Tagged With "Grief to Grounded"
Blog Post
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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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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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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ACEs Science Champions Series: Because of Andres Perez, 10,000+ Latinx parents in Northern California embrace trauma-informed parenting
Andres Perez immigrated to San Jose, Calif., from Mexico in 1990. He was 24 years old, undocumented, knew little English, lacked job skills, and had a pregnant wife to support. He hit the ground running by completing an ESL program in San Jose City College, and, while working days at any job he could find, at night he earned an associate of science degree with specialization in electronics and computers in 2002. Fortunately for thousands of Latinx parents and their children, he never worked...
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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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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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California Could Create a Career Path for People With Mental Illness [kqed.org]
By April Dembosky, KQED, September 14, 2019 On her 21st birthday, Keris Myrick was in the cereal aisle of the grocery store. She was throwing boxes of Cheerios on the ground, yelling back at the voices in her head. Food is poison, they told her. If you eat you will die. “So I actually stopped eating for about four months,” Myrick said. “I just told my mother it was stomach pains.” It took years before Myrick admitted the problem was not in her stomach, but in her head. She was eventually...
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California Looks to Expand Financial Aid Access for Foster Youth [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
A California legislator is looking to amend the state’s college aid program for foster youth so it covers more students and loses fewer of them to academic problems. The Chafee Education and Training Voucher (ETV) is a federal-state match program that provides up to $5,000 per year to current or former foster youth to help with the costs of college. Introduced by State Sen. Jim Beall (D), Senate Bill 150 would shift the way ETV grant payments are distributed and set unique ground rules for...
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Webinar: Trauma-Sensitive Schools
Join the Center for Partnership Studies on Thursday, March 19, 2020 from 4 pm – 5:30 pm Pacific Time/ 7 pm – 8:30 pm Eastern Time for the Trauma-Sensitive Schools: Shifting to Partnership in Education and Society webinar — a timely online dialogue with Dr. Mary Crnobori, BCBA, Khayree Bey, BBSc, M.Ed. and Dr. Riane Eisler. Hear about what it takes to implement effective, compassionate, trauma-sensitive practices at all levels in public school systems, from whole-district initiatives to...
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Why California’s Once-Dismissed Idea to Give Everyone a Paycheck Is Gaining Ground [ZocaloPublicSquare.org]
Do you want your ham and eggs, California? It is one of the oldest and most enduring ideas in our state: Government should provide everyone with a minimum amount of money on a regular basis. It goes back to the 1930s, when Californians narrowly rejected the so-called “Ham and Eggs” proposals to give Californians a $30 check every Thursday. Now, this notion is back, a subject of books and op-eds and speeches, especially in the Bay Area, and with some bipartisan political momentum.
Ask the Community
CA AB 989: Bill to combat Institutionalized Child Abuse in Public Education
AB 989 was announced today. As a survivor and now activist- this bill is a "boots on the ground" oversight program to act as first responders, case managers and provide procedural guidance to victims and their families of Educator Sexual Misconduct and prevent child endangerment by the common practice of cover-up. We will be going to committee in Sacramento within the next month but if anyone is interested in further information or curious about supporting the legisation- please contact me...
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Solano County launches its ACEs and resilience initiative inviting all to take action
Elizabeth Huntley recalls the day when her family’s life was turned upside down. “One day my mom woke up and she packed up all of our clothes, all five of us…and she took me and my younger sister who had the same father… down to my paternal grandmother’s house…and she left us there. She took my middle sister to a town near Birmingham, Ala., and left her there. She took my only brother and an older sister back to Huntsville and left them at a sister’s house. Then she went back to that housing...
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State Dropping Ball in Dealing With Childhood Trauma, New Report Says [CaliforniaHealthline.org]
The lowest of 31 grades issued in the 2016 California Children's Report Card released on Wednesday was for dealing with the effects of childhood trauma. In Children Now's biennial assessment of the status of California kids, researchers gave the state a "D-" for how it deals with childhood trauma. The report contends that children who experience traumatic problems such as abuse, neglect and witnessing violence at home can suffer serious long-term consequences, including health...
