Tagged With "Quality Rating and Improvement System"
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Preventing Early Childhood Adversity Before It Starts: Maximizing Medicaid Opportunities [CHSCS.org]
The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are a critical window for cognitive, physical, and social development. Exposure to adverse experiences during this period and beyond in early childhood dramatically increases the potential for lifelong poor health and social outcomes. This in turn can result in substantially increased health care costs across an individual’s life span. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) — including neglect, abuse, exposure to violence, family dysfunction, etc. — also...
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Progress Towards Building an Affirming and Supportive Child Welfare System:
The data collection and analysis used in the IA attempts to uncover the experience of individuals as they encounter institutions and provide an understanding of how the institutions are organized to act in certain ways and recognizes that sometimes these ways are not aligned with their desired outcomes. The IA is grounded in the viewpoint of family members—children, fathers, mothers, and other primary caregivers. Allegheny County DHS leadership committed at the very beginning of this project...
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Reflection on the Challenges of the Coronavirus Pandemic
Join us in reflecting on the pandemic challenges shared by our ACEs Connection community members so far
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Resource List - Trauma Informed Approaches and Autism Spectrum and Other Developmental Disabilities
Resources for individuals, organizations, and communities moving along trauma and hope-informed pathways in order to: Prevent and mitigate adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Promote resilience and safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments. Promote equity and racial justice. Prevent substance abuse and promote mental health. … so that all children, youth, families and communities have equal opportunity for educational success, economic stability, health, and well-being.
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Road Map to Trauma Informed Care [Trauma Informed Oregon]
Programs, organizations, and systems that make a commitment to implementation will differ in many ways–from the service context, to the motivation for change, to hoped-for outcomes, and resources available. Nonetheless, in a developmental way, implementation moves through a number of common steps that we’ve tried to reflect in the Road Map below. The Trauma Informed Care Screening Tool (found below the Road Map) builds on the Road Map by delving into each phase and offering a series of...
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Sacramento County ACEs & Resilience Awareness and Action Day Proclamation
March 14, 2019 Dear Resilient Sacramento Members, The ACEs Connection Resilient Sacramento Community is working on a Proclamation for the Board of Supervisors/Chair’s approval and signature to designate May 22 nd as Adverse Childhood Experiences & Resilience Awareness and Action Day. As a member of this Community, I have been working on this effort and am thrilled to report there are similar efforts in progress or passed in cities, counties, and states across the country, including the...
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Senator Melissa Hurtado’s bill heads to Governor’s desk [The Sentinel]
Staff reports, Sept 5, 2019 for The Sentinel " Under SB 436 , California would place into statute “family resources centers,” while formally recognizing their involvement in programmatic activities already underway within the Office of Child Abuse Prevention ." Senator Melissa Hurtado’s bill heads to Governor’s desk SACRAMENTO — Senator Melissa Hurtado’s (D-Sanger) legislation, Senate Bill 436, which would help prevent child abuse and neglect, is headed to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk. The...
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Shasta County is unhealthy; this group wants to fix that [Record Searchlight]
When it comes to health, Shasta County doesn’t fare too well. Multiple studies show that nearly half of Shasta County’s population is pre-diabetic, suffers from a higher rate of obesity and has a higher number of smokers than the rest of California. Since 2011, Shasta County's rank in the annual Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's County Health Rankings & Roadmaps has fallen steadily. It now sits at 50 out of the 57 counties evaluated. But Shasta County health officials are looking to...
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Shasta County suicide rate is double statewide average [KRCR NEWS]
REDDING, Calif. — Finding new ways to address mental illness and suicide is a growing problem nationwide and the Northstate is no exception. According to Shasta County Health and Human Service Agency, the county averages about 40 suicide deaths a year. That amounts to twice the statewide rate when measured by how many suicide deaths the county has per one hundred thousand people. "There are many potential reasons as to why we have a high rate. One could be social isolation. We have a huge...
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Solano County launches its ACEs and resilience initiative inviting all to take action
Elizabeth Huntley recalls the day when her family’s life was turned upside down. “One day my mom woke up and she packed up all of our clothes, all five of us…and she took me and my younger sister who had the same father… down to my paternal grandmother’s house…and she left us there. She took my middle sister to a town near Birmingham, Ala., and left her there. She took my only brother and an older sister back to Huntsville and left them at a sister’s house. Then she went back to that housing...
