Tagged With "foster care"
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Sacrifices Californians Make Together to Slow Spread of Coronavirus are Worth It [chcf.org]
By Sandra R. Hernandez, California Health Care Foundation, March 16, 2020 We have entered an important new chapter in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic: After a week filled with school closures and the cancellation of major public events of all kinds, Congress and President Donald Trump are hopefully close to a deal to address the spread of the dangerous coronavirus. This clear-headed collaboration by our political leaders is welcome for the immediate relief it will bring and because it...
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Save the Date: July 11, 4CA Policymaker Education Day in Sacramento
Save the Date: Tuesday, July 11 4CA Policymaker Education Day on Childhood Adversity, Sacramento The California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA) invites you to Sacramento for Policymaker Education Day. Our lawmakers need to hear from you about how adverse childhood experiences and childhood trauma affect your community and what they can do to help. Join with allies from across California to engage your elected officials on this important issue. Who: 4CA Policymaker Education Day...
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Secondary Traumatic Stress Affects Child Abuse Prevention Champions
Each year, millions of children in California endure the trauma of abuse, violence, natural disasters, and other adverse events. These experiences can give rise to significant emotional and behavioral problems that can profoundly disrupt the children’s lives and bring them in contact with child-serving professionals. For therapists, child welfare workers, case managers, and other helping professionals involved in the care of traumatized children and their families, the essential act of...
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Sesame Street in Communities Takes on Trauma
Just this morning, Sesame Street in Communities announced its initiative to support foster children, foster parents, and the providers who serve foster care. Further, more trauma related topics will be addressed soon. The upcoming programing is detailed in today’s The Atlantic article “For-Now Parents’ and ‘Big Feelings’: How Sesame Street Talks About Trauma: ‘The Muppets can often do what humans can’t. They’ve got this special power.’ ” “ "Through its Sesame Street in Communities...
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Sesame Workshop and BTC Team Up to Help with Big Scary Feelings during the COVID-19 Crisis
Caring for Each Other: How to Use Sesame Street in Communities Resources for Health Emergencies with Families Now Wednesday, April 1, 2020 @ 3 PM ET We're all in this together, and that's why we're all coming together. Sesame Workshop and the Brazelton Touchpoints Center are partnering on a webinar series, beginning April 1st, to share online resources that can help us handle the sudden changes in our lives when we face health emergencies like the one that confronts us today. As a result of...
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Social-Emotional Development in the First Three Years [rwjf.org]
The Issue In the first three years of life, children achieve remarkable advances in social and emotional development (SED) that establish a foundation for later competencies. Yet even in the first three years, these achievements can be threatened by exposure to elevated stresses of many kinds. Family poverty, marital conflict, parental emotional problems, experiences of trauma, neglect, or abuse and other adversities cause some infants and toddlers to experience anxious fearfulness,...
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State and Federal Support of Trauma-Informed Care: Sustaining the Momentum
Policymakers increasingly recognize the impact of trauma and adverse childhood experiences on lifelong physical, emotional, and social health and are beginning to support efforts for incorporating trauma-informed care into the health and social service sectors. This new CHCS blog post looks at how proposed state and federal legislative, regulatory, and contracting policies aim to reduce trauma and toxic stress and promote resiliency and trauma-informed practices. It also explores how federal...
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Supporting Brain Development in Traumatized Children and Youth
This Administration on Children and Families (ACF) bulletin summarizes the effects of early trauma on brain development and looks at steps child welfare professionals can take to screen for developmental delays and identify the trauma-affected children and youth in their care. It also looks at ways to access cross-sector, therapeutic, and evidence-based treatment to encourage healthy recovery for trauma-affected children and youth. HERE TO ACCESS MATERIALS. Document attached.
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Supporting Safety and Well-being of Children and Families during COVID-19
The following information is from a tip sheet created by Sacramento County. To access the tip sheet for the full copy, please access it at the link below: The outbreak of COVID‐19 is a concern on everyone’s mind. While we may be comforted to know that the risk to our children’s physical health from the outbreak itself appears to be low, child and family serving agencies are worried about the increased risk for child abuse and neglect during this time of crisis and economic insecurity .
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Survey: Kids say schools are getting safer, but bullying more common [DailyBulletin.com]
Fewer students are using drugs and alcohol, but more feel harassed and bullied, a new health survey found. The California Healthy Kids Survey, done every two years since 1985, asked more than 36,000 middle and high school students across the state about campus safety, substance use, mental health and other issues. The California Department of Education and the California Department of Health Care Services coordinated the report, which takes a random sample of seventh-, ninth- and 11th-grade...