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RockSoberFest 2019 Boonville California
Sitting under redwood trees and listening to great music with a community of people was how I experienced RockSoberFest 2019. The three day event, in the small town of Boonville in Northern California was organized to provide a safe space for people in recovery to have fun with friends and family. “Our goal is to provide a great weekend of fun, fellowship, friends, family while enjoying music. A grass-roots organization trying to create a place where performers who are clean and sober can...
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RYSE Center's Listening Campaign: Young people in Richmond, CA help adults understand trauma, violence, coping, and healing
"My experience with violence is very brutal...I grew up with violence as if it were my sibling." - LC participant (youth) "We know we can't run the city- it's too complex- but our experience and our voices should count, especially because we're the most effected ." - LC participant (youth) "Our city's problems are shared by us all; we are all part of the problem AND the solution. Listening is a key component to healing." - LC Share Out partici pant (adult) Three years ago, RYSE Center in...
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Saint Joseph Health Hospice Offers Gentle Reminders on Self Care
In the midst of the devastating fires that continue to threaten our county, we at St. Joseph Health Hospice Grief Services would like to offer a few gentle grief reminders for anyone touched by these events . Whether you personally have experienced a loss, you are supporting others, or even witnessing the events remember: We all grieve differently, and ALL grief is valid. Extreme Self Care While chaos is swirling we must try to drink plenty of water , eat whenever possible, sleep even if...
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San Bruno, CA, police reduce stress, burn-out with mindfulness
When Officer John Hampton of the San Bruno Police Department in San Bruno, CA, first heard that mindfulness training was being offered to him and his fellow cops, he had two reactions. John Hampton “I think my major reaction was: ‘Oh, there’s some hippy thing that they’re trying to get cops to do,’” he said. “When I say that, it’s funny because that’s not my voice. It’s the caricature of a police officer-like voice. In the back of my mind, I was interested and open to it, but that police...
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San Francisco cops go back to school to better understand teens (sfchronicle.com)
Seven teens loitered in a San Francisco park, and before long two police officers shuffled over and started grilling them. “Get over here,” a female officer yelled. “Sit your ass down.” Five of the kids stared at the officer with wide eyes and promptly planted themselves on the ground. Two others crossed their arms and ignored the officer’s commands. Suddenly, the officer burst out laughing and hugged the flustered kids. “Sorry,” she said, “sorry!” This was the first role playing exercise of...
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Screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in California: Insights and Perspectives (Webinar) [ncg.org]
From Northern California Grantmakers, February 2020 Since January 1, 2020, Medi-Cal providers have been eligible to receive payment from the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to screen patients for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). This program is part of an initiative led by the Office of the California Surgeon General and DHCS and is the product of several legislative efforts, including the passage of AB340, that have facilitated the momentum around universal...
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The Catalyst [themarshallproject.org]
As the judge climbed the watchtower stairs in Pelican Bay prison, he heard muffled gunshots below. When he reached the top, he looked into the prison yard and saw bodies lying in the dirt. One was his law clerk, spreadeagled on the ground in his suit, alongside dozens of inmates. Guards stood over them, guns aimed. “My clerk was thinking he’s gonna die and this is his last day on earth,” Judge Thelton Henderson recalled. What appeared to be the taming of a riot was actually an audacious...
Calendar Event
Children's Advocates Roundtable
Blog Post
'This is a cry for help': ICE detainees beg California lawmakers to intervene after coronavirus death [sfchronicle.com]
By Tatiana Sanchez, San Francisco Chronicle, May 13, 2020 More than 40 immigrants being held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center near San Diego are alleging that a detainee’s recent death due to COVID-19 was caused by reckless and inhumane conditions, according to a letter begging the governor and other California lawmakers to intervene. “This is a cry for help,” said detainee Oscar Nevarez, one of 43 immigrants at Otay Mesa who supported the letter after detainee Carlos Escobar Mejia died on...
