Understanding Trauma to Promote Healing in Child Welfare [co-invest.org]

For child welfare stakeholders, the concept that children and their families come into our systems bearing the burden of traumatic experiences associated with neglect and abuse is not new. What has evolved over the last couple of decades is the science of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and understanding of the long-term physical and behavioral health consequences and high societal costs. A landmark study, and the many since that have supported the initial results, have led to a growing consensus on the need for policies and practices to prevent, intervene, and promote healing.

While adverse childhood experiences are pervasive, the children and families coming into contact with the child welfare system are often those with the most acute, severe, and persistent adverse experiences. Many children and youth not only suffer from neglect and abuse in the home, but are also affected by racism, poverty, and the legacy of historical, multigenerational trauma.

ACEs science explores the link between adverse childhood experiences and health outcomes. The concept originated in the landmark Center for Disease Control / Kaiser Permanente study, conducted in San Diego and published in 1998. The study discovered these links by asking adult patients if, as children, they’d had one or more of ten adverse experiences that fell into three types: abuse, neglect, and household stressors.