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The Advancing California’s Trauma-Informed Systems (ACTS) Project
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS), Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP) has partnered with the Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Rady Children’s Hospital – San Diego to launch the Advancing California’s Trauma-Informed Systems (ACTS) project. Designed for child welfare systems, the ACTS Project includes opportunities for: Collaborative planning and thoughtful identification of individualized areas for trauma-informed care (TIC) advancement In-depth resource...
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The Economics of Child Abuse: A Study of California
While the impact of maltreatment on a child and their family is devastating, child maltreatment also has serious effects far beyond those for the victim. Maltreatment results in ongoing costs to taxpayers, institutions, businesses, and society at large. Local communities bear the brunt of these costs in the form of medical, educational, and judicial costs, though more tragic signs are seen in homelessness, addiction, and teen pregnancy. To create a concrete understanding of the widespread...
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This Week's CDC MMWR Lead Article - Health Care, Family, and Community Factors Associated with Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders in Early Childhood — United States, 2011–2012
Summary What is already known about this topic? Sociodemographic factors and environmental influences in early childhood have been demonstrated to have significant impact on development, mental health, and overall health throughout the lifespan. What is added by this report? This report provides recent national data documenting significant associations of early childhood mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders (MBDDs) with sociodemographic, health care, family, and community factors.
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Toxic Stress, Behavioral Health, and the Next Major Era in Public Health by Mental Health America
To view the document, click on the following link: http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/issues/toxic-stress-behavioral-health-and-next-major-era-public-health
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Traumatic Experiences Widespread Among U.S. Youth, New Data Show
[This is a media release from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.] New national data show that at least 38 percent of children in every state have had at least one Adverse Childhood Experience or ACE, such as the death or incarceration of a parent, witnessing or being a victim of violence, or living with someone who has been suicidal or had a drug or alcohol problem. In 16 states, at least 25 percent of children have had two or more ACEs. Findings come from data in the 2016 National Survey...
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Two studies shed light on state legislators’ views on ACEs science and trauma policy
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...
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UMass Medical School Creates First Division of Mindfulness (mindful.org)
As the bar for research on mindfulness raises dramatically, a big change at the University of Massachusetts unites top-tier minds with increased resources to study meditation’s therapeutic potential. Marking unprecedented support for the role of mindfulness in health care, the University of Massachusetts Medical School announced in December the creation of a new division dedicated to its academic study. The Division of Mindfulness, the first of its kind, encompasses the university’s existing...
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Upcoming Training Opportunity through Strategies 2.0.
Strategies 2.0 presents The Pair of ACEs: Building Community Resilience on July 19, 2019 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm in Glenn County. This training will guide participants through the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adverse Community Environments. To register, visit: https://strategiesca.asentialms.com/catalog/Default.aspx?id=76&type=course Strategies 2.0 will also host Trauma-Informed Care on July 30, 2019 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm in Sacramento. This training enables...
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Updates on the California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA)'s Endorsed Bills
The 2018 legislative session officially wrapped up on September 30th with Governor Brown taking action on all pieces of legislation that made it to his desk. This year, the California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA) endorsed three bills that were aligned with 4CA's objectives. We're happy to share that SB 439 (Mitchell & Lara) is officially law! This means that children 11 years old and younger are excluded from prosecution in juvenile court, except when the child is...
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WEBINAR: Amplify Impact from National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation on 8/29
High-quality early childhood education (ECE) has an enormous positive impact on lifelong health, serving as a protective factor against adult disease and disability. Children who receive high-quality ECE stay in school longer and earn more income as adults, helping to close the income inequality gap. Yet parents sometimes struggle to access or pay for available programs, and only about 16% of children who were eligible for federal childcare subsidies in 2015 received them. Given the high...
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Webinar Oct. 17 — Integrating ACEs science in pediatrics: Early adopters share lessons from the field
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...
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Webinar Recap: Health Equity and COVID-19: Opportunities to Improve Child Wellbeing through Policy with Dr. Flojaune Cofer
On May 13, 2020, the California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative held a webinar entitled, “Health Equity and COVID-19: Opportunities to Improve Child Wellbeing through Policy” and heard from special guest speaker, Dr. Flojaune Cofer, Senior Director of Policy with the All Children Thrive (ACT) California project . This interactive webinar examined what success could look like to address COVID-19 by describing equity concerns arising for children and families that have been...
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Webinar Recap: Trauma-Informed Care/Practices in Light of COVID-19: Applying Lessons Learned from Child-Serving Systems with Dr. Melissa Bernstein
On April 29, 2020, the California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative held a webinar entitled, “Trauma-Informed Care/Practices in Light of COVID-19: Applying Lessons Learned from Child-Serving Systems” and heard from special guest speaker, Dr. Melissa Bernstein, an Implementation Specialist with the Advancing California’s Trauma-Informed Systems (ACTS) Initiative . Dr. Bernstein shared considerations for practical application of key trauma-informed elements put into practice through...