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Uneven Ground Part II: Navigating Food Deserts and Swamps [paloaltoonline.com]
By Kate Bradshaw, Palo Alto Online, September 11, 2019 When Kendy Mendoza of East Palo Alto and his wife experienced health scares over the last few years, they took action to turn their lives around. Eight years ago, when his wife was diagnosed with diabetes, she cut out bread and tortillas from her diet, he said. Two years ago, after a heart-related health scare, he added, he changed his diet and exercise habits, and now hikes and eats 70% more fruits and vegetables. "My life is changing,"...
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Doctor-patient role-playing featured in ACEs Connection webinar
On an ACEs Connection webinar on Monday, Dr. Andrew Seaman, an assistant professor at Oregon Health & Science University, showed how he navigates his students through the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). And, in an unusual twist for a webinar, Seaman and O’Nesha Cochran, a peer mentor with the Mental Health Association of Oregon, role-played doctor-patient interactions to show how to develop the skills to communicate with patients with high ACE scores. About 90 people...
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Documentary, "Portraits of Professional CAREgivers" Airing on Public Television
CAREgivers film will be airing on most public television stations around the US beginning this month in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orlando, Cleveland, Spokane, Boise, Springfield-Holyoke, Youngstown, Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, Fairbanks, ETC. Please check your local public TV stations for future dates and times. Broadcast times will also be posted in advance whenever possible at: http://caregiversfilm.com/screenings/see-the-film/ This documentary addresses secondary trauma (aka...
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Early Discount 20th Annual Families & Fathers Conference
Call to action- Fathers and Families Coalition of America is nearing the 20th Annual Families and Fathers Conference, March 4-7, 2019 in Los Angeles, California with a comprehensive program that hosts presenters from the United Kingdom, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Bolivia and throughout the United States. We are providing the conference information for your consideration to participate. We are asking you to share this conference information with your community...
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Educators’ “Complex Trauma” Resolution: Will it have an impact?
When I met up with school psychologists Donna Christy and Robert Hull at the Starbucks in Greenbelt, MD, they sparred good-naturedly about each other’s extra-curricular activities outside the school building—he says she is a big honcho with the National Education Association (NEA) and she says he will speak to any audience, anywhere (as long as his expenses are covered) on the subject of trauma and education. Both work for the Prince George’s (P.G.) County School District in nearby...
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Equity on the Mall
On behalf of the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund (SJVHF), we invite you to join state legislative and community leaders in a day of advocacy entitled Equity on the Mall, taking place on February 9 at our state capitol in Sacramento. Thursday, February 9 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. California State Capitol 1315 10th Street, Sacramento The day will include a powerful program at the West Steps of the Capitol on the movement being built in the San Joaquin Valley. Highlights will include remarks by elected...
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Farmers are forced to let crops rot and throw away milk while food bank demand soars [calmatters.org]
By Manuela Tobias and Robert Rodriguez, Cal Matters, April 11, 2020 Last week, Isabel Solorio turned away five families from the Lanare food bank serving farmworkers in rural Fresno County. There just wasn’t enough food to feed the 215 families who showed up. It was twice the number of families that needed food a week earlier, she said. But that same week, on a farm just 20 minutes away, at least two fields of fresh lettuce were disced back into the ground, left to rot as the restaurants...
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Fed Up With Probation’s Ongoing Failure To Spend Juvenile Justice $ Millions On Proven Programs For LA County’s Kids, The Supes Make A Radical Move [witnessla.com]
On Tuesday afternoon, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a new motion that will put most of the power to choose how a large pot of state money gets spent into the hands of the county’s Juvenile Justice Coordinating Counsel (JJCC), a mostly unknown voting body that is crammed with youth experts and advocates. Prior to this shift, the funds were almost entirely controlled by LA County Probation, a situation that the board decided wasn’t working. “I find it unacceptable,” said...
