The World Health Organization has compiled a recent meta-analysis about how much ACEs cost us Millions of adults across Europe and north America live with a legacy of ACEs.  Their findings suggest that a 10% reduction in ACE prevalence could equate to annual savings of $105 billion. Programs to prevent ACEs and moderate their effects are available. Rebalancing expenditure towards ensuring safe and nurturing childhoods would be economically beneficial and relieve pressures on health-care systems.  See full article: https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lanpub/PIIS2468-2667(19)30145-8.pdf

We know that adversity is not destiny.  Our beloved Alicia Lieberman spoke last week at the Ounce’s National Home Visiting Summit and reminded us that

supportive childhood experiences buffer and alleviate the impact of adversity and trauma.   She talked of Benevolent Childhood Experiences (BCEs) and remembered moments of loving childhood connections which have been found to decrease maternal and child PTSD. See 2018 article:  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0145213417303587

 Also, see the attached 2019 JAMA article which addresses “positive childhood experiences” and promotes the joint assessment of ACES and PCEs to focus on building strengths. 

 Child Trends education team has also emphasized the role of building supportive, trauma-informed learning environments in schools to respond to childhood trauma. Implementing trauma-informed care in educational, health care, and other settings also can help children increase the protective factors in their lives so they are more likely to exhibit resilience to adversity.

 Dr. Lori Hanson offers a ray of hope in response to last weeks’ email.

Here in Miami, I took one of Dr. Feliti's recommendations to heart. You may recall when someone asked him about the best way to prevent ACEs (rather than only focusing on serving with a sensitivity to how many already have them), he suggested that we should combine the best science on parenting and child development with the talents of the entertainment industry to produce engaging programming that sets appropriate social norms for healthy parenting. The Children's Trust just joined a funder collaboration with Univision and the Clinton Foundation's Too Small to Fail campaign to support a Pequeños y Valiosos (young and valuable) array of programming development and community events focused on early childhood and parenting norms (including a telanovela series). See an overview here https://www.thechildrenstrust.org/content/learn-good-parenting-watching-novelas.  

Way to go Miami!    

Hope you’ll join me in attending the free webinar: Making Meaningful Change: Addressing ACEs through Public Policy

Feb 18, 2020 11:30 AM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

In this webinar, three nationally recognized experts, Aditi Srivastav, Jonathan Purtle and Wendy Ellis, will discuss policy and advocacy strategies using evidence from studies they have conducted with legislators and the general public. They will share advocacy and messaging "how to’s" including communicating the effects of structural racism as an ACE and fostering equity as an essential component of resilience, and leveraging the power of community based ACE, trauma and resilience networks to influence policy.