. Providers can take steps to protect families’ safety and privacy by implementing policies that designate their facilities as a safe space from immigration enforcement. This guide explains federal agency guidance related to...
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A Guide to Increase Mental Health Services for Students - Project Cal-Well, CA Dept of Education, 2018
This guide is created by Project Cal-Well, with input from the Student Mental Health Policy Workgroup, to assist schools and districts to build capacity to better address mental health challenges among students. Learn about Project Cal-Well See Guide attached.
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A New Program Helps Foster Kids in Orange County Avoid Homelessness when They Age Out of Public Care [ocregister.com]
By Theresa Walker, The Orange County Register, December 20, 2019 For three years after he aged out of foster care, at age 18, Christian was homeless. During that time, he was hit by a car and suffered a traumatic brain injury. He was in a coma for six months and his speech and memory were affected. Over most of the last year he’s lived at The Link, a homeless shelter in Santa Ana. This week, Christian, now 22, moved into his own one-bedroom apartment, in Tustin. That change is the result of...
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A Pathway to Prevention: Understanding root causes to help break the cycle of domestic violence [Blue Shield of California Foundation]
From Foundation Program Manager Jelissa Parham: Recently, I was in Oakland’s Chinatown neighborhood when I heard a couple fighting across the street from me. As I looked on, the man lunged toward the woman and began to choke her while her young toddler watched the entire scene, clutching a small toy. Instinctively, before I had time to process the possible consequences, I called out: “No! Stop! Don’t touch her!” The man released his hold, and I briefly thought the incident was over. But I...
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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 South LA high school steps up effort to help students besieged by trauma [centerforhealthjournalism.org]
Along with books and backpacks, the teens who walk through the hallways of Washington Preparatory High School in South Los Angeles also carry secrets and fear. Some have seen moms or dads arrested or taken away by immigration agents during early morning raids. They've watched as loved ones and friends were gunned down or stabbed to death on the sidewalks in front of where they live. Others dread going home to an adult who hurts instead of heals. Trauma, depression and anxiety weigh heavily...
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Bay Area Human Rights Training on Immigrant Health
HealthRight International's Human Rights Clinic (HRC) will be holding a training for new volunteers on Saturday, June 3, 2017 from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm at UC Hastings College of Law (198 McAllister Street, San Francisco, CA 94102). This training, in particular, will have a special focus on evaluating minors (children and adolescents) as well as adult survivors. T he training will provide clinicians with a background on the experiences of immigrants fleeing abuse (including unaccompanied minors...
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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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Board of State and Community Corrections Awards $96m In Prop 47 Grants
SACRAMENTO (June 13, 2019) – The Board of State and Community Corrections today approved grant awards from a voter initiative that reduces from felonies to misdemeanors certain low-level crimes and directs state savings to programs primarily focused on mental health and substance-use disorder treatment. It is the second round of Proposition 47 funding approved by the Board, to which voters allocated the bulk of the state savings for rehabilitative grants targeting Prop 47-impacted...
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Board of State and Community Corrections Awards Grants for Youth Diversion
SACRAMENTO – (June 13, 2019) The Board of State and Community Corrections approved two grants worth millions of dollars for programs designed to prevent young people from entering the justice system or from furthering their involvement in it. Just over $1 million was awarded to Native American tribes, and $29.1 million was awarded to cities and counties. Preference points for the larger grant were given to local governments who also plan to serve Native American youth. The Youth Reinvestment...
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Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) Grant-Administered Opportunities
BSCC-administered Grant Programs: Federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program - The BSCC released the Request for Proposals for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) on December 6, 2018. You may review it here . The proposals are due on April 25, 2019 . Prop 47 Grant Program - The Proposition 47 Grant is scheduled to be released, and information on key due dates provided, in January 2019 . The Prop 47 Bidders' Conferences are scheduled for...
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Breaking the Silence on Early Child Care and Education Costs: A Values-Based Budget for Children, Parents, and Teachers in California
By Elise Gould, Marcy Whitebook, Zane Mokhiber, and Lea J.E. Austin, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, July 23, 2019. What this report finds: California’s child early care and education (ECE) system is underfunded, and California policymakers have not been willing to acknowledge the true cost of creating a comprehensive ECE system. Proposals for ECE reform have focused primarily on improving access and affordability for families but have ignored the elephant in the room: Early...
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Breathing ‘A Chore’: California Wildfires Threaten The Health Of Young And Old (californiahealthline.org)
“We are in a situation now where the wildfire season doesn’t really have its normal beginning or end,” said Lori Kobza, spokeswoman for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District. The 629,000 acres burned this year follows large swaths torched last year in Ventura, Santa Barbara, Napa and Sonoma counties, causing dozens of deaths, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Many scientists attribute the more frequent and ferocious fires in the...
