Tagged With "Black Lives Matter"
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ACEs Connection Parent Handouts
Great resources to accompany ACEs screening efforts, presentations, and community awareness building. Please share how you plan to use the handouts in the comments section below!
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ACEs gets a day at the (Sacramento) Capitol!
No matter where you are, be sure to follow the events of the day on twitter: Follow @acestoohigh and #4CAKidsDay17 to get live updates all day.
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Advancing a Plan for Addressing Trauma and Building Resilience within L.A. County Systems (prnewswire.com)
Center for Collective Wisdom Releases Extensive Report Outlining Research and Recommendations First 5 LA, the California Community Foundation, The California Endowment, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation along with other local, state and nationally-recognized expert organizations today released a report to advance a comprehensive trauma and resiliency-informed approach in Los Angeles County . "Trauma is a serious health concern affecting many children and...
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Berkeley Media Studies Group (BMSG) Blogging Tips and Talking about Trauma
Berkeley Media Studies Group facilitated a southern and northern California Strategic Communications Workshop in October 2015. Attached, please find their powerpoint, created by co-facilitators Julieta Kusnir and Pamela Mejia, titled "Talking about Trauma: Tips & Tools for Communicating Effectively" and "Blogging Tips for Media Advocates" articulating tips on content, headlines, length and tone of blogs.
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Black Youth In Los Angeles County Face An ‘Accumulation Of Disadvantage’ [scienceblog.com]
By Science Blog, October 14, 2019 Black youth in Los Angeles County face an accumulation of disadvantage, undermining their academic, social and economic success and placing them at greater risk of structural disenfranchisement — not in school, not working and ensnared in the criminal justice system, according to a new study Beyond the Schoolhouse: Overcoming Challenges & Expanding Opportunity for Black Youth in Los Angeles County, released today by researchers at the UCLA Graduate...
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Broadening Your Network and Identifying Partners for More Resilient, Healthier Communities
Who should you partner with to create lasting change through resilience in your community? The Building Community Resilience (BCR) initiative aims to address, prevent, and reduce the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adverse community environments (ACEs) on children’s health and wellbeing ( The “Pair of ACEs” ). An essential element of the successes of BCR’s five test sites around the country has been strategic collaborations. In your work to build resilience, identifying...
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Changing Minds and Creating Trauma-Informed Communities Convenings - South and North
Last week, on two separate days in Los Angeles and in San Francisco, about 150 people (total) convened to listen and brainstorm about creating trauma-informed communities. Futures Without Violence, which is rolling out its Changing Minds campaign later this year, hosted both events. Some very interesting and important themes emerged from the two days: Residents with lived experiences should participate in the decision-making bodies of service providers and vested...
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County Supes Create Financial Safety Net for Millions of Low Income and Struggling Angelenos (citywatchla.org)
GUEST WORDS-- Since joining the LA County Board of Supervisors 18 months ago, I, along with my colleagues on the Board, have taken a series of steps to build prosperity and economic security for residents by raising the minimum wage and establishing programs to promote social enterprises, help small businesses thrive and prevent people from falling into homelessness when they encounter short-term financial crises, like the loss of a job or a catastrophic medical condition. Last week, the...
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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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Documentary, "Portraits of Professional CAREgivers" Airing on Public Television
CAREgivers film will be airing on most public television stations around the US beginning this month in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orlando, Cleveland, Spokane, Boise, Springfield-Holyoke, Youngstown, Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, Fairbanks, ETC. Please check your local public TV stations for future dates and times. Broadcast times will also be posted in advance whenever possible at: http://caregiversfilm.com/screenings/see-the-film/ This documentary addresses secondary trauma (aka...
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Early childhood educators learn new ways to spot trauma triggers, build resilience in preschoolers
A hug may be comforting to many children, but for a child who has experienced trauma it may not feel safe.
That’s an example used by Julie Kurtz, co-director of trauma informed practices in early childhood education at the WestEd Center for Child & Family Studies (CCFS), as she begins a trauma training session. Her audience, preschool teachers and staff of the San Francisco-based Wu Yee Children’s Services at San Francisco’s Women’s Building, listen attentively.
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Enroll today for the December 5, 2019 SoCal Learning Community!
