Tagged With "First 5 California"
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'A hidden health crisis': Toxic stress driving up Kern death rates [The Bakersfield Californian]
An invisible disease has been killing middle-aged white people throughout the southern San Joaquin Valley at higher rates than ever before. The disease can’t be detected by a blood test or remedied with a prescription. It’s been referred to as one of the country’s greatest unaddressed public health crises and a rising “epidemic of white death.” The disease is toxic stress, a result of childhood trauma and other environmental stressors like poverty, food insecurity and basic living needs not...
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'An invisible crisis': Toxic stress is helping to shorten life spans in many Kern County communities [
People who live in Oildale, Kern River Valley and Taft — three impoverished, majority-white communities — have the highest premature death rates across Kern County, dying four to 17 years sooner than those in other parts of Bakersfield. Residents in those three communities have an average life expectancy of between 68 and 72 years old — roughly eight to 10 years less than the national average, according to data analyzed by the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center for Human Needs. It’s...
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Building Resilience Through Understanding Substance Use Disorders and Their Impacts on Others
The reach of substance use disorders in America is far more significant than people think. 21+ million Americans struggle with substance use disorders. Their substance use and addiction-related behaviors impact 100 million more Americans. These are the moms, dads, husbands, wives, children, brothers, sisters, grandchildren.... Together, these two groups represents more than one-third of the American population!
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"Building Violence Free Schools & Communities " ONE DAY CONFERENCE!
Tulare County CAPC is proud to provide this ONE DAY conference on "Building Violence Free Schools & Communities" featuring 3 nationally know speakers with first hand experience and expertise in the field of violence prevention. Dr. Melissa Reeves (Columbine, CO shooting) Scarlett Lewis (Parent of a child lost in Sandy Hook shooting) and Clayton Douglas (former student who planned a shooting) will provide us with critical knowledge and skills in violence prevention. **** FLYER AND...
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CA 3rd Annual API Mental Health Empowerment Conference in Fresno County
The purpose of the annual Asian & Pacific Islander Mental Health Empowerment Conference (APIMHEC) is to increase awareness of mental health concerns and to promote improvement of mental health services for Asian & Pacific Islander (API) communities. The 2019 APIMHEC Conference will be hosted by Fresno County's Department of Behavioral Health at Clovis Veteran's Memorial District. This conference will convene mental health service providers, consumers, family members, students,...
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California 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for California. To review the entire profile, open the PDF that is attached to this post. If you have corrections or additions, please leave them in the comments section of this post. We’ll be reviewing the comments regularly and doing fact-checks. The information you give us will also help us determine how to organize and expand the information in the state profiles. We will be turning this post into a living profile that, with your help and input,...
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California gets its first ever surgeon general (ktvu.com)
California's first-ever Surgeon General has launched a listening tour that will take her around the state to hear about people's hopes for the new position and the state's new commitment to improving Californians' health. Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is a pediatrician with degrees from U.C. Berkeley, U.C. Davis Medical School, and Harvard University. She says, as the daughter of a biochemist and a nurse, she knew what her dream job was at an early age. "My immediate priorities as Surgeon General...
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California Launches New Comprehensive, Consumer-Friendly Website and Public Service Announcements to Boost COVID-19 Awareness [gov.ca.gov]
From Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, March 18, 2020 New, one-stop state website: www.covid19.ca.gov New PSAs feature California Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sonia Angell and California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris SACRAMENTO – California Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the launch of a new Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) public awareness campaign to provide useful information to Californians and inform them of actions they can take to further prevent the spread of...
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California may start next school year sooner if coronavirus is under control [sfchronicle.com]
By Alexei Koseff, San Francisco Chronicle, April 28, 2020 California schools could reopen this summer to help make up for a “learning loss” that early closures forced by the coronavirus pandemic caused this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday. Schools typically start the academic year in mid- to late August, but the governor said that might be moved up to as early as July if the pandemic is under control. “We recognize there has been a learning loss,” Newsom said at a news conference. “We...
