Tagged With "Department of Corrections"
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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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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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CA Senate unanimously approves ACEs reduction resolution
On August 18, the California Senate unanimously approved Concurrent Resolution (ACR) No. 155 to encourage statewide policies to reduce children’s exposure to adverse childhood experiences. As reported on ACEs Too High , the resolution is modeled after a Wisconsin resolution that encourages state policy decision-making to consider the impact of early childhood adversity on the long-term health and well being of its citizens. Since the resolution does not require...
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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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Adversity and resiliency: The case for integrating ACEs and Strengthening Families approaches
Attached is the PowerPoint that was presented by Diane Kellegrew, Jane Stevens and Katie Albright in a webinar April 16. And below is the slide that ID's the presenters.
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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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Speaking and training services from a first-hand, tenaciously resilient experience
My name is Rebekah Couch and I am a former teen mother of five children, the youngest child being my only clean & sober pregnancy allowed to remain in my care. I am a survivor of multiple sexual assaults and was afflicted with untreated mental health issues as an adolescent. My destructive journey began with self-medicating and illegal activities in Jr. High and a daily cocaine addiction by the age of fifteen that eventually advanced to methamphetamine abuse. My addiction and criminal...
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STATE HEALTH CARE STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS CHILDREN’S TRAUMA, EXPOSURE TO VIOLENCE AND ACEs
I found this document by Futures Without Violence to be a useful resource. From the forward: The health care system plays an important role both in identifying children who may be exposed to extreme adversity and violence, currently and in the past, and in providing the evidence-based interventions that can help children heal from trauma and prevent health conditions and other poor outcomes associated with trauma and ACEs. The health care system is also central in supporting the greatest...
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Stockton California The Cost of Gun Violence [nicjr.org]
From National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, February 2020 The City of Stockton has developed past its days as a small rural town in California’s Central Valley. Emerging from bankruptcy, the city is now experiencing population and economic growth with one of the most popular mayors in the country, whose innovative initiatives have garnered national attention. Although Stockton has long contended with stubbornly high rates of gun violence, the City is making progress on this front as...
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Search and Compare Data from the California School Dashboard, 2019 [edsource.org]
By Justin Allen, Daniel J. Willis, and Yuxuan Xie, EdSource, December 12, 2019 On Dec. 12, 2019, the California Department of Education updated the official California School Dashboard with the latest data for schools and districts. View results for 2018 here and 2017 here. The dashboard shows progress, or lack of it, on multiple measures. This database shows measures of achievement on six measures, in color codes selected by the state. To find indicators from a school or district, enter a...
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The Department of Health Services is tracking racial / ethnic demographic data for COVID-19 positive cases in County
Susan Gorin @susangorin1st Impacts on the Latinx Community There are long-standing injustices that have led to this, and this moment offers the opportunity to take concerted action to overcome inequalities and transform our thinking and actions towards a "stronger for all" Sonoma county. The health differences between the racial and ethnic groups are rooted in unequal economic and social conditions, as well as in past and current structural inequalities and discrimination that marginalize...
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Emergency Child Care for Foster Families [saccounty.net]
By Sacramento County, SacCounty News, January 9, 2020 To recruit more loving families for children in foster care, Sacramento County is making it easier to find and afford childcare services for resource families. The Emergency Child Care Bridge Program’s goal is to increase the number of resource families for children in foster care by helping families find the right child care provider, connecting families to long-term child care subsidies, and by providing vouchers to pay for childcare...
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FOOD RESOURCE: CA Meals for Kids Mobile App [cde.ca.gov]
From California Department of Education, March 2020 California Department of Education’s (CDE) “CA Meals for Kids” mobile app has been updated to help students and families find meals during COVID-19-related emergency school closures. The CA Meals for Kids mobile application helps you find nearby California Afterschool and Summer Meal Programs Sites through your iOS, Android, or Microsoft devices. [ Please click here for more information and to download the app .]
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From ASM Kevin McCarty: DACA Renewal Workshops
From ASM Kevin McCarty: https://a07.asmdc.org/event/daca-renewal-workshop DACA Renewal Workshop As you may know, the Trump administration recently announced plans to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) federal program which allows immigrants who came to the United States as children to apply for temporary protections from deportation and to receive work permits. As a result of the President's decision, only DACA recipients whose benefits expire on or before March 5, 2018...
