By Jack P. Shonkoff and David R. Williams, Center on the Developing Child, April 27, 2020 The COVID-19 virus is ruthlessly contagious and, at the same time, highly selective. Its capacity to infect is universal, but the consequences of becoming infected are not. While there are exceptions, children are less likely to show symptoms, older adults and those with pre-existing medical conditions are the most susceptible, and communities of color in the United States are experiencing dramatically...

New and returning lawmakers take the oath of office on day one of Washington state's 2017 legislative session. — Jeanie Lindsay/Northwest News Network As advocates prepare to see how ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) science, trauma, and resilience play out in the 2020 state legislative sessions — many beginning in January — they are undoubtedly asking: “What does a legislator want?" It may be a stretch to play on Freud’s question: “What does a women want?", but the query captures how...

An ACEs Connection webinar co-sponsored with 4 CA In 2017, California became the first state in the country to pass a law supporting universal screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the 5.3 million children in the state’s Medicaid program. As clinicians around California await the state’s announcement of what this new policy will entail, many are wondering what it takes to integrate ACEs science in a pediatric practice. Meet Drs. Deirdre Bernard-Pearl, R.J. Gillespie and...

From the American Academy of Pediatrics , "Poverty and related social determinants of health can lead to adverse health outcomes in childhood and across the life course, negatively affecting physical health, socioemotional development, and educational achievement. The American Academy of Pediatrics advocates for programs and policies that have been shown to improve the quality of life and health outcomes for children and families living in poverty. With an awareness and understanding of the...

By Kids Count Data Center, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, September 27, 2019 In 2018, 13 million children in the United States — 18% of all kids — were living in poverty, and for the first time since 2014, the percentage did not decrease compared to the previous year. This is discouraging news; all children should have the economic security that provides them the opportunity to thrive. However, the share of children in poverty remains significantly lower than its recent peak of 23%, seen in...

By Vasil I. Yasenov, Duncan Lawrence, Fernando S. Mendoza, et al., JAMA Pediatrics, November 18, 2019 Key Points Question Is state-level expansion of public health insurance coverage to non–US-born children and pregnant women associated with increased in-migration of eligible immigrant families from other states? Findings In this difference-in-differences analysis of data on 208 060 immigrants from the American Community Survey from 2000 through 2016, no association was found between...

Such a complex conversation... This is an area of passion for me - having worked with high-risk perinatal population for many years, conducted focus group interviews with women who were "clean" and in a treatment program - and heard first hand how and why they became pregnant while using - I was always surprised what they shared, and came to realize my assumptions were not accurate. I would urge the group to seek opportunities to work further upstream focusing on "preconception" or...

On June 16, 2020, the California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative held a webinar entitled, “Fostering HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) during COVID-19" and heard from special guest speakers, Drs. Robert Sege and Dina Burstein from the HOPE Project at Tufts Medical Center . Drs. Sege and Burstein presented research and data supporting the benefits and importance of Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs), background on the HOPE Project, and the relevance to ACEs...

By Rachel R. Hardeman, Eduardo M. Medina, and Rhea W. Boyd, New England Journal of Medicine, June 10, 2020 In Minnesota, where black Americans account for 6% of the population but 14% of Covid-19 cases and 33% of Covid-19 deaths, George Floyd died at the hands of police. “Please — I can’t breathe.” He was a black man detained on suspicion of forgery, an alleged offense that was never litigated or even charged, but for which he received an extrajudicial death sentence. “Please — I can’t...

This comprehensive and significant presentation of this large data set dramatically documents the potentially tragic effects of child maltreatment. It also inherently and forcefully criticizes other narrow minded studies - still accepted in the professional literature - which are blinded by the fact that psychiatry in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) does not recognize "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Due to Child Abuse or Neglect" as a diagnosis. See the attached study of youth...

A newly developed document titled “Adverse Childhood Experiences Data Report: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 2011-2017: An Overview of Adverse Childhood Experiences in California” has just been released and can be found following link and attached to this blog post. The purpose of this resource is to report state and county prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in California; describe ACEs-related geographic and demographic disparities; and to offer details...

The California Department of Public Health, Injury and Violence Prevention Branch (CDPH/IVPB) and the California Department of Social Services, Office of Child Abuse Prevention (CDSS/OCAP)’s, Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative invites your participation in a webinar entitled, “Creating Compelling Messaging with California ACEs Data” on Wednesday, January 20 th from 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM. This webinar will feature presentations from Shaddai Martinez Cuestas, MPH, Strategic Communications...

On January 20, 2021 the California Department of Public Health, Injury and Violence Prevention Branch (CDPH/IVPB) and the C alifornia Department of Social Services, Office of Child Abuse Prevention (CDSS/OCAP)’s , Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative hosted a webinar entitled, “Creating Compelling Messaging with ACEs Data”. This webinar featured presentations from Shaddai Martinez Cuestas, MPH, Strategic Communications Specialist at Berkeley Media Studies Group ; Donielle Prince, Ph.D,...