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California's Teen Birthrate Hits Record Low [bakersfield.com]
By Elizabeth Castillo, Cal Matters, November 2, 2019 Diana Shalabi had to be sure. She was 15 when she told her dad she needed cash for a high school football game. Actually, it was for pregnancy tests. Test after test confirmed the news she wasn’t ready to face. “I was like, ‘This is not happening,’” Shalabi said. “I was crying every day.” That was four years ago, and she gave birth to a daughter, Amina. Her marriage to the baby’s father lasted less than a year. Today, she says she has sole...
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California Schools Will Not Reopen This Year Due to Coronavirus, Superintendent Says [sfchronicle.com]
By Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle, March 31, 2020 California schools will be unable to reopen this year given current safety concerns and ongoing social distancing, the state superintendent told county officials Tuesday. The letter, obtained by The Chronicle, was not a directive, but rather an acknowledgment that the still growing coronvirus crisis will mean schools must stay shuttered. While classrooms will remain closed, education will continue, Superintendent of Public Instruction...
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Childhood trauma affects more than 60 percent of adults in Kern, California [BakersfieldCalifornian.com]
Between 60 percent and 62 percent of Kern County adults surveyed have experienced at least one adverse childhood experience traumatic enough to affect their lives years later. That's according to the report, "A Hidden Crisis: Findings on...
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CSAC (CA State Assoc. for Counties) Seeks County Best Practices for Annual Challenge Awards
The Call for Entries is now open for the 2018 CSAC Challenge Awards, which spotlight California Counties’ most innovative programs. These unique awards recognize the creative and committed spirit of our California Counties as they find new, cost-effective ways to provide programs and services to residents. Program Categories Administration of Justice & Public Safety – Includes programs associated with local law enforcement and public safety, adult and juvenile detention, and probation.
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Disaster Days: How Megafires, Guns and Other 21st Century Crises are Disrupting CA Schools [capradio.org]
By Ricardo Cano, CalMatters, September 17, 2019 Each year, millions of Californians send their children to public K-12 classrooms, assuming that, from around Labor Day to early summer, there will be one given: A school day on a district’s calendar will mean a day of instruction in school. But that fixed point is changing, according to a CalMatters analysis of public school closures. From massive wildfires to mass shooting threats to dilapidated classrooms, the 21st century is disrupting...
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Disconnected: Internet Stops Once School Ends for Many Rural California Students [edsource.org]
By Sydney Johnson, EdSource, December 6, 2019 Walk into any classroom in Alpaugh Unified and you will see teaching and learning using the latest technology. Students collaborate on digital documents, give presentations on interactive whiteboards, conduct research and even apply to colleges on Chromebooks. But for many students in Alpaugh, a small rural town about an hour north of Bakersfield in Tulare County, that online connection stops once the school day ends. “We have a disadvantage...
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Do you live in Arizona, Hawaii, California, Nevada or the US Pacific Islands? Come to our no-cost mental and school mental health Winter Institute!
Do you live in Arizona, Hawaii, California, Nevada or the US Pacific Islands?If so...Check it out! 👇 NO COST. MENTAL HEALTH & SCHOOL MENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE. AMAZING FACULTY. JANUARY 14, 15, & 16th! LONG BEACH, CA. JOIN US. 🤝 👏 Learn more here: http://bit.ly/mhttc-winterinstitute-flyer Register here: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07egq2f9gaebafa6bd&llr=8wdk4ubab
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Do you or a loved one need mental health help amid the coronavirus crisis? Here's who to call [sacbee.com]
By Andrew Sheeler, The Sacramento Bee, April 7, 2020 With unemployment soaring, a statewide stay-at-home order and no end in sight for the coronavirus pandemic, this is a trying time for the mental health of all Californians. To that end, the state maintains a resource at covid19.ca.gov that includes advice and multiple hotlines to call. The site also offers some advice to people struggling at home. That advice includes limiting social media and news intake, and being mindful of your sources...
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Dr. Mona Delahooke Will Present at The Trauma-Responsive Schools Conference in California
Have you been hearing all the buzz about Dr. Mona Delahooke's new book, Beyond Behaviors ? In my opinion, it’s the best new book of 2019. Dr. Delahooke is a practicing pediatric clinical psychologist of thirty years. She is gaining critical acclaim and grassroots support for challenging the prevalent and pervasive behaviorist bias in schools. As a result, she is an emerging authority in the growing revolution to re-interpret children's misbehavior. She highlights much of the books' content...