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Webinar Series – Putting Trauma-Informed Care into Practice: Lessons from the Field
Health policymakers and practitioners increasingly recognize trauma as an important factor that influences health throughout the lifespan. By incorporating trauma-informed approaches to care into their practice settings, provider organizations can more effectively care for patients and support efforts to improve health outcomes, reduce avoidable hospital utilization, and curb excess costs. This two-part CHCS webinar series will explore innovative strategies for implementing a trauma-informed...
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Webinar Series – Putting Trauma-Informed Care into Practice: Lessons from the Field
Learn how two leading San Francisco-based provider organizations are Implementing Trauma-Informed Care in Pediatric and Adult Primary Care Settings . View a recent webinar featuring Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris, Center for Youth Wellness, and Dr. Edward Machtinger, Women's HIV Program at UCSF. The webinar is part of a series on Putting Trauma-Informed Care into Practice: Lessons from the Field hosted by the Center for Health Care Strategies and made possible by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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What Is Health Equity? [RWJF.org]
Defining Health Equity and Key Steps to Achieving Greater Health Equity This RWJF report defines health equity and identifies crucial elements to guide effective action to reduce disparities in health status. Also included in the report are alternative definitions of health equity for different audiences that may have varying backgrounds and perspectives, and examples of specific terms that often arise in discussions around the concept. The Issue Health equity surrounds and underpins all of...
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What should trauma-informed cities and counties ask their states for?
The people who are doing most of the pioneering work to integrate trauma-informed, resilience-building practices based on ACEs research (writ large) are doing so in cities and counties across the U.S. Now that more state agencies are learning about ACEs, many people in local communities are wondering what they can ask states for to help grow local efforts. Karen Clemmer, the maternal child adolescent health coordinator for Sonoma County’s Department of Health Services, and I were...
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Whom do we call to report the mistreatment of children by the federal government? [washingtonpost.com]
By Nadine Burke Harris, Washington Post, July 11, 2019. Nadine Burke Harris is the surgeon general of California. Children in dirty clothes who haven’t been bathed in days. Eight-year-olds caring for toddlers out of necessity. Kids deprived of the safe, stable and nurturing care that’s fundamental to their health and well-being. As a pediatrician who has spent my career working to address childhood trauma, I’ve unfortunately seen it all. And I’ve had to make my share of reports to Child...
Calendar Event
Children's Advocates' Roundtable
Calendar Event
Webinar: Immigration and Trauma
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Changing the Mindset: Foundational Relationships Counter Adversity with HOPE [cssp.org]
By David Willis, MD and Robert Sege | Kay Johnson, 5/21/20, cssp.org The following excerpt was written for the positiveexperience.org blog . Today, the HOPE team leader, Dr. Robert Sege, joined with HOPE National Advisory Board member David Willis and HOPE consultant Kay Johnson to call for a change in mindset for child-serving professionals and organizations. The collaborative post begins with the following excerpt: The three of us have been talking together for years – and have come to...
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Check out the “Raising of America” Docuseries!
Have you seen the “Raising of America”? Funded by organizations such as the California Endowment, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation, the docuseries, The Raising of America: Early Childhood and the Future of Nation sheds light on how a strong start for children not only leads to better individual health outcomes, but also a healthier, safer, more prosperous and equitable America. See more in this five-part...
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Children are Better Positioned to Develop Resilience with Strong Family Connections [thesector.com.au]
By Freya Lucas, The Sector, July 1, 2019. The likelihood of flourishing – that is, doing well in life despite adversity – is true for children across all levels of household income, health status and exposure to adverse childhood experiences. The findings, published in the May issue of Health Affairs , suggest that more emphasis should be placed on programs to promote family resilience and parent-child connection, in conjunction with continued efforts to lessen children’s negative childhood...
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Congressional Briefing Addresses Public Policy to Improve Response to ACEs
In the final weeks of the 114 th Congress, Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) welcomed her colleague Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) as a new host in the third and final briefing on addressing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The December 1 briefing focused on public policies to improve coordination, prevention and response to childhood trauma. In addition to joining forces to raise awareness of the impact of ACEs, Senators Heitkamp and Durbin are drafting legislation based on a framework they...
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Crossroads of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Developmental Disabilities
Physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, child life professionals, and other patient service providers are invited and encouraged to join a webinar entitled: "Crossroads of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Developmental Disabilities" Increased levels of toxic stress, which can be caused by recurrent or chronic exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), can impair neurodevelopment, behavior, and overall health of a child (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services...
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CYW releases "Children Can Thrive: A Vision for California's Response to ACEs"
The Center for Youth Wellness released a new report “Children Can Thrive: A Vision for California’s Response to ACEs”. This report is a follow up to last November’s Children Can Thrive Summit. ...