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BRFSS ACEs Modules in California
In 2008 California was the first and only state to include the ACEs module in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey. The results were reported at a BRFSS conference in 2009. The state also included ACEs modules in...
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Briefs on current adverse childhood experiences in children in selected California cities
Attached are briefs on current ACEs in children in selected California cities, with comparison with state and county data. They were prepared by the Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health, a project of the Child and Adolescent...
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Bring That Beat Back: The Power of Arts to Heal Youth in the Justice System (chronicleofsocialchange.org)
Today, Cummings leads a circle of drummers that include a handful of young men who are incarcerated for offenses like stealing a car, petty theft, substance abuse and delinquency. "I want them to know who they are, to find their identity," Cummings said. "Music is a healing weapon." Cummings is a teaching artist with the Rhythm Arts Alliance, a group that works with incarcerated youth in camps overseen by the Los Angeles County Probation Department. Last week, Cummings' group and other arts...
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Broadcast Premier of 'Broken Places' on PBS [pbs.org]
From Public Broadcasting Service, March 3, 2020 Peabody Award-winning and two-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Roger Weisberg teams up with WNET’s Chasing the Dream public media initiative on his 33rd national public television documentary Broken Places, premiering on April 6 at 10 PM on PBS (check local listings). WNET is presenting Producer/Director Roger Weisberg’s 33rd national public television documentary, Broken Places on April 6th. This poignant production represents the...
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Budget Recommendations for ACEs Screening (AB340) Implementation
ACEs Screening (AB340) implementation recommendations presented to the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on February 25
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Building blocks: California’s proposed early education legislation [EdSource]
By Zaidee Stavely, EdSource, June, 24, 2019 California is on the brink of making huge investments in young children. EdSource is tracking 27 early childhood bills introduced in the Legislature this session that focus on a host of issues, from expanding paid family leave to improving access to preschool. See full article for list which will be updated as the bills make their way through the Legislature and bills that have stalled.
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Building Bridges to Resilience in Santa Barbara County
The full moon was setting and the sun was rising as organizers from KIDS Network, Children & Family Resource Services, Casa Pacifica, and the Department of Behavioral Wellness began setting up the 2019 BRIDGES TO RESILIENCE Conference on October 14 th at the beautiful Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. The stately halls and ballrooms were a flurry of activity as staff prepared to receive over 350 community members who work with children, youth and families in Santa Barbara County.
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Building Community Health
Dr Sandy Escobar is transforming healthcare in East Palo Alto, one family at a time.
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"Buried Above Ground" helps audiences understand PTSD [MontereyCountyWeekly.com]
Retired U.S. Army Capt. Luis Carlos Montalván once received some sage advice from an old sergeant of his. “He said, ‘Smile, be nice. But always have a plan to kill everyone in the room,’” Montalván recalls. Those words appeared in the documentary film Buried Above Ground, a riveting look at three survivors of post-traumatic stress disorder trying to exist with the mental and physical effects of the trauma they experienced. For Montalván, that trauma was the result of war. For a woman named...
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CA announces robust perinatal depression prevention for Medi-Cal recipients
Melinda Coates experienced a tumultuous pregnancy. “I was really mentally upset literally from day one (of the pregnancy),” she says. (Melinda Coates is a pseudonym. To protect her and her children’s privacy and safety, we are not using her real name.) Coates had hoped to get counseling last October, when she was seven months pregnant. That’s when she enrolled in the state’s Medi-Cal program, shortly after she and her abusive husband moved to California, “but nobody was able to get me in...
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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 pediatrician develops, tests, gets state OK for whole-child assessment tool that includes ACEs
Over the last dozen years or so, many pediatricians, astounded by the ramifications of the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on the children they care for, began integrating this science into their practices. The most common approach has been to ask parents about ACEs using a questionnaire, and to use this information to counsel parents and identify resources for the family. Different practices have been using different questionnaires: Some ask parents for their ACE scores...
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CA pediatrician develops, tests, gets state OK for whole-child assessment tool that includes ACEs
[Editor's note: This blog was first posted in April 2017. Dr. Marie-Mitchell updated the assessment by modifying a few of the questions, so we are republishing with the new assessment, one in Spanish and one in English.] Over the last dozen years or so, many pediatricians, astounded by the ramifications of the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on the children they care for, began integrating this science into their practices. The most common approach has been to ask parents...
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CA Youth Mental Health Hospitalizations Up 50 Percent Since 2007 [Kidsdata.org]
Between 2007-2015, the rate of youth mental health hospitalizations rose by 50 percent , according to the latest data available on Kidsdata. In seven counties , the rate grew during this time period by more than 100 percent. Fresno county had, by far, the most drastic rise, at 241 percent. Similarly, both California and the US have begun seeing a rise in self-inflicted injury hospitalizations among youth in recent years. Between 2009-2014, the national rate of self-inflicted injury...
