Tagged With "prevent child abuse"
Blog Post
The Absence of Punishment in Our Schools
Where to begin... My heart is full of hope and joy as I watch the trauma-informed schools movement swell across our nation and planet. The science of ACEs is mind-bending to say the least and we are now able to open up a much deeper dialogue about human behavior and health. Ultimately this work is about healing… All. Of. Us. A new consciousness is taking root around ending the “us vs them” construct. The idea is growing that we’re all on this journey together and that no matter where our...
Blog Post
The Power of Hope to Mitigate Vicarious Trauma and Burnout
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified child maltreatment as a major public health concern, and adult survivors of child maltreatment are at significant risk of chronic disease and premature mortality. This constant exposure to child maltreatment makes these health care practitioners uniquely vulnerable to stressors associated with burnout.
Blog Post
The scientific effort to protect babies from trauma before it happens [qz.com]
By Jenny Anderson, Quartz, June 22, 2019. For nearly 30 years, Javier Aceves worked as a pediatrician in Albuquerque, New Mexico, focusing primarily on disadvantaged families. His approach was holistic: along with treating children, he did outreach with teens, and helped children’s parents with everything from addiction to learning how to be a supportive caregiver. For all the programs he helped develop, the patterns he kept seeing haunted him. He could treat young kids’ medical problems,...
Blog Post
Trauma-Informed is Messy Business…
Words like trauma-informed and resiliency get thrown around a lot these days. And for many, the visions they call up are a bit too glossy. You see resiliency and trauma-informed aren’t always pretty. Resiliency can look like closing the bathroom door and collapsing in tears… but then washing your face and going back into the world, carrying the belief that you can survive and the hope that things will get better. It looks like begrudgingly going on that walk with a friend, when the little...
Blog Post
Trauma-Informed Social Justice: Q&A with Dr. Bukuloa Ogunkua
Cissy's Note: I work with people who challenge systems and policies, who reform or start non-profits, and who see hope and promise where others see despair or destruction. While some folks shake their heads or shrug indifferently in the face of injustice and suffering, others organize, mobilize, and channel their time and energy towards making a change. Maybe a physician hosts an annual conference bringing trauma-informed approaches to medical practice. Perhaps a woman shares ACEs 101...
Blog Post
Treating Childhood Trauma Becoming a Public Policy Priority [governing.com]
There’s a lot that’s indisputable about childhood trauma. Emotional or physical abuse early in life impacts health outcomes as children grow up. Community- and family-based approaches to dealing with trauma are better than institutional settings. And children of color are more likely to face traumatizing childhood experiences. Those events can include something as common as divorce, but also encompass circumstances such as having an incarcerated parent, living with someone with a substance...
Blog Post
Turner: Resilient Payne County discusses adverse childhood experiences
Usually when you read about childhood traumas in the United States, you read about extreme cases. Although these extreme cases are substantial and should be reported on, a lot of Americans miss the point when it comes to what an overwhelming amount of kids are actually dealing with when it comes to neglect. According to the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth , the number of child abuse and/or neglect reports in 2017 in Oklahoma was 79,310. Of those reports, 62,828 were investigated...
Blog Post
Virtual Screening of Cracked Up for ACEs Connection Members: June 9-10 - Register Now!
We are excited to offer an exclusive virtual screening to all ACEs Connection members of the new, acclaimed film, CRACKED UP . This documentary film is about the long term effects of childhood trauma, told through Saturday Night Live veteran Darrell Hammond’s journey in discovering adverse childhood experiences at the root of his lifelong battle with self-harm, addiction, and misdiagnosis. The film’s director, Michelle Esrick, and other special guests will join us after the screening window...
Blog Post
Welcome to Raising Resilient Oklahomans! Community
The Potts Family Foundation is passionate about improving the condition of Oklahoma’s future workforce: our children. While all children benefit from early and proven investments in character and cognitive development programs, economic studies have proven that children in lower socio-economic households benefit the most. Rates of return for these children can be in the double digits. More than one in five children in Oklahoma live in poverty . The families of these children face many...
Blog Post
What If I Told You?
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...
Blog Post
Wickham: The kids are ‘silent mourners’ of the drug crisis
Organizations that serve needy kids are seeing a spike in the number of children affected by the state’s drug epidemic. And they’re responding with special programs to support and nurture these youngsters. Monica Gallant is director of prevention services for the Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley and director of the club’s Community Action for Safe Teens (CAST) committee. A few years ago, her program began hearing from school principals and counselors that they were seeing more...
Blog Post
Windows of Opportunity: Providing a Warm Handoff to Positive Services
As a follow-up to the " Are You OK? You Are Not Alone Anymore" Resource Poster , there have been important discussions in many local and statewide coalitions about "Windows of Opportunity" to build trust and provide a warm handoff to these critical services. However, as we know through research, individuals with untreated trauma may have difficulty trusting strangers, organizations or government agencies, even if they are wanting to help. Often times, these individuals are experiencing...
Blog Post
Windows of Opportunity: Providing a Warm handoff to Services
As a follow-up to the " Are You OK? You Are Not Alone Anymore" Resource Poster , there have been important discussions in many local and statewide coalitions about "Windows of Opportunity" to build trust and provide a warm handoff to these critical services. However, as we know through research, individuals with untreated trauma may have difficulty trusting strangers, organizations or government agencies, even if they are wanting to help. Often times, these individuals are experiencing...