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Farmworkers Face Daunting Health Risks In California's Wildfires [californiahealthline.org]
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester, California Healthline, October 28, 2019 Farm laborers in yellow safety vests walked through neatly arranged rows of grapes Friday, harvesting the last of the deep purple bundles that hung from the vines, even as the sky behind them was dark with soot. Over the hill just behind them, firetrucks and first responders raced back and forth from a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection staging area, working to contain a wildfire raging through the rugged...
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Golden Empire Transit
With funding from First 5 Kern, Advancing Parenting has placed our fifty parenting tips on the 120 buses and shuttles of G.E.T. in Bakersfield, CA. These tips will be read 1000s of times by 1000s of people of all ages. We call this proactive, passive/public parenting education...a way to prevent adverse childhood experiences. Visit advancingparenting.org to see all of the fifty tips and read about what we do, why we do it, and our plans for the future.
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'I'm Not OK': First Responders Learn to Embrace Help for Mental Health During Symposium [bakersfield.com]
By Ema Sasic, Bakersfield.com, October 22, 2019 When a medical call came in on June 24, 2015, to assist an intoxicated man at a trolley station, San Diego firefighter Ben Vernon thought it would be a routine situation. He had been on this type of call several times in the past, so he was not too worried. Arriving on the scene, however, tensions started to rise between a bystander and several security guards, and a fight broke out. [ Please click here to read more .]
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In California’s Kern River Valley, a reporter finds lives upended by generations of trauma (centerforhealthjournalism.org)
Walk around the Kern River Valley, Oildale and parts of Bakersfield any day and you’ll see hopelessness. There’s the homeless wandering the streets, junkies searching for a fix and punishing poverty that lurks in almost every neighborhood. For years, we’ve known there’s something cyclical about poverty, chronic drug abuse and intergenerational despair. When I learned about a study performed by the California Department of Public Health that found Kern County mothers experienced more...
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Interactive Map: Where are Californians Dying of Opioids? We Chart the Path. (bakersfield.com)
Almost 2,000 people died in California last year of opioid overdoses as a sprawling epidemic made its way to the west coast. Where is the death toll the worst? The California mapped out where the state's opioid death rates were the highest in 2016 - and all are in locations that lack Medication Assisted Treatment facilities, which are also mapped here. To read more of Harold Pierce's article, please click here. Harold Pierce covers education and health for The Californian.
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Join 4CA in educating policymakers about ACEs! May 1 in Sacramento.
Join us on May 1 for the 3rd Annual 4CA Policymaker Education Day! Register now: bit.ly/4CA2019Register
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Kern County Data Dashboard: Child Adversity and Well-Being
A product of the Essentials for Childhood Initiative (EfC), the Child Adversity and Well-Being Dashboards contain indicators of child adversity, health and well-being utilizing data available on kidsdata.org . For more information about the dashboards, please refer to the California Data Dashboards page. The Kern County Data Dashboard contains select indicators of child adversity and well-being. The dashboard is a product of the Shared Data and Outcomes Workgroup of the California Essentials...
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Kern High School District Students Deserve Better Representation (calendow.org)
Over the last few years, residents and community partners of Building Healthy Communities Kern have been working hard to bring positive changes to their communities. Any type of elected official–from city council member to mayor to senator to whatever–needs to really understand his or her constituents to best represent them. Ideally, the office holder should live in the same community as the families and folks they serve. Currently, KHSD has a serious problem when it comes to equitable...
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Making distance learning work in Kern County [edsource.org]
By John Fensterwald, EdSource, April 15, 2020 The transition to distance learning has been a huge undertaking, and especially difficult for small districts. The Office of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools in California’s San Joaquin Valley has coordinated a common approach. All teachers and their students in participating districts — 22 out of 47 districts so far — will sign onto the same platform. There will be activities and lessons to choose from in every grade and every subject.
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Policymaker Education Day Registration STILL OPEN!
Registration is still OPEN for another week to the second annual Policymaker Education Day hosted by the California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA) in Sacramento on May 22nd! Don't miss this opportunity to be able to share your thoughts and expertise with your Assemblymember or Senator on how to address childhood adversity in your communities. Guest speakers include Assemblymember Dr. Arambula of Fresno County, Ted Lempert of Children Now and Sarah Pauter of Phenomenal...
