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...

The Center for Advance Studies in Child Welfare has created a video training for professionals and organizations working with American Indian communities. Featured presenters include Terry Cross, Sandy White Hawk, Bryan Blackhawk, and Rachel Banks Kupcho. The sections of the video training are: Introduction to the Relational Worldview The Relational Worldview as a critical thinking tool Taking the Relational Worldview to the organizational level History of colonialism Manifestations of...

A huge congratulations to Shannon Geshick who is a Parent Leadership for Child Safety and Permanency (PLCSP) Team graduate. The PLCSP team empowers parents to affect change in their homes, communities, and MN systems. Congratulations to the American Indian Family Empowerment Program Fund (AIFEP) grantees! AIFEP strives to reverse the social, educational and economic challenges facing American Indians by investing in human capital, skills and cultural strengths through three priority areas:...

In this webinar Melissa Adolfson will present information on ACEs and Protective Factors from the 2016 Minnesota Student Survey, and discuss how those data can help communities determine where to take action to reduce the impact of ACEs. As communities across Minnesota engage in the Understanding ACEs: Building Self-Healing Communities work, this is a great source of information to support the work! This webinar repeats a workshop that was offered at the ACE Collaborative Gathering in St.

What if I told you that I was a victim of child sex abuse? As a survivor of child sexual abuse , I have a clear understanding of the importance of addressing stigma and shame as it pertains to sexual abuse, sexual assault and rape. Victims, especially young children, often do not disclose sexual abuse. Those who are witnesses of child sexual abuse, or who are trusted by survivors enough that they confide in them, are often ill-equipped to handle the responsibility. And, many times, parents...

On the east side of Indianapolis in late March, a barrage of bullets sprayed through a home, killing 1-year-old Malaysia Robson as she slept on the couch. It was a drive-by shooting in the middle of the night by two men in their late 20s. It’s the kind of violence that can shake a community, leaving its distraught members wondering how much more they can take. Community violence — and other forms of trauma — are especially harmful for children. They’re called adverse childhood experiences...

[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...

by Christie Renick "Shana King, a member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, spent more than three years in foster care as a teen. She lost her own children to the system during a struggle with heroin. Since then, she has gotten her children back, bought a home, and received a national award for her work as a mentor. She badly wants to be a foster parent to American Indian children in Hennepin County, Minnesota's most populous metro area. But because of the drug history, the county...

On Dec. 3 , a 28-year-old black mother lost her parental rights to her four children – ages 1 to 9 – in a Minnesota courtroom, just outside the Twin Cities. Instead of opening presents with their mother, the children spent Christmas with a white family two hours away. Across the country, black parents – like this mother, whom we will call Jane R. to protect her privacy – are more likely to lose custody of their children than their white, Asian and Latino peers. While African Americans...

Over the past three years, Minnesota Communities Caring for Children (MCCC) has worked to raise awareness about brain development, ACEs, and resilience statewide using the national ACE Interface curriculum. To date the organization has trained more than 130 Minnesotans from diverse communities to present this curriculum and help foster community responses. This summer, Maxine Freedman of Macalester College interviewed 29 members of MCCC's network to assess the impact of this work on...

Tuesday July 24 | 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Fostering Relationships Training with Carole Shauffer, Founder of the Quality Parenting Initiative Wednesday July 25 | 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Community Breakfast: First Year Celebration & Future Opportunities Maplewood Community Center 2100 White Bear Avenue, Maplewood, MN 55109 As a partner within the child welfare system, your voice and knowledge is a key to supporting the children and families. Traditional supervised visits can be stressful and...

Tufts University medical professor Dr. Robert Sege directs the Center for Community-Engaged Medicine and is nationally known for his research on effective health systems approaches that address social determinants of health. He is also the principal investigator for the HOPE framework (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences).The HOPE framework is based on research that shows how positive childhood experiences can mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences. Sege and colleagues...

Tufts University medical professor Dr. Robert Sege directs the Center for Community-Engaged Medicine and is nationally known for his research on effective health systems approaches that address social determinants of health. He is also the principal investigator for the HOPE framework (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences).The HOPE framework is based on research that shows how positive childhood experiences can mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences. Sege and colleagues...

With Lowell Johnson, ACEs Resiliency Coalition; Emily Clary, Minnesota Communities Caring for Children Learn about significant progress being made in reducing the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and early childhood trauma, through examples of some of the successes that three communities experienced in Washington State, and sharing conversations with people doing this work in Washington State. Watch the full webinar here

The 2016 Midwest ACE Summit will bring people across the region together in shared learning that goes beyond the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study to focus on deeper issues of historical trauma and successful strategies for helping individuals and communities heal, build resiliency, and prevent future ACEs. We welcome your ideas for Summit presentation topics and presenters. To submit an idea or nomination, please see the form attached to this post. For more information about the...

The Dibble Institute is pleased to present an introductory webinar by Rev. Dr. Bryant T. Marks Sr. of the National Training Institute on Race and Equity , which will provide foundational information on implicit bias. It will focus at the individual level and discuss how implicit bias affects everyone. Strategies to reduce or manage implicit bias will be discussed. Broadly speaking, group-based bias involves varying degrees of stereotyping (exaggerated beliefs about others), prejudice...

“We dreamed of saving lives, and we worked to make that dream come true.” These are the words Dr. Carson Gardner, White Earth Tribal Health Department Medical Director, shared during an interview with CDC about the remarkable success the White Earth Public Health team experienced with vaccinating their fellow community members – The White Earth Nation of Ojibwe. White Earth Nation is one of eleven tribes in the state of Minnesota. The White Earth Band of Ojibwe (White Earth Nation) is...

Join us in three weeks for our free, virtual Annual Growing Resilient Communities Gathering! This event develops and implements community-wide approaches to Building Self-Healing Communities. Participants are encouraged to attend who are involved, or want to be involved in, addressing the root causes of childhood adversity: this can include Collaborative, tribal, and other community partners, such as health, law enforcement, education, social services, parents, businesses, and nonprofit...

Join us NEXT WEEK for our free, virtual Annual Growing Resilient Communities Gathering! This event develops and implements community-wide approaches to Building Self-Healing Communities. Participants are encouraged to attend who are involved, or want to be involved in, addressing the root causes of childhood adversity: this can include Collaborative, tribal, and other community partners, such as health, law enforcement, education, social services, parents, businesses, and nonprofit service...

Indigenous community members and Children’s Mental Health and Family Services Collaboratives' partners are encouraged to attend! This film highlights the untold history of America’s Indian Adoption Era, when nearly one-third of children were removed from tribal communities nationwide. As political scrutiny over Indian child welfare intensifies, an adoption survivor helps others find their way home through song and ceremony. In-Person and Virtual options are available!

The 6 th annual Growing Resilient Communities Gathering of Collaboratives and Tribal Nations will be held in 1 week, on Tuesday, June 27 th from 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. This free, virtual event will focus on highlighting community-based approaches that support the development of self-healing communities – communities that intentionally develop more inclusive and equitable practices, cultural norms, and concrete supports so all children, families, and adults can thrive. This year, the theme is...

Ensuring the collection of community wisdom through good data practices is critical to informing the way forward for community efforts.