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Los Angeles County Probation Now Under Civilian Oversight, With Subpoena Power [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Jeremy Loudenback, The Chronicle of Social Change, October 4, 2019 On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a civilian oversight body for the the county’s Probation Department that can make unannounced visits and legally compel documents and witnesses. In recent years, the county’s Probation Department has been under fire for conditions at juvenile detention facilities overseen by the department. The department has struggled with reports of excessive use of force...
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New Grant Lends Helping Hand [thelumberjack.org]
By Jerame Saunders, The Lumberjack, December 12, 2019 A new $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education will be placing Masters of Social Work students at Humboldt State University in Eureka City Schools and Del Norte County schools as stipend workers. “The grants themselves are funding positions at Eureka City Schools and also the Del Norte Unified School District,” Director of Field Education at HSU’s Department of Social Work Yvonne Doble said. “It’s actually a full time...
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New Trump Rule Could Eliminate Food Stamps for Almost 200,000 Californians [calmatters.org]
By Manuela Tobias, Cal Matters, December 4, 2019 The Trump administration finalized a rule Wednesday that will cut off food stamps to roughly 688,000 American adults by requiring states to enforce work requirements. The U.S. Agriculture Department said the move will save about $5.5 billion over five years. The rule takes effect in April 2020. “This is about restoring the original intent of food stamps,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on a call to reporters. “Moving more able-bodied...
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OCAP Buzz: Child Abuse Prevention Month Materials
The California Department of Social Services, Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP) just released their newsletter with information about the upcoming Child Abuse Prevention month in April 2017. Please check out the attached PDF for more information on materials to help #unite4kids to prevent child abuse and neglect for all California children and families.
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OCAP has a new strategic plan! [cdss.ca.gov]
From Office of Child Abuse Prevention, California Department of Social Services, May 12, 2020 The OCAP Strategic Plan The OCAP would like to announce the release of our 2020 – 2025 Strategic Plan. This plan details the OCAP’s goals and objectives for the next five years. The vision for this plan is for public systems, private citizens, business and communities to work together in unity to improve programs and services throughout the state to strengthen children and families. The OCAP will...
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Release of 2018 In-Hospital Breastfeeding Data [cdph.ca.gov]
By California Department of Public Health, Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health, October 2, 2019 The California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Center for Family Health is pleased to announce that the 2018 in-hospital breastfeeding data have been posted to the CDPH In-Hospital Breastfeeding Initiation Data website . We encourage all hospitals to utilize these data to integrate Quality Improvement (QI) efforts within the perinatal unit to ensure policies and practices are supportive of...
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Clinical Guidelines for COVID-19 Response [healsanfrancisco.org]
From Heal SF, April 2020 (See attached file for guidelines.) On behalf of Mayor Breed, Our Children Our Families Council, and all those most impacted by our COVID 19 response, I’d like to take a moment to thank you for your time, expertise, commitment and passion that you brought to the Heal SF Clinical Advisory Body. Without your gracious contributions, we would not have guidelines to support our first responders and those most impacted by this unprecedented circumstance. The guidelines...
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California's Schools Chief States His Position as His Department Revises Ethnic Studies Curriculum [edsource.org]
By John Fensterwald, EdSource, February 6, 2020 In a preview of what it will recommend this spring, the California Department of Education is siding with ethnic studies advocates who argue that courses should focus on four ethnic and racial groups whose histories have been largely overlooked in the high school curriculum: African Americans, Asian Americans, Chicanos and Latinos, and Native Americans. Ethnic studies examines the social justice struggles and the political and historical forces...
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Governor Newsom To Replace Head Of State’s Youth Justice System Chuck Supple. So Now Who Will Run The DJJ? [witnessla.com]
By Celeste Fremon, Witness LA, September 17, 2019 On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced he would be replacing the top person at California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), which is the state’s youth lock-up system that Newsom wants to see reformed. The division’s present leader, Director Chuck Supple, will be “stepping down effective immediately citing health reasons,” according to the statement released by the governor’s office. Director Supple was appointed as Director of DJJ in...
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Grant: 2019-20 Supervised Visitation (SP) Program RFP (Cal OES)
Please see attached for more details. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), Victim Services (VS) Branch, is soliciting proposals for the following program: SUPERVISED VISITATION (SP) PROGRAM Release Date: January 13, 2020 This Request for Proposal (RFP) provides detailed information and forms necessary to prepare a proposal for the Cal OES grant funds. The terms and conditions of this RFP supersede previous RFPs and conflicting provisions...