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Sonoma County Field Nursing was highlighted during 2018 ACEs Conference Project Showcase
On October 15-17, the Center for Youth Wellness in collaboration with the ACEs Connection presented the 2018 ACEs Conference and Pediatric Symposium. The theme this year was, “Action to Access,” and communities from around the United States shared current research, programs, tools, and initiatives that use ACEs science to address childhood adversity and its impact. The Sonoma County Field Nursing team was selected to showcase their work to address ACEs with caregivers during home visits.
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SONOMA COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ACT (MHSA)2017-2020 Three-Year Integrated Plan & Annual Update for 2015-2016
To read the full report, click here : Mental Health Services Act Integrated Report 2017 - 2020 Or see attached for a printable version of the report.
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Strategies 2.0 Learning Community Event December 7th!
Click here to sign up : Northern CA Learning Strategies December 7th Event SAVE THE DATE Thursday, December 7, 2017 12:30pm - 5:00pm Northern Learning Community Convening COLLABORATING TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE This is an opportunity to learn about and discuss the extensive work being done to promote community resilience in Shasta County. Presenter: Shasta County Family Strengthening Collaborative Wendy Dickens, E.D. First 5 Shasta Susan Wilson, E.D. Youth Violence Prevention Council...
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STRATEGIES LEARNING COMMUNITY SUMMARY FEB 21 2019
Thank you to Mark Weller and Aimee Dube for the excellent presentation regarding how they’ve set up a data collection system across their network of 17 Family Resource Centers using the Protective Factors Survey (PFS). The following captures key points. What prompted the decision to use the PFS: • They had been utilizing an excel spreadsheet with about 95 data elements and realized this was cumbersome and not demonstrating outcomes with clarity • The intent was to streamline data collection...
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Suisun Elementary (CA) makes ACEs science intrinsic to everyday life
Students start each day with meditation During her first year as principal of Suisun Elementary in Suisun City, Calif., in 2014 Ann Marie Neubert suspended 102 students — out of a student population of 550 —for disrupting their classes. It was a serious problem, but the school’s teachers didn’t know what to do. “[Teachers] felt like they were using all the tools in their toolbox and it wasn’t changing behavior,” she recalls. Ann Marie Neubert Too many students were spending too much time out...
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Supporters Cheer Focus on Child Health and Wellbeing in Newsom’s Budget [calhealthreport.org]
Efforts to improve the health and education of California’s children would get a giant funding boost under Governor Gavin Newsom’s budget, a prospect that’s generating a swell of excitement among child advocacy groups. The governor’s first budget proposal, released Jan. 10, offers numerous supports aimed directly at bolstering childhood health, including $105 million to pay for developmental and mental health screenings for low-income children, almost $110 million to expand home visiting...
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Symptoms of Depression During and After Pregnancy
In order to have the best chance of improving outcomes for the mother and infant, routine screening and treatment for depression should begin early in pregnancy, a time when women have increased contact with the health care system.
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T2's third "Rage, Reflection & Restoration Circle" on March 15
Trauma Transformed's third "Rage, Reflection & Restoration Healing Circle" event will take place in Oakland, CA, on March 15. Information embedded below, and a PDF is attached for download. Trauma Transformed supports the the San Francisco Bay Area Trauma Informed Systems of Care Initiative, which focuses on centralizing and building a regional trauma-informed Bay Area system of care and improving the ways we understand, respond to and heal trauma.
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The COVID-19 Pandemic Reveals The Potential Of Telehealth To Improve Care (ScienMag)
By Brian Burns, May 12, 2020, ScienMag. The virtual intercom communication system allows clinicians to monitor and communicate with patients over video screens from anywhere in the hospital and present a human face to isolated patients whose only other personal contact is typically with providers who are fully gowned, masked and gloved. “These approaches have allowed us to deliver exceptional care during a time of mass contagion, while preserving personal protective equipment in short...