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Access the California Department of Social Services, Office of Child Abuse Prevention’s Data Dashboard!
The California Department of Social Services, Office of Child Abuse Prevention (CDSS/OCAP), has developed a new County Prevention Data Dashboard to identify areas of strength and need pertaining to the prevention of child maltreatment across California. This tool presents relevant data in one location for primary and secondary prevention planning purposes and shares indicators of major risk and protective factors for child abuse and neglect, social determinants of health, and early stages of...
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ACEs and Our Day with Dr. Vincent Felitti
“Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.” –Oprah Winfrey We think we can speak for all who attended the CA Department of Health Care Services Learning Series on January 17 th when we say we are immensely grateful to Dr. Felitti for sharing with us findings from the original CDC-Kaiser ACE study and inspiring us with his passion and heartfelt commitment to this body of work. Dr. Felitti, who turned 81 years old the next day on January 18 th , was the co-principal investigator on the...
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ACEs Aware Webinar: Trauma-informed practices to address stress from COVID-19
How can health care providers take care of themselves, their colleagues and their patients during this COVID-19 pandemic? First and foremost is recognizing how the pandemic can stir up trauma from the past, said Dr. Alicia Lieberman, a psychologist specializing in trauma. “COVID19 is reawakening traumatic reminders in many of us and in the families we work with. And that often makes it difficult for parents to protect themselves and their children,” she noted. Lieberman, the director of the...
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ACEs Champion Julie Kurtz Gives Every Child (and Adult) a Voice
Julie Kurtz hasn’t stopped creating ways to build and promote resilience in herself and others who have experienced trauma since she left her family home for college at age 18. Although she experienced four types of adversity during her childhood, the CEO of the Center for Optimal Brain Integration has traveled a complex journey to mitigate those adversities by recognizing her own internal resilience, building skills to buffer her toxic and traumatic stress, uncovering her voice through...
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ACEs champion pediatricians talk about life and practice in a COVID-19 world
With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers everywhere are changing how they care for their patients. I asked a few members of the ACEs in Pediatrics community what they’re doing differently. Dr. R.J Gillespie, pediatrician at The Children’s Clinic in Portland, OR. Dr. R.J. Gillespie Gillespie says that, as much as possible, they’re switching to virtual visits, which allows them “to comfort and reassure our patients face-to-face as much as possible without risking their...
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ACEs Connection “Map the Movement” now includes an up-to-date section on laws and resolutions
Photo credit: Texasarchitects.org An updated map of laws and resolutions addressing ACEs science and trauma-informed policies is now available in the “Laws and Resolutions” section of Map the Movement (you can also find "Map the Movement" on the navigation bar on the ACEs Connection home page). The earliest law on the map was passed in the state of Washington in 2011, creating an ACEs science public-private partnership. The data base of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is...
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ACEs Connection Network Confab -- Northern California, May 12, 2016
About 50 people drove in from north, east, west and south of Sacramento County, CA, for our first (but not our last) confab for members of ACEsConnection.com groups in Northern California. This was one of two confabs we hosted -- the other was May 10 in Southern California. Both confabs were organized with generous support from The California Endowment. (l to r) Ben Rubin, Charlotte Ormond, Carolyn Curtis, Imani Lucas, DeAngelo Mack, Carlina Ramirez Wheeler We were very fortunate to have the...
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"ACEs Resilience and Recovery" presented at Marin Communications Forum
First 5 Marin Children and Families Commission featured Jane Stevens in a Marin Communications Forum event on Monday, May 15. Thanks to the hard work of host Michelle Fadelli of First 5 Marin, a full Embassy Suites ballroom of up to 180 Marin County service providers, from a variety of agencies, gathered.
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ACEs Science Champion Series: Dr. Angela Bymaster: This Faith-Based Physician Integrates ACEs Science with Healing Arts
Dr. Angela Bymaster, a family physician at Washington Elementary School in San Jose, CA, operates her clinic in a portable unit on the school property.
Because the unit faces students as they are dropped off by their families, she gets to “pick up the kids” before they are sent to the clinic, practicing “upstream medicine.”
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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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Addressing Childhood Trauma, Center for Learning & Resilience [actionnewsnow.com]
By Deb Anderaos and Julia Yarbough, Action News Now, April 15, 2020 Butte County health representatives say they have long realized the need for coordinated mental health services for family and children dealing with trauma. The Camp Fire drove that point home and now the coronavirus crisis. Julia Yarbough recently spoke with the Executive Director of the new Center for Learning and Resilience. It’s a resource to help meet community needs. First of all, thank you for joining us, and tell me...