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Helping Children in Emergencies: Keep Your Child’s Developmental Stage and Temperament in Mind
By Karissa Luckett, RN, BSN, MSW Common reactions to stress will fade over time for most children. Let’s be honest: Your exploring, tactile toddler won’t suddenly start keeping their hands to themselves. Your continually forgetful preschooler won’t suddenly start hand-washing properly just because you’ve told them it’s important. Depending on their ages, stages and temperaments, some children will require more reassurance or more time to shift than others. This situation is unique, and so is...
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Housing The Homeless Cuts State's Health Care Burden [kpbs.org]
By Matt Tinoco, KPCC, November 5, 2019 The reality of California’s homeless crisis is that there is little social safety net to catch the very poorest residents before they fall to the streets. As more than 100,000 people find homes on California’s sidewalks, roadways and parks, the costs mount for local and state governments. Nowhere is this more acute than the state’s public health care system. Medi-Cal covers many homeless people’s escalating health needs as they become sicker while...
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Re: Emergency Child Care for Foster Families [saccounty.net]
We need this if CCCounty doesn’t have it already Patricia Duncan Hall, MA Social Casework Assistant Contra Costa County CFS-Court Unit 510.231.8153 [cid:image001.jpg@01D27234.A61D0030]< http://www.ehsd.org/ >[cid:image002.png@01D27234.A61D0030]< https://www.facebook.com/Contr...10623/?hc_ref=SEARCH >[cid:image003.png@01D27234.A61D0030]< https://twitter.com/ContraCostaEHSD >
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Re: Emergency Child Care for Foster Families [saccounty.net]
Hi Patricia, Contra Costa County is participating in the Bridge program. I recommend reaching out to Margaret Wiegert Jacobs ( mjacobs@cocokids.org ) at CocoKids (Contra Costa's resource and referral agency) if you're interested in learning more about the program and how it's implemented there. Best, Gemma
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Re: Few doctors talk to patients about guns; experts say they want that to change [vcstar.com]
Regarding this post about doctors discussing gun safety with their patients,, I wanted to share an experience I had that is somewhat tangential. I was at the hospital last week for a couple of procedures. When the nurse did the intake, she asked me if I was suicidal, but the way she asked me was awkward. She said to me, “You have not felt suicidal, right? You have not felt like you wanted to harm yourself, correct?” By placing her conditions on the question, she placed a burden on me to...
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Re: A Conversation with California's First Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris
Presumably this will be televised or videotaped for Internet viewing. What are the details on that?
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Re: A Conversation with California's First Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris
Great question! I just reached out to UCB and requested the info - hope to hear back soon. Thanks for the nudge! Karen
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Re: FOOD RESOURCE: CA Meals for Kids Mobile App [cde.ca.gov]
Easy extra income for all. All is easy and free. https://www.ysense.com/?rb=59429643
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Students should expect masks, temperature checks and a lot of hand washing under California guidance [edsource.org]
By Diana Lambert, EdSource, June 8, 2020 California schools will look different when they reopen next year, according to new statewide guidance. Students should expect to wash their hands and have their temperature taken often. They will likely wear masks and only attend classes a few days a week with a small group of classmates. Signs and taped marks on the floor will tell them which direction to walk and where to stand in hallways and in the cafeteria. A 55-page guidance document, “...
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Should police officers be in schools? California education leaders rethink school safety [edsource.org]
By Michael Burke, EdSource, June 11, 2020 A movement to reform California public school policing and drastically rethink school safety is quickly gaining momentum amid nationwide protests against police brutality following the killing of George Floyd. In Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento and San Francisco, administrators and school boards are under pressure from community groups who are renewing demands for police-free schools and calling on districts to instead hire more counselors and other...
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Re: Should police officers be in schools? California education leaders rethink school safety [edsource.org]
I think we should be asking why do we need police at schools? How can we can restructure our educational institutions to be resilience building and protective without the need for policing?
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Medi-Cal Agency's New Head Wants to Tackle Disparities and Racism [californiahealthline.org]
By Samantha Young, California Healthline, July 29, 2020 When Will Lightbourne looked at the statistics behind California’s coronavirus cases, the disparities were “blindingly clear”: Blacks and Latinos are dying at higher rates than most other Californians. As of Monday, Latinos account for 45.6% of coronavirus deaths in a state where they make up 38.9% of the population, according to data collected by the California Department of Public Health. Blacks account for 8.5% of the deaths but make...