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The Developing Brain & Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Thanks to an explosion in scientific research now possible with imaging technologies, such as fMRI and SPECT, experts can actually see how the brain develops. This helps explain why exposure to adverse childhood experiences can so deeply influence and change a child's brain and thus their physical and emotional health and quality of life across their lifetime. The above time-lapse study was conducted over 10 years. The darker colors represent brain maturity (brain development). I have added...
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The Rise of the Trauma-Informed Mothers
The next generation is less likely to wear predisposed shackles of trauma because as trauma-informed parents we are re-wiring the traumatically stressed DNA that was passed down to us.
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The Road to Resilience: A Public Health Approach to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
The Road to Resilience: A Public Health Approach to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Physicians and public health nurses representing all 58 counties and 3 cities in California came together for three days to discuss The Road to Resilience: A Public Health Approach to Adverse Childhood Experiences . Program Brochure Presentations included (partial list): Health Departments’ Evolving Perspective: Addressing ACEs, Childhood Trauma and Toxic Stress The Lived Experience of ACEs and...
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The Road to Resilience: A Public Health Approach to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
I wrote this last year - however the context, coordination & collaboration are worth a second look: The Road to Resilience: A Public Health Approach to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Physicians and public health nurses representing all 58 counties and 3 cities in California came together for three days to discuss The Road to Resilience: A Public Health Approach to Adverse Childhood Experiences . Program Brochure Presentations included (partial list): Health Departments’ Evolving...
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Trauma in Paradise: A California school system focuses on mental health after devastating fire [edsource.org]
The flames have long since died down, but Fiona Roberts, a high school senior, remains haunted by the memory of being trapped with her mother in a slow-motion race for their lives on the morning of Nov. 8, the day the Camp Fire swallowed Paradise. Driving from their home in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the left-hand side of the road, they gasped at the pop of backyard propane tanks exploding and the sight of embers the size of butterflies swirling in the air. Their fear held its tightest grip...
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Trauma-Informed Policing
(Becky Haas, Community Crime Prevention Programs, Johnson City Police Department) Since first hearing about trauma-informed care in 2014, and then setting out on a journey to bring this education to my community, I’m constantly amazed at how this message is being embraced in Johnson City, Tennessee. After partnering with Dr. Andi Clements from the East Tennessee State University Psychology Department, in a little over 2 years we have trained over 2,500 professionals! This growing number of...
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Trauma-informed Primary Care: Fostering Resilience and Recovery
Through a 16-month collaborative (starting in August 2018), seven selected primary care providers will begin piloting the trauma-informed model developed by the Practice Transformation Team. Primary care organizations selected for this initiative will play a significant role in shaping the future of the health care system by recognizing and responding to the significant impact that traumatic life events have on the health of patients. Applications for the learning community are due by 11:59...
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2017 Kids Count Data Book [aecf.org]
Wednesday June 14th the Annie E. Casey Foundation released the 2017 Kids Count Data Book - State Trends in Child Well-Being. This comprehensive report is " a premier source of data on children and families." You can download the report from this post, as well as on the Kids Count website , where you can also access an interactive data map in their Data Center . This is an invaluable amount of data available to the public, relevant to anyone working with children and families - with the...
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42 States and DC have collected ACE data in the BRFSS 2009-2018
The US Department of Health and Human Services CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recently updated information about the states' inclusion of the ACE module in the BRFSS (Prevention Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey). CDC reports that “…since 2009, 42 states plus the District of Columbia have included ACE questions for at least one year on their survey.” In 2018 alone, 17 states included the ACE module, four of them (Idaho, Indiana, New Jersey, and West...
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7 Ways to Help a Child Deal with Traumatic Stress
Traumatic stress feels awful. Thankfully, there are small things we can all do to help relax a hyperaroused nervous system.
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A college education in prison opens path to freedom (calmatters.org)
Cal State LA’s Prison Graduation Initiative is the state’s only public bachelor’s degree program sending professors to teach behind bars. College programs like it were once far more common, and today advocates are hopeful the political winds have shifted enough to bring public dollars back to prison education. Federal legislation that would make grant aid available has bipartisan support, and in California, a bill to open the state’s financial aid program to incarcerated students is headed...