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Fight Burnout and Compassion Fatigue With Lots of Self-care Ideas [YouthToday.org]
For years I have sought out with fierce determination conversations, books and articles such as this. Articles with titles like “5 Steps To Wellness,” “7 Must-Have self-care Tips” or “10 Ways for a Healthier You.” From peer-reviewed articles to O Magazine, I sift through pages with critical eyes looking for that aha moment where I find something new to share with teachers, administrators, students and other caring professionals. I usually ignore the introductions and skip ahead to the bullet...
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For families across California, a desperate struggle to get mental health care (calmatters.org)
Around California, people with mental illness—and their family members—describe pleading with insurance providers for treatment. Their stories share an underlying premise: Despite policy advances in the past two decades intended to compel insurance companies to provide patients with equivalent levels of care for physical and mental illnesses, the reality on the ground still looks very different. A statewide poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the California Health Care Foundation found...
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Four California School Districts Ask Voters to Pay for Teacher and Staff Housing [edsource.org]
By Diana Lambert, EdSource, February 28, 2020 In a region with the largest disparity between teacher pay and housing costs in California, a Bay Area school district is the first in the nation to build affordable employee housing funded exclusively through a bond passed by local taxpayers. The Jefferson Union High School District in Daly City recently broke ground on the 122-unit housing project, which will be financed by a $33 million general obligation bond passed by voters in 2018. At the...
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From ancient times to today, San Diego remains a magnet for wellness seekers (calmatters.org)
Eric Ortega walked through Warner Springs on a recent hot afternoon. “I see our homeland,” he said, looking at houses that dot vast rolling expanses of land covered by dry brush and trees. “ My grandmother lived in one of those houses,” said the 54-year-old Ortega. “My grandfather lived in those houses." And just east of the homes, sit two large pools of water sprung from the ground. One hot. One cool. Ortega said practicality and spirituality drew his ancestors to the springs possibly as...
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Just one year of child abuse costs San Francisco, CA, $300 million….but it doesn’t have to
In 2015, 5,545 children in San Francisco, CA, were reported to have experienced abuse. Of those, the reports of 753 children were substantiated. The expense to San Francisco for not preventing that abuse will cost $400,533 per child over his or her lifetime. That adds up to $301.6 million for just that one year, according to “ The Economics of Child Abuse: A Study of San Francisco.” And, because child abuse is profoundly underreported, the costs are likely to be as much as $5.6 billion/year,...
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Launch of 4CA Campaign Educates 80 Legislators about ACEs in One Day
On July 11, the “4CA” Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity organized approximately 100 people into small teams of 3-6 people to visit the offices of 80 legislators. Organized by the 4CA steering group led by Center for Youth Wellness, Children Now, and ACEs Connection Network, the day was a decided success.
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Let's work together to ensure everyone is counted! [childrennow.org]
By The Children's Movement of California, April 28, 2020 By now, every single household across the country should have received multiple mailers with instructions on how to fill out the 2020 Census. Many community organizations are grappling with how to engage members and families as on-the-ground, door-to-door outreach and engagement strategies -- that have proven to be effective in the past – have been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic at least until the end of May. Phone calls, text...
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NEW: 2018-19 California County Scorecard of Children's Well-Being
Children Now is pleased to announce that we've just released our new 2018-19 California County Scorecard of Children's Well-Being! The latest edition is an interactive tool that provides a comprehensive snapshot of how children are faring in each of the 58 counties, over time, and by race and ethnicity. The tool's indicators cut across four domains of education, early childhood, child welfare and health. This updated edition of the Scorecard features significant enhancements including heat...
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New Study Shows Communities Can Reduce the Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences [Mathematic Policy Research]
[ Ed. note: Following is a media release published yesterday by Mathematica Policy Research. This follows on the heals of the report, "Self-Healing Communities" that Laura Porter, Dr. Robert Anda and WHO wrote for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Both reports and executive summaries are attached to this blog post. Both reports are significant, because they show that community ACEs initiatives -- with "modest investments and limited staff" -- are solving some of our most intractable...
