February is National Parent Leadership Month. Minnesota Communities Caring for Children (MCCC) / Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota (PCAMN) will join forces with the Minnesota Department of Human Services and other national and local organizations to recognize, honor, and celebrate parents and caretakers for leadership roles in their homes and communities throughout the month. All nominees will be honored and highlighted in a celebration at the State Capitol on Thursday, February 23, 2017. Food...

[Winona Post, 1/9/17] When Samantha Wagner and her colleagues at the Winona Area Learning Center watched the documentary “Paper Tigers,” their first thought was: “That’s our school.” The film traces a big change in a small town, Walla Walla, Wash., where the community capitalized on new science to help turn around the lives of struggling students. When Winona State University (WSU) Professor Ruth Charles gave a presentation on that science in Winona, a girl in the audience exclaimed: “Me!

A leading authority on First Nations health is calling on healthcare practitioners to recognize intergenerational trauma when treating Indigenous patients. Dr. Evan Adams is the chief medical officer for the First Nations Health Authority in B.C. He told the's CBC's The Early Edition the historic oppression faced by Indigenous people can linger as trauma in subsequent generations. "Trauma really is a wound," he said. "Often, trauma is psychic in nature, not physical ... and it can be an...

Minnesota Communities Caring for Children (MCCC) is the only nonprofit in Minnesota to focus on the prevention of child abuse and neglect before it starts. One way we do this is by educating communities about how our early experiences shape lifelong health and well-being. A lot of our work is influenced by the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, which showed that certain experiences in childhood can cause toxic stress and result in physical changes in brain development. Using a...

My own history of ACEs is too long for this blog post, but I have a score of 8/10. What is important though is that this score has brought me strength, purpose, and direction as my position of REACH Program Coordinator at Stewartville Middle and High School in Stewartville, MN. I grew up in Stewartville and am now raising my family here. REACH stands for Relationships, Education, Accountability, Character, and Hard work. REACH is an elective class offered to students in grades 7-12. Students...

[From: MINNPOST | 11.28.16] On Nov. 9, educators at Bruce Vento Elementary in St. Paul fielded an onslaught of tough questions from students. Some wanted to know if they would be sent away, or if their parents would be sent away. Others were trying to make sense of the wall, wondering if Donald Trump intended to build a wall between black and white people. And at least one student raised the concern that black people would be forced into slavery. This list of post-election inquiries from...

As the nation grapples with the problems of the school-to-prison pipeline and the intersection of racial justice, the criminal justice system, law enforcement and education, the need for new priorities for children comes to light. For example, in a national public school system that is now majority children of color, students are suffering from trauma. And while there is a shortage of support staff to service public school children — including counselors, psychologists and social workers —...

I am excited to announce that ACEs Connection Network has partnered with the producers of the film, Portraits of Professional CAREgivers: Their Passion. Their Pain . to host a FREE SCREENING of the film for our members. If you have been t hinking of hosting a screening of CAREgivers in your community or are interested in learning more about secondary traumatic stress and what to do about it, join our ACEs Connection Network for a FREE screening of this film and a virtual chat with the...

Thank you to those who attended the 2016 Midwest ACE Summit! At the event nearly 300 people came together to learn about how communities are addressing ACEs and promoting healing in Minnesota and across the Midwest. We hope that participants were energized by the stories they heard and inspired about what can be done to foster resilience and healing in their own communities. Attached to this post are the Summit agenda and breakout session descriptions for your reference. Resources shared at...

Have you ever heard of the term inter-generational trauma? What about “generational curse?” Inter-generational trauma is a concept developed to help explain years of generational challenges within families. It is the transmission (or sending down to younger generations) of the oppressive or traumatic effects of a historical event. For example, a great grandmother who was placed in a concentration camp in Germany may have learned to cope by “cutting off” her emotions. Because of this, this...

Sometimes the problem is so big we struggle to see how we can make a difference. It is like that first step you take at the base of the mountain. You know it is the first of many. You know that you have a long way to go to the finish. It is easy at that point to get discouraged; to feel helpless; or even to deny your ability to actually do what was set out to be done. You may want to quit or you do quit! Mother Teresa said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the...

Midwest ACE Summit | November 10-11, 2016 Eagan, Minnesota | Click here for more information You have likely already heard about the Midwest ACE Summit from previous posts in this group. What you haven't heard is an exciting update about the event -- Laura Porter of the Foundation for Healthy Generations in Washington will be facilitating the final plenary session at the Summit! This rounds the keynote speakers out to four: Sam Simmons, Dr. Henry Emmons, Dr. Roy Wade, Jr. and Laura Porter.