Welcome to the 2019 - 2020 SoCal Learning Community series! This 4-part series is designed to build leadership capacity to improve outcomes for children and families in the SoCal region. Re-visioning Prevention: Exploring Systems Innovation and Best Practices in the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Join us for the second convening in December and participate in this innovative peer learning experience, hear from topic experts and connect with colleagues in the SoCal region. Date:...
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Free RESILIENCE Virtual Screening - register by 3/28 at 2pm PST
Join us on Tuesday, April 3rd for a VIMEO Virtual Screening of the award-winning film, RESILIENCE: The Biology of Stress & The Science of Hope - a critically acclaimed documentary chronicling a new movement among pediatricians, therapists, educators and communities, who are using cutting-edge brain science to disrupt cycles of violence, addiction and disease. RESILIENCE: The Biology of Stress & the Science of Hope is the latest film from documentary Director-Producer James Redford...
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How a Group of Female Inmates Won the Right to Live with Their Children [Vice.com]
The springtime sun blazes over East Arrow Highway in Pomona, California, and the glare off the whitish-gray concrete walkways forces everyone to squint. Regina Dotson moves busily in and out of her office on the second floor of a residential...
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How Social Workers Improve Relationships Between Police and Communities
by MSW@USC Staff In 1955 , the Los Angeles Police Department adopted the motto “To Protect and Serve,” and over the last seven decades, many other American law enforcement departments followed suit. But in the Black Lives Matter era, those words may not resonate with some members of the communities police are tasked with protecting and serving. Community members may feel law enforcement officials exercise more authority than necessary. How can both sides work to create a more positive...
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In Spanish: Handouts for parents about ACEs, toxic stress & resilience
The Community & Family Services Division at the Spokane (WA) Regional Health District has come through again, with a Spanish version of the parent handout (in English) that we posted last year , and which has been downloaded thousands of times. The English versions came about whiledoing a story about the trauma-in formed elementary schools in Spokane, WA .I interviewedp ublic health nurse Melissa Charbonneau who said that she'd been giving an...
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Join us on May 17, 2019 for the SoCal Learning Community! Achieving Impact through Evaluation and Data for Family Strengthening Programs
Achieving Impact through Evaluation and Data for Family Strengthening Programs Know Your Audience: Program Participants, Potential Clients and Community Members Enroll Here! Date: Friday May 17, 2019 Time: Check in at 9:30am, begin at 10am, conclude at 12:30pm Enroll to join in person or remotely through one of the options below: Otis Booth Campus, Los Angeles Remote sites in Atascadero, Ventura, Lancaster, San Bernardino, Moreno Valley and San Diego LIVE online from your computer...
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L.A. County to consider overhaul of defense system for juveniles accused of crimes [Los Angeles Times]
Los Angeles County elected officials are preparing to consider an overhaul of the county's system for defending minors accused of crimes, following the release of a report that found attorneys contracted by the county to represent juveniles get fewer resources and less oversight than those in other counties. Youths whose families can't afford a lawyer and who can't be represented by the public defender's office because of a conflict of interest are represented by county-contracted private...
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L.A. Supervisors Demand Plan to Help “Crossover Kids,” Young People Failed by Two Juvenile Systems [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
We know that, statistically speaking, kids who spend time in Los Angeles County’s foster care system — or any foster care system, for that matter — have worse outcomes when they reach adulthood than youth who’ve never wound up in the child dependency system at all. Over the past few years, new California state laws that are sensitive to this problem, along with community-based programs and dedicated child advocates, have helped to ameliorate those bad stats to some degree. Yet there is...
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LA County Demographics of Homelessness Continuum of Care (lacounty.gov)
A Dynamic and Deepening Crisis That Demands Our Attention By Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas The Board of Supervisors’ most recent initiative set aside $4 million for teams of social workers and health professionals to go out into the streets of Skid Row and connect homeless single adults to housing and supportive services. Los Angeles County has half a million more very low-income households than available apartments so the typical monthly rent has skyrocketed 27 percent since...
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LA County leaders vote to support plan to protect undocumented youth (sgvtribune.com)
Continuing their response to President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed crackdown on illegal immigration , the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a trio of motions Tuesday in support of a federal comprehensive immigration plan and related programs that protect youth. The bipartisan motions were introduced by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Kathryn Barger, who have disagreed in recent weeks on actions that seek to protect immigrants who face deportation. “These young people were...