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New draft ethnic studies curriculum for California students issued after a year of study [edsource.org]
By John Fensterwald, EdSource, August 1, 2020 The California Department of Education released a more readable and tempered draft of an “ethnic studies model curriculum” on Friday, 11 months after intense criticism of the first draft forced state officials to order a rewrite. Its release will start eight months of review and revision, beginning with an Aug. 13 meeting of a curriculum commission reporting to the State Board of Education, then a one-month public comment period and more review.
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Emergency departments look inward to deepen practices that support traumatized patients
An interdisciplinary team of clinicians from Brigham and Women’s Hospital had a bold idea in 2017. They would completely change the way things worked in their hospital’s emergency department so that the care provided to their patients was infused with a trauma-informed approach. That means recognizing how widespread trauma is and using a myriad of techniques to mitigate its harmful effects among patients, providers and staff. The realization of just how widespread trauma is came to light in...
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ACEs screening pilot in L.A. County pivots, troubleshoots barriers to remote visits
This story is part of an occasional series about California-based pediatricians who are incorporating ACEs screening into their practices. In the first installment published in May, which you can find here , Dr. Amy Shekarchi and other team members had just launched their ACEs screening by phone. A community health worker from a clinic affiliated with Los Angeles County’s Department of Health Care Services recently called a teenage patient to find out if she ever felt unsafe in her home or...
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4 in 10 Sonoma County high school students are failing, educators searching for solutions before it's too late [pressdemocrat.com]
By Kerry Benefield, The Press Democrat, October 29, 2020 Nearly 4 in 10 high school students in Sonoma County have one or more failing grades and more than 7 in 10 say they feel deep anxiety about the future, a one-two punch that prompted educators across the county to convene an unprecedented meeting Tuesday to find the root of the problem and correct it before the graduation prospects of thousands of students are imperiled. About 120 teachers, counselors, principals and superintendents met...
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The risk of getting coronavirus at Bay Area schools is low. So why is fear of returning still so high? [sfchronicle.com]
By Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle, December 9, 2020 Teacher Liz Duffield was terrified to return to her classroom in September, scared she could spread COVID-19 to her students or get it from them. Three months later, the Novato teacher is still afraid of the virus, but not inside her classroom. It feels safer there than in the community, she said, maybe safer than in her own home. Recent data out of Marin County, where nearly 80% of public and private schools are open, show her hunch...
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Road Map for Ending Domestic Violence in California: A Life Course Approach to Prevention
Futures Without Violence (FUTURES) is excited to share A Road Map for Ending Domestic Violence in California: A Life Course Approach to Prevention with the ACEs Connection community. The Road Map , a policy paper supported by Blue Shield of California Foundation, draws upon our work at FUTURES as well as research and study on best practices for preventing violence. It presents four evidenced-based prevention and intervention strategies to prevent and end domestic violence in California:...
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Understanding the role of cultural stigma on seeking mental health services
By Dr. Sheila Modir , pediatric psychologist; Baleska Alfaro, licensed marriage and family therapist; and Dr. Ava Casados and Dr. Sarah Ruiz, post-doctoral fellows at CHOC For some people, making an appointment with a mental health provider may be a personal and independent decision. For others, the decision to seek therapy services may be influenced by their culture or community, as each culture has its own understanding, interpretation and beliefs around mental health symptoms. Our own...
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We’ve changed our name to PACEs Connection!
We have some very exciting news! As of today, ACEs Connection is now PACEs Connection. PACEs stands for Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences.
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ADRIFT: a Free Prosocial Video Game About Consent
ADRIFT is a free prosocial video game about consent that is appropriate for all ages. ADRIFT is an award-winning game which has been featured in a museum exhibition at MOD. We also offer a free guide for use by parents in conjunction with ADRIFT to aid them when teaching their children about consent.
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Los Angeles Leaders Vote to Try "Colorblind" Foster Care Decisions [imprintnews.org]
By Sara Tiano, The Imprint, July 13, 2021 Los Angeles County leaders committed on Tuesday to test out “ colorblind removals ” in child welfare cases — an attempt to correct long-standing patterns that draw disproportionately more Black and brown children into foster care than their white peers. Beginning in November, one of the county’s 20 regional offices will operate a pilot program relying on the method, which was developed on New York’s Long Island more than a decade ago. In colorblind...
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Labels v. the roots of trauma
When articles on self-harm are posted, I recommend we understand that diagnoses are merely labels for symptom clusters, almost always resulting from early trauma. Professionals use labels primarily for billing. They are also used widely as derogatory terms, at least when I was working as a mental health professional. "Borderline personality," "dissociative disorders," etc. are shorthand descriptions of desperate coping measures that survivors use to manage the pain from early extreme abuse.