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Preparing People for Climate Change in California (Oakland, CA) - Early Bird Discount Ends on November 15th
To see the conference agenda, list of all-star speakers, and to register go to: http://www.theresourceinnovationgroup.org/california-2018-conference/
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Proactive, Passive/Public Parenting Education
Most of you know that Advancing Parenting focuses not on trauma informed care, but on trauma informed primary prevention. This is just a reminder that our parenting tips bumper stickers are available to individuals free of charge and sets of the fifty-one stickers are $210. Businesses, organizations, and agencies are encouraged to place sets of the bumper stickers on tables and counters so patients, clients, and customers can grab one or two and put them on their cars. See the attachment.
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Rapper Common visits Bakersfield for Q&A with local youths [Bakersfield.com]
It’s not every day that youths in Kern County get to meet a celebrity in person, but Wednesday was one of those days. Rapper, actor and activist Common visited Bakersfield to talk to a group of youths from across the county about issues that impact them, such as racism and discrimination, as well as how things such as prison reform and civic engagement can lead to a better future. The town hall, hosted by the Bakersfield Museum of Art, was one of several that Common will be participating in...
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Sesame Street's Traumatic Experiences Website / First 5 CA Care, Cope Connect Resource
Thanks to Alejandra Labrado from First 5 Sacramento for providing the links to these resources! Sesame Street's Traumatic Experiences: https://sesamestreetincommunities.org/topics/traumatic-experiences/ When a child endures a traumatic experience, the whole family feels the impact. But adults hold the power to help lessen its effects. Several factors can change the course of kids’ lives: feeling seen and heard by a caring adult, being patiently taught coping strategies and...
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Shared Use in the Summer: Opening school spaces to the public when classes are out [changelabsolutions.org]
By ChangeLab Solutions and Merced County Public Health Department (CA), November 20, 2019 How can communities use school spaces during vacation times? Schools are more than just places of learning for children. They serve as centers of connection for families from surrounding neighborhoods and have many facilities and resources that can benefit the wider community. Opening school spaces during times when students are not on campus can significantly improve health and equity for those who...
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Show Your Support!: Friday, April 24 is Children's Memorial Flag Day
Now more than ever, the safety and security of our nation's children is paramount. The Children's Memorial Flag was created in honor of National Child Abuse & Neglect Prevention Month. Flown on the fourth Friday in April — on April 24 this year — the Children’s Memorial Flag honors each lost child and serves as a symbol for the protection of children and young people from all forms of violence. The flag raises public awareness about the continuing problem of violence against children.
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State of Our Health 2020 Breakfast - Sponsorship Opportunities
This year's coming State of Our Health Breakfast on February 7th, 2020, will feature Dr. Nadine Burke Harris. Dr. Burke Harris is the 1st and current Surgeon General of California since 2019. She is a pioneer in linking adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress with harmful effects on health later on in life. We are excited to have her share with us! You won't want to miss it! You can listen to an interview with her here . We are currently only taking in Sponsorships and Table sales.
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Study says Kern second most affordable county in California, but costs still challenge families (bakersfield.com)
It’s no surprise to learn that the cost to live in Kern County is lower than many other places in California. But a recent study by the non-partisan California Budget and Policy Center offers a twist on what locals already know about the place they live. The study looked at the cost to support a family in California, breaking out data about each of the state’s counties. A family living on minimum wage still can’t make enough to buy into the average family’s life, she said. And that’s one of...
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The 14th Annual Cynthia Lockhart-Mummery Conference: Building Violence-Free Schools and Communities
The 14th Annual Cynthia Lockhart-Mummery Conference hosted by Tulare County Child Abuse Prevention Council (CAPC) began with a 2 hour presentation by Alissa Parker, co-founder of Safe and Sound Schools and the mother of a young child lost during the Sandy Hook school mass shooting. The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children between six and seven...
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The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development's (GO-Biz) Community Reinvestment Grant Program (CRGP)
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) has $10 million in its budget this year for its Community Reinvestment Grant Program (CRGP) and plans to make these grants to community-based non-profits and local health departments by June 2019 . The goal of this grant is to support communities disproportionately affected by past federal and state drug policies. This week, GO-Biz kicked off by leading the first 15 local workshops in California which will run through the...