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A Future With Fewer Suicides: Supervisor Shirlee Zane Hosting Special Screening of THE S WORD, July 11th at Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Chambers
Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane will introduce the compelling documentary THE S WORD, which will be screened in the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Chambers on Wednesday, July 11, at 6 pm. Director Lisa Klein will appear with her film for a special audience Q & A after the screening. Seating is limited and free tickets are required. Tickets are available online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-s-word-documentary-tickets-46897799581 In this powerful, poignant documentary,...
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ACEs Connection, our Cooperative of Communities, and....Pando!
Last month, we officially launched the ACEs Connection Cooperative of Communities. We are SO excited about this! And the communities that are part of the handful of ACEs initiatives that are piloting the Cooperative are, too! Before describing the Cooperative, I want to reassure our 40,000+ members and 277 ACEs initiatives (plus another 100 in development) that have communities on ACEs Connection that nothing on ACEsConnection.com changes! Membership is and remains free ! And it will remain...
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ACES Science 101 (FAQs)
What are ACEs? ACEs are adverse childhood experiences that harm children's developing brains so profoundly that the effects show up decades later; they cause much of chronic disease, most mental illness, and are at the root of most violence. ...
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ACES Science 101 (FAQs)
What are ACEs? ACEs are adverse childhood experiences that harm children's developing brains so profoundly that the effects show up decades later; they cause much of chronic disease, most mental illness, and are at the root of most violence. ...
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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)…Why is Hugging Sooo Very Critical?
"The reality of my own “adverse childhood experiences” is just catching up with me at age 73. My guess is I’m not alone."
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Announcing the release of Trauma-Informed Philanthropy, Volume 2
Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia, Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation, and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey are pleased to release Trauma-Informed Philanthropy, Volume Two , a new guide that feature s lessons learned from leading local and national efforts that provide insights on strategies for advancing the trauma-informed movement in Philadelphia. The three partnering organizations collaborated in 2016 to publish Trauma-Informed Philanthropy,...
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Association of Early-Life Exposure to Income Inequality With Bullying in Adolescence in 40 Countries [JAMA]
JAMA study, N=>800K / >29K schools "Socioeconomic inequality in early life may shape developmental processes that put adolescents at risk of being bullied." JAMA Pediatrics | Original Investigation Association of Early-Life Exposure to Income Inequality With Bullying in Adolescence in 40 Countries Frank J. Elgar, PhD; Genevieve Gariepy, PhD; Melanie Dirks, PhD; Sophie D. Walsh, PhD; Michal Molcho, PhD; Alina Cosma, PhD; Marta Malinowska-Cieslik, PhD; Peter D. Donnelly, MD; Wendy Craig,...
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Beyond Trauma: Building Resilience to ACEs (brochure)
Wish you had a fairly easy and short way to share all about ACEs? Wish it was in-depth enough to share with teachers, doctors, nurses and therapists but not so long or jargony it puts family and friends to sleep? Here's the perfect thing to share when you've been all up in the faces with ACEs and want to back up your words before, during or after. This brochure is comprehensive but not so long that it remains in the "I'll get to it later," pile. Please feel free to print, forward, download...
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California Child Welfare Policy and Progress, Winter Issue
The California Child Welfare Co-Investment Partnership Report This issue of in sights provides an overview of the latest legislative developments in California, including data and perspectives on the policy and practice transformation taking place with the Continuum of Care Reform (CCR). Beyond a comprehensive summary of child welfare state legislation, this issue also includes a discussion on the key provisions of the Family First Prevention Services Act. The issue concludes with...
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California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris Launches Statewide Listening Tour (chhs.ca.gov)
California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris yesterday launched a statewide listening tour at Fruit Ridge Community Collaborative (FRCC) in Sacramento to raise awareness about the link between Adverse Childhood Experiences, toxic stress and serious health conditions. “As California’s first Surgeon General, one of my top priorities is to raise awareness that Adverse Childhood Experiences, like emotional abuse or witnessing domestic violence, can increase the risk of major health...
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Call for Abstracts for NCHDV 2020 conference
The National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence (NCHDV) seeks submissions that highlight research reports, practice innovations, advocacy initiatives, educational advances, and/or community programs that address one or more aspects related to domestic/sexual violence, other forms of violence, and health. The Call for Abstracts (CFA) invites leaders working in the fields of health and domestic/sexual violence to present their work at the 2020 Conference. Submission Deadline: Monday,...