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With dramatic homeless increases, Redondo Beach works to help individuals (tbrnews.com)
Homelessness in Redondo Beach has tripled since 2013, causing the city to look deep into its pockets to see where representatives can help. The most recent survey from the Greater Los Angeles Area Homeless Count in January found 216 individuals in Redondo Beach, up from 165 in 2015 and 70 in 2013. The city accounted for 83 percent of the homeless population across the beach cities and El Segundo. At the most recent Redondo Beach City Council meeting, both police and the Los Angeles County...
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Woo-woo or Science?
You've maybe heard of EMDR, neurofeedback, EFT (tapping) or practiced yoga. Maybe you've taken part in traditional healing ceremonies or religious rituals that are part of your culture. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Do these things really heal the hurts that we acquire during life and can we trust our recovery to something other than pharmaceuticals or the therapists' couch? There are plenty of communities that say yes .
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Working at the intersection of violence and land use (preventioninstitute.org)
This past September, the Healthy, Equitable, Active Land Use (HEALU) Network convened a summit in Los Angeles to explore the nexus of land use and community safety, drawing nearly 100 community members, policymakers, and representatives of community-based organizations. Our new report shares key learnings from this summit and invites people working in land use, transportation, food policy, education, housing, and other areas to consider the ways their own work can support safe communities.
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12 Myths of the Science of ACEs
The two biggest myths about ACEs science are: MYTH #1 — That it’s just about the 10 ACEs in the ACE Study — the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study . It’s about sooooo much more than that. MYTH #2 — And that it’s just about ACEs…adverse childhood experiences. These two myths are intertwined. The ACE Study issued the first of its 70+ publications in 1998, and for many people it was the lightning bolt, the grand “aha” moment, the unexpected doorway into a blazing new...
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4 myths that make L.A. County's homeless problem worse [LATimes.com]
Some myths about homelessness get repeated so often that they become accepted as true. But with more than 31,000 people sleeping in our parks and on our sidewalks every night here in Los Angeles County, we cannot allow fallacies to drive our homeless policies. “Some people just want to live on the street” is perhaps the most dangerous myth about homelessness. Yes, some people resist moving into short-term shelters because that may require separating family members, losing one's...
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San Francisco Trauma Informed Systems Initiative 2014 Year In Review
The Department made the commitment to train all of its 9,000 staff to become trauma-informed. From the report: The Trauma Informed Systems Initiative Workgroup is led by Dr. Ken Epstein and currently staffed by a full time Coordinator, a team of 4...
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‘Seeing’ My Brother on the Venice Boardwalk (citywatchla.com)
HOMELESSNESS: A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE--I lost my brother Steve last week. He died of cardiac arrest at 63. Steve was the black sheep of our family of six children. He did not go to college and struggled to make a living building decks and remodeling bathrooms and kitchens. If my parents had not let him live in a converted garage behind their house in Santa Monica, he would very likely have ended up like many of the folks we see living on the street in Venice – and he certainly would have died...
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Should Trauma Equal a Disability? (CNN.com)
Thank you to LA TI Task Force member, K-Rahn Vallatine, Live Above The Hype, for sharing this CNN video with an update on the trauma informed schools lawsuit with the Compton Unified School District. To view the video; http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/12/30/straight-outta-compton-lawsuit-trauma-children-school-sidner-pkg-ctn.cnn
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Spirituality in Post-Traumatic Growth
One of the five domains of post-traumatic growth is spirituality. Helping us understand the role of spirituality in recovering from trauma at the Echo Frontiers of Resilience conference is Shaun Tomson . If you think the name and face look familiar then perhaps you know him from his days as a world champion surfer. Shaun needed every single one of the lessons he had learned about facing challenges in the form of towering waves and overcoming wipe-outs when he lost his 15-year-old son to a...