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December 2016 California Essentials for Childhood Newsletter
California Essentials for Childhood released its sixth newsletter in December 2016. The full newsletter can be found attached. Check it out!
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Depressed Teen's Struggle To Find Mental Health Care In Rural California [NPR.org]
There's a hot pink suitcase on the floor of Shariah Vroman-Nagy's bedroom. The 18-year-old is packing for a trip to Disneyland, one of several she takes with her family every year. "Let's see, I need a hairbrush," she says, moving past the collection of Mickey Mouse ears on her dresser and glancing at the inspirational quotes from Marilyn Monroe on the wall. The lyrics to a song called " Smile " hang in a frame over her bed. "My mom made me that when I was struggling," says Vroman-Nagy,...
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Dr. Ken Epstein Speaks About Trauma-Informed Work
In recognition of Child Abuse Prevention Month, the California Departments of Public Health, Health Care Services and Social Services, and multiple community partners welcomed Dr. Kenneth Epstein to speak about his work highlighting trauma and resilience-informed practices. The event was also co-sponsored by ACEs Connection Network, Kaiser Permanente, and UC Davis Medical Center. Dr. Epstein leads the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s (SFDPH) Trauma-Informed Systems Initiative,...
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Dr. Vincent Felitti ACEs - January 17, 11am-12:30pm DHCS Auditorium
CA Department of Health Care Services and Department of Public Health welcome Dr. Vincent Felitti, Co-Principal Investigator of the O riginal CDC-Kaiser Adverse Childhood Experiences ( ACEs ) Study, 1995-1997 The DHCS Office of the Medical Director and CDPH would like to invite you to hear Dr. Felitti speak about the seminal ACE Study, one of the largest investigations of childhood abuse and neglect and later-life health and well-being. The ACE Study now includes more than 80 publications...
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Early Childhood Is Critical to Health Equity [rwjf.org]
The first few years of life are crucial in establishing a child’s path toward—or away from—health and well-being across the entire lifespan. This report, produced in partnership with the University of California, San Francisco, examines some of the barriers to health equity that begin early in life, and promising strategies for overcoming them. Key Findings Poverty limits childrens’ and families’ options for healthy living conditions. Poverty can limit where children live, and can lead to...
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Economist outlines reforms to improve access to affordable, high quality child care [medicalxpress.com]
For families in the U.S., the costs of high-quality child care are exorbitant, especially for those with children under age five. A new policy proposal, "Public Investments in Child Care," by Dartmouth Associate Professor of Economics Elizabeth Cascio, finds that current federal child care tax policies are not benefiting the families most burdened by child care costs. Therefore, Cascio outlines a new policy that could replace the current federal child care tax policies. The research examines...
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Essentials for Childhood Case Study: Collective Impact through Strategic Opportunities
The California Department of Public Health, Safe and Active Communities (CDPH/SACB), Steve Wirtz and Marissa Abbott co-authored a case study showcasing the methodology, successes, and opportunities for improvement from the 2013-2018 Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative. Read more about the lessons learned and how the EfC Initiative will move forward from 2019 and beyond by clicking the attachment below.
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Essentials for Childhood Framework
From the CDC’s Injury Prevention & Control, Division of Violence Prevention: "Safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments are essential to prevent child abuse and neglect and to assure all children reach their full potential. The Essentials for Childhood Framework proposes strategies communities can consider to promote relationships and environments that help children grow up to be healthy and productive citizens so that they, in turn, can build stronger and safer families and...
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Essentials for Childhood Initiative: October 30th, 2019 Convening Summary Document
The California Department of Public Health, Injury and Violence Prevention Branch (CDPH/IVPB), (formerly the Safe and Active Communities Branch) and the California Department of Social Services, Office of Child Abuse Prevention (CDSS/OCAP), co-hosted an Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative convening on Wednesday, October 30, 2019. This event, entitled “Defining Goals and Strategies to Achieve Child Wellbeing,” took place at the California Endowment in Sacramento from 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM...
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From Trauma-Informed to Asset-Informed Care in Early Childhood [brookings.edu]
By Ellen Galinsky, Brookings Institute, October 23, 2019 The focus on “toxic stress,” ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences), and trauma-informed care have been game-changers in the field of early childhood development. They have helped us recognize the symptoms of trauma, provide appropriate assistance to children, and understand that prolonged adversity in the absence of nurturing relationships can derail a child’s healthy development. Just look at the media’s and the public’s reaction to...
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Futures Without Violence - Safe, Healthy, and Ready to Learn
Interesting report from Futures Without Violence: Safe, Healthy, and Ready to Learn: Policy Recommendations to Ensure Children Thrive in Supportive Communities Free from Violence and Trauma