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CDC ACEs Research & Evaluation Fellowship application due April 24
This is a reminder that applications for the CDC Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) Research & Evaluation Fellowship ( announced last month on ACEs Connection ) are due April 24. The new fellowship position reflects a growing ACEs capacity within the CDC. The announcement states “The selected candidate will assist with research related to evaluating comprehensive community-based prevention strategies for primary prevention of ACEs (i.e., potentially traumatic experiences, such as child...
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Childhood Trauma And Its Lifelong Health Effects More Prevalent Among Minorities [NPR.org]
By Tara Haelle When researchers first discovered a link in the late 1990s between childhood adversity and chronic health problems later in life, the real revelation was how common those experiences were across all socioeconomic groups. But the first major study to focus on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) was limited to a single healthcare system in San Diego. A study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics — the largest nationally representative study to date on ACEs — confirms that these...
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Children Now May Revise Budget Update [childrennow.org]
May Revise Budget Update Below are some of the key issues impacting children’s wellbeing in the 2020-21 May Revision budget proposal released on May 14. The overall Children Now statement on the May Revise can be found here , and a letter from over 760 organizations with Pro-Kid budget asks sent before the May Revise can be found here . Prop 56 funding would be moved away from prioritizing children. There are a number of changes that pull back on the Governor’s January proposals that would...
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Colorado Steps up Quality Assurance Requirements for Serving Youth with Complex Needs (cmhnetwork.org)
Thanks to our colleagues at the National Wraparound Initiative for bringing this to our attention. This new bill in Colorado requires screening to identify youth with complex needs, establishes wraparound to serve them, and blends funding across agencies to make it happen! A model for other states to emulate! Child And Youth Behavioral Health System Enhancements Concerning enhancements to behavioral health services and policy coordination for children and youth, and, in connection therewith,...
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Community Capacity: Building a Movement from Within
Human services organizations and coalitions often talk about “making room at the table” for non-professionals, local residents and people with lived experience of poverty, addiction, mental illness or trauma. But those organization leaders rarely spend time at the community’s tables—that is, the block parties and cook-outs, playgrounds and parks, neighborhood association meetings, parent-teacher organizations, Little League games and other grass-roots venues that are essential grounds for...
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Community Profiles from selected CA ACEs Initiatives and Programs
CA communities and organizations from across the state shared information about their trauma informed and resilience building initiatives at the Child Adversity Policymaker Awareness Day on July 11, 2017 in Sacramento. The event, organized by 4CA ( California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity) , educated state legislators about the impacts of child adversity across the lifecourse and strategies for preventing ACEs, healing trauma and creating resilient communities. A series of twelve...
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Daphne Bramham: First Nations' solution to a modern, medical crisis is a return to traditional ways [Vancouver Sun]
First Nations women are the most forgotten victims in the opioid overdose crisis. Helping them heal requires more than just drugs and it may provide a blueprint for path to wellness for others. Ending Canada’s opioid overdose crisis will likely require much more than sophisticated drug therapies. In fact, it might mean following the lead of First Nations health-care providers and transforming how we think about and deliver medical services. First Nations people are dying of opioid overdoses...
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Del Norte County highest in California in teen births
Despite statewide numbers decreasing, Del Norte County continues have the highest teen pregnancy rate in California, according to the latest reported numbers. In 2015, the state’s adolescent birth rate dropped to 17.6 births per 1,000 females aged 15-19 , the California Department of Public Health announced Tuesday. It is a 10 percent decline from the 2014 rate of 19.6 births and a 62 percent decline from the 2000 rate of 46.7, according to CDPH. With 43.1 births per 1,000 females aged...
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Department of Community Services and Development Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the 2019
Notice of Funding Availability - 2019 CalEITC Education and Outreach Grant The purpose of this NOFA is to support CalEITC education and outreach activities and to increase awareness of the credit and free tax preparation assistance programs among low-income individuals and families. CSD seeks to engage established organizations that maintain an existing community presence and trusted relationships, demonstrate extensive experience conducting similar outreach campaigns, and regularly engage...