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SPOTLIGHT ON: How to be Trauma Informed (repost from Echo Parenting)
Okay, we’ve got it: Not “what’s wrong with you?” but “What happened to you?” That explosive outburst? The child who cannot concentrate at school? The domestic violence survivor who is in a constant state of hyper-vigilance? Yes, most of us in family services are now able to recognize trauma-symptoms and respond with empathy… most of the time. But what does it mean to be truly trauma-informed? For a start, it means that we have patience with others and ourselves as we seek to acquire the...
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Strengthening Community Trust Sypmposium - Family & Youth Support Partner Initiative
The Diversity Development Center invites you to attend the first in a series of Strengthening Community Trust Symposiums to take place at Marina Village Conference Center Building A, 1936 Quivira Way, San Diego, CA 92109 on July 18th and 19th, 2018. FAMILY & YOUTH SUPPORT PARTNER MODEL A Family and Youth Support Partner is an individual, with lived experiences in the respective system(s), who is trained and hired to help other families as a paraprofessional. We believe trust is the...
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Study: Community Trauma from Gun Violence Results in Negative Health and Behavioral Outcomes (Violence Policy Center)
Research on trauma is frequently featured in mainstream news outlets, pointing to its connection to a range of behavioral and health outcomes. While trauma can have multiple interpretations, for the purposes of this report, it is the result of experiencing or witnessing chronic and sustained violence, or specific events that can have lasting effects on individuals. Researchers have identified 13 distinct types of trauma, including community violence. Community violence is an umbrella term...
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The Effects of Educational Disengagement
Introduction The need for a caring school culture that promotes a sense of connectedness and belonging is essential and must begin the day a child begins their educational experience. Yet, for those of us who work in alternative education environment, we often hear the all too common story of a school experience that didn't meet the students needs. Meeting the needs of a student is a broad connotation that can vary considerably depending on the school setting and the student describing the...
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The Promise of Post-Traumatic Growth
“Things get broken, and sometimes they get repaired, and in most cases, you realize no matter what gets damaged, life rearranges itself to compensate for your loss, sometimes wonderfully.” – Hanya Yanagihar Post-traumatic growth is the recognition that however horrific our experiences, we as human beings have incredible ability to adapt, survive and integrate, to grow stronger… and then turn around and use that experience to help others. This has caused Echo to change the way we teach about...
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They're sick, traumatized, malnourished and transient — what child poverty looks like in Los Angeles (latimes.com)
Many of the children who visit the St. John’s Well Child and Family Center at 58th and Hoover in South Los Angeles are anything but well. The dentists treat children who suffer excruciating pain from swollen gums and rotting teeth. The doctors routinely see chronic preventable diseases common in third-world countries, and developmental delays are standard. Dr. David Bolour said he sees children daily who suffer from trauma they’ve experienced in their high-crime neighborhoods or in the...
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This Zillow-like platform helps people find apartments for homeless people (fastcompany.com)
In Los Angeles, it’s now far simpler for nonprofits to find apartments to help people get off the street. For someone living on the street or in a homeless shelter in Los Angeles, the wait to get housing through the county’s Coordinated Entry program–a system that tries to connect people who are homeless with an apartment or house as quickly as possible–usually takes months, leaving a person waiting without a home. A new platform may help make the wait a little faster, by making it easier...
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Trauma Informed LA-Grief and the Holidays
Even before receiving this email from Trauma Informed Los Angeles, I was having a conversation with my sister about how the Holidays remind me of the people who are no longer with us. The logical part of me knows that people cannot live forever, the emotional part of me is sad about the loss and even a little angry. Special Thanks to "Our House" and RANDI PEARLMAN WOLFSON, MA, LMFT, Clinical Coordinator of Adult Programs and Volunteer Trainings for sending this out. Grief and the Holidays...
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USC School of Social Work Hosts Paper Tigers Screening
Dulce Acosta, ACEs Connection Community Liaison, and Devika Shankar, Co-Chair of TIC Task Force of Greater Los Angeles Over two hundred individuals gathered last week at the University of Southern California's screening of the award-winning document film, Paper Tigers . Hosted by the USC School of Social Work, the screening was sponsored by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), USC Alumni, USC Career Development Department, and the Trauma Informed Care Task Force of Greater Los...