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The Importance of Listening
Mindfulness Activity: Craigslist Confessional from CBS Sunday Morning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR704OudEUc
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Trauma Informed Care Coordination Conference at Cal State Bakersfield California
The Kern County Medically Vulnerable Care Coordination Project was formed in 2008 and has over 50 partner organizations. Our Vision – Use coordinated services to measurably improve outcomes for Kern County infants and children, prenatal through 5 years of age, who are at risk of costly, lifelong medical and developmental issues. Among the greatest challenges faced by our collaborative case management partners are the long-term effects of childhood trauma on Kern County mothers, fathers and...
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Trauma-Responsive Schools Conference in Southern California
HERE this NOW is proud to bring its Trauma-Responsive Schools Conference to California, October 23 – 25, 2019, at the stunning Temecula Creek Inn in Temecula, CA (2 hours north of San Diego; 3-hours south of Los Angeles). This is not a typical conference. Participants will be actively engaged in an immersive experience, rendering more growth - personal and professional. Five diversely skilled and experienced pioneers of trauma-informed schools change are coming together for first time, to...
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Two New Grant Opportunities for Youth Development and Diversion Services
In 2019, more than $40 million will become available to fund community-based, culturally rooted, trauma-informed services for youth in California as alternatives to arrest and incarceration. Thousands of California youth are arrested every year for low-level offenses. Youth who are arrested or incarcerated for low-level offenses are less likely to graduate high school, more likely to suffer negative health-outcomes, and more likely to have later contact with the justice system.
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Virtual Screening of Broken Places on March 21st & Registration for ACEs Connection Members!
Please join us on Thursday, March 21st for a special virtual screening of Broken Places , the latest U.S. documentary on early childhood trauma and resilience. The film will be offered via a private Vimeo link with passcode to all registered members of ACEs Connection, for free, accessible in the United States and internationally. REGISTER TODAY: To register, please visit : https://goo.gl/forms/apdoINwgtQmydEXK2 The viewing portal for the film will open on Vimeo at 6am EST and close at 11pm...
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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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Why become a Trauma-Informed County?
The effects of long lasting trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on children and adults has been documented in research for over 20 years. Since 2016, the Bakersfield Californian has highlighted the drastic impact of Toxic Stress on many of our Kern County citizens and communities that has substantially shortened people’s lives through diabetes, cancer, asthma, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicide. Many of these conditions and experiences are linked to early childhood trauma that...
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Announcing the Connected Care Accelerator (Request for Applications) [Center for Care Innovations]
The Connected Care Accelerator, an initiative of the California Health Care Foundation , has been designed in partnership with the Center for Care Innovations to support safety net practices — including community health centers and independent physician practices that predominantly serve low-income communities — in different implementation phases of “virtual care,” also commonly known as “telehealth” or “telemedicine.” The accelerator has two separate tracks: For the Infrastructure and...
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ACEs Connection reaches 200 participants in the ACEs Connection Speakers & Trainers Bureau!
ACEs Connection is proud to announce we have reached 200 Speakers & Trainers participants in the ACEs Connection Speakers & Trainers Bureau! What is the ACEs Connection Speakers & Trainers Bureau? The ACEs Connection Speakers & Trainers Bureau is a service that provides subscribers of ACEsConnection a Database of ACEs speakers and trainers for hire. The development of the Speakers & Trainers Bureau was in response to a great need expressed by our communities. ACEs...
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ACEs Aware Grantees By County
ACEs Connection will begin highlighting ACEs and Resilience initiatives by county. We're starting this effort off by listing the recent ACEs Aware grantees by county.
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Coping with Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic: One-Pager
Coping with Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic: One-Pager
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CALIFORNIA ACES ACADEMY: Parental ACEs and Pediatrics: Transforming Well Care [avahealth.org]
CALIFORNIA ACES ACADEMY (CAA) , funded by ACEs Aware, is providing free online training to Medi-Cal providers and others featuring: Practical strategies for integrating trauma-informed health care into your team’s practice that improves patients’ well being and the productivity of your practice. Meet colleagues with experience and success providing trauma-informed health care in their practices. Learn from national and local experts. Talk to other professionals from your region in small...