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NOTE NEW TIME: Planning to Join Us on 5/8 for a "Better Normal" discussion about systems transformation? Join us 1:00-2:00 PT!
Note new time for Friday, May 8 Better Normal discussion on systems transformation. We will meet from 1:00-2:00 and hear from RYSE Associate Director, Kanwarpal Dhaliwal, about the rapid emergency community response initiative, West Contra Costa Covid Community Care.
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OCAP needs you! Apply now to become a member of their 2019 Citizen Review Panels
Make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children in California. Use your voice to change the child welfare system in California! Convened by the Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP), they are seeking citizen (YOUR) input at their quarterly meetings. Now is your chance to make recommendations to the State! Apply now t o become a member of the California Child-welfare Citizen Review Panels (CRPs). Meetings are held 4 times a year. Participation can be by phone, computer, or in-person.
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(Orange) County to get first emergency centers for psych patients, unburdening hospitals [OCRegister.com]
Orange County is set to get its first emergency medical centers dedicated to treating people who suffer sudden psychiatric episodes, addressing a void that critics say long has burdened local hospitals and left mentally ill patients with inadequate treatment. County supervisors voted Tuesday to accept a nearly $3.1 million competitive state grant that will help pay for building renovations and program start-up costs for the expanded care at two undetermined locations. Supervisor Andrew Do...
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OUR FUTURE AFTER THE FIRE: NON-PROFIT DONATES $1 MILLION TO HELP FIRST RESPONDERS WITH TRAUMA (Action News)
By Jafet Serrato, Oct 24, 2019, for Action News BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - The North Valley Community Foundation has been working on choosing where vital grant money should go after the Camp Fire. David Little is the executive vice president of the organization. "We are both giving direct assistance to fire survivors who need it, through our partners on the ground but also giving to agencies who need help in the longer term," Little said. The Butte County Sheriff's Office is one of those...
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Overcoming a Lifetime of Trauma, Then Facing a New One: Wildfire [centerforhealthjournalism.org]
KQED News Monday, November 19, 2018 Sabrina Hanes has faced a lot of trauma in her life, most of it in her childhood. As part of her healing, she moved to a Northern California town called Paradise. There she built strength and community, but that was upended when the Camp Fire tore through Paradise, burning her home and turning her life upside down. I followed Hanes through her daily routine in Paradise last summer, to learn how she’s developed resilience. I then caught up with Hanes after...
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Personal stories from witnesses, U.S. representatives provided an emotional wallop to House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on childhood trauma
Room erupts in applause for the grandmother of witness William Kellibrew during July 11 House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing. The power of personal stories from witnesses and committee members fueled the July 11 hearing on childhood trauma in the House Oversight and Reform Committee* throughout the nearly four hours of often emotional and searing testimony and member questions and statements (Click here for 3:47 hour video). The hearing was organized into a two panels—testimony from...
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Preparations begin for 2018 State Legislative Sessions—Tools to help you communicate with your state legislators
With the majority of states convening legislative sessions in 2018*, now is the time to begin preparations to advance trauma-informed proposals and educate lawmakers on the impact of trauma on the health and wellbeing of their constituents. ACEs Connection Network (ACN) will be sharing tools to help in this process over the next months. Two are now available—“How to Create a Community Profile” and “Tips on How to Build Relationships with Your Legislators.” One of the most effective tools...
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Preschool Teachers Earn Less Than Tree Trimmers [TheAtlantic.com]
In the past several decades, advances in brain science have suggested that the learning that occurs in the first few years of a child’s life lays the groundwork for a productive adulthood. The expansion of preschool is one of the few topics where both Republicans and Democrats in Congress find common ground; while lawmakers don’t always agree on how programs should be funded or structured, the belief that good early-childhood education can help prevent later gaps in test scores and...