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Venus and Serena Williams just opened a center for gun violence victims in Compton. (upworthy.com)
The two sisters just opened a safe haven for Compton residents affected by gun violence, which they're calling the The Yetunde Price Resource Center. The center’s mission hits close to home for the tennis stars: They were raised in Compton, California, and their sister, Yetunde Price, fell victim to gun violence in Compton in 2003. Serena Williams opened up about the trauma from the tragedy in 2009 and how therapy was vital in her recovery. The purpose of the center is simple: Community...
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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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We love science!
(click to download) We love science at Echo. It has been my greatest pleasure to share the science about the impact of trauma, including the changes that happen to the various systems of the body in our Trauma and Resilience trainings . The list is pretty exhaustive, and to try to make sense of it all, we’ve developed another of our popular infographics. Nervous system: This is where we focus a lot of our attention in trauma and recovery. The nervous system takes a beating when we live with...
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What LA can learn from a Seattle strategy to fight homelessness: tiny house villages (scpr.org)
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has a new proposal to use more emergency temporary shelters to get homeless people off the streets. Orange County officials are thinking about this sort of "rapid-rehousing," too, and have considered managed tent encampments in some areas. The city of Seattle has some experience with this. Since 2015, that city has been experimenting with temporary shelters that officials call "sanctioned encampments." Some are made up of tents while others offer people tiny...
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What’s Behind California’s Sudden Urge to Help the Homeless? It’s the Rich! (citywatchla.org)
CONNECTING CALIFORNIA--How did homelessness suddenly become such a hot issue across California? There are many reasons, and few of them have anything to do with people who are homeless. Those reasons—economic anxiety, budget surpluses, tax schemes, housing prices, prison reform, health care expansion, urban wealth, and political opportunism have combined to create today’s “homeless moment” in California. In Los Angeles, which has the nation’s second largest homeless population according to...
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LA County Supes Seek Better Care And Outcomes For Pregnant And Post-Partum Incarcerated Women And Girls And Their Babies (witnessla.com)
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to identify ways to better support pregnant women and girls in the county’s jails and juvenile lockups. The motion, authored by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn, directs the Department of Health Services and the sheriff’s department, in coordination with other relevant county departments to report back to the board in 90 days with data on the number of pregnant women and girls in sheriff’s department or probation custody,...
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LA County Supes Vote To Keep Pregnant Teens Out Of Lockup
Written by Taylor Walker In February 2018, the LA County Board of Supervisors voted to look at ways to better support pregnant women and girls in the county’s jails and juvenile lockups. Acknowledging that incarcerated pregnant girls and women often live in poor conditions before giving birth and being separated from their babies, the February motion , authored by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn, directed the Department of Health Services to report back to the board in 90 days with...
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LA County to provide more support to relatives caring for foster children (svgtribune.com)
Image: fostercarekidsneedlovetoo.files.wordpress.com About 9,000 foster children in Los Angeles County — or 52 percent of all county foster youth — live with relatives, DCFS Director Philip Browning told the Board of Supervisors. A 2015 survey of relative caregivers, many of whom care for more than one child, found that 51 percent of those responding were 51-70 years old. About half of the foster children are grandsons or granddaughters. That means that many of the caregivers are...
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LA County women are getting healthier, study finds, but poverty and homelessness rise [DailyNews.com]
More of Los Angeles County’s women now have medical insurance, are employed, don’t smoke and are less likely to die of breast cancer or heart disease, according to a report released Wednesday. But an increased number also live in poverty, are homeless and have difficulty accessing health care. The concluding message behind the data compiled in a triennial report by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is that while many gains have been made for women in the last several years,...
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Landmark lawsuit filed in California to make trauma-informed practices mandatory for all public schools
A landmark first step was taken today to insure that all public schools in the United States be legally required to address the unique learning needs of children affected by adverse childhood experiences. A class action suit on behalf of...
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LAPD chief proposes a 'radical solution': Eliminate old bench warrants for homeless people (latimes.com)
The Los Angeles Police Department is considering a plan that would allow thousands of homeless people to eliminate old bench warrants as part of a larger effort to reform a system that has created a vicious cycle for those with nowhere to live. LAPD Chief Michel Moore described the proposal as a “radical solution” to ease the pressure on the court system, jails and police stations, which are being overwhelmed daily with hundreds of people arrested on these warrants. Moore said the amnesty...