Blog Post
"Faces of ACEs: The Lifelong Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences" Conference 2019
Friday, April 12, 2019 marked an exciting, auspicious, and perhaps pivotal day in the history of Monroe County, Indiana. That’s a lot of adjectives—and pressure—to pile onto just another glorious spring day in Bloomington. But I think many folks who virtually congregate on a site that supports communities implementing trauma-informed and resilience-building practices grounded in ACEs science would agree that a county’s first-ever ACEs conference deserves a little ballyhoo. But this ACEs...
Blog Post
Fite: Corporal punishment law hasn't changed since 1963
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — The law regarding child abuse, including discipline taken to extreme, is considered outdated and open to interpretation. It hasn't been updated since the 1960s. Help In Crisis Forensic Interviewer Leah Moore operates the Cherokee County Children's Advocacy Center and the Multi-Disciplinary Team. There were 156 children, ages 3-17, served by the free-standing multidisciplinary child abuse team during fiscal year 2018 for Cherokee County. The Child Task Force works to...
Blog Post
Fogelman: ACEs test key part of Project AWARE
There is hope for the future. That may seem like a broad statement, but it is true. If the future is our children and our children have potential, the future is in good hands. Let’s start with the bad news first. Toxic stress physically damages a child’s developing brain, according to neuroscientists and pediatricians. The good news - science has proven that through neuroplasticity, the brain has the capacity for resilience. One way to find out the risks for a child or community is through...
Blog Post
Fogleman: Documentary, panel focuses on trauma, stress
The documentary Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope was shown to community members at High Plains Technology Center on Monday. The one hour video focused on the impact of trauma on children’s health and ways to help them and their families become resilient. After the film, a panel of local community leaders answered questions about how this research can be applied in the community. “This film is about the impact of trauma on development on your health and well being...
Blog Post
Gilmore: OKCPD Implement New Youth Trauma Assistance Program
Oklahoma City Police are rolling out a new program to help young victims and witnesses of trauma. The program called the Handle with Care, was first used in West Virginia and now Oklahoma City Police officers say they're on board as well. The way it works is fairly simple according to police and doesn't cost anything to implement. When officers respond to calls involving children suffering from trauma, they'll now be able to click on a link in an email which provides basic information...
Blog Post
Go Slow To Go Fast
As agencies, schools and communities move toward becoming Trauma Informed, we should all remember in order “to go faster we should slow down”. I often tell leadership that becoming trauma informed is similar to how great Redwood trees grow. I heard a story once that a person visited the great Redwood forest and part of the tour led the group through an area that had previously suffered from a forest fire. As the crowd looked at the small trees growing, the guide explained that the...
Blog Post
Grimwood: 'Oklahoma kids are suffering the most': Nearly 1 in 3 go through multiple adverse experiences, trauma
Nearly one-third of Oklahoma children have had multiple adverse childhood experiences, an audience of advocates for children was told Thursday evening. The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, in conjunction with the Tulsa World and Tulsa Lawyers for Children, showcased the film “ Resilience: The Biology of Stress & The Science of Hope” on Thursday evening at the Circle Cinema. The film was a lead-in to the topic of adverse child experiences, also known as ACEs, and an hour-long...
Blog Post
Guide - Creating Trauma-Informed Policies: A Practice Guide for School and Mental Health Leadership
Author, Leora Wolf-Prusan, EdD, School Mental Health lead for SAMHSA's Mental Health Technology Center Pacific Southwest http://mhttcnetwork.org/mhttc/mhttc-psw.html Creating compassionate policies is a cornerstone strategy of educational leadership. This guide provides a deep dive into developing, implementing, and evaluating trauma-informed and compassionate school policies. It highlights four "choice points" for education and mental health leadership: Choice Point 1: Names &...
Blog Post
Harvard Infographic on ACEs and Toxic Stress
This was just posted by Harvard. I thought all of us could use access to it, for use in our schools and the settings we work in. The full image is on the attached PDF.
Blog Post
Here's how educators are learning to empathetically foster resilience in children affected by trauma
By ESTELLE SLOOTMAKER | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2019, Published in Second Wave Michigan This article is part of State of Health, a series examining integrated care and its potential to improve Michiganders' health. It is made possible with funding from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. Divorce, a parent's death or imprisonment, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and the daily experience of racism. They're all sadly common events, known as adverse childhood experiences or ACEs. But the...
Blog Post
Herner: The Weight of Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adverse childhood experiences are incredibly common, and a local organization is looking to spread the word about what are commonly referred to as ACEs. According to a Centers for Disease Control study conducted from 1995 to 1997, ACEs can affect not only a person’s behavior and physical health later in life, but also how their offspring are wired. The study looked at more than 17,000 Californians’ childhood experiences as compared to their health and behavior as adults, and it focused on 10...
Blog Post
Hinton: 'Angels' needed to help children, families in crisis
The preacher speaking at the pulpit almost paused as a man walked into the church. The Rev. Darrell L. Armstrong was delivering the eulogy at his mother's funeral in 1998, and he was startled, then angered, to see his mother's longtime companion — a man who had abused her, as well as Armstrong and all three of his brothers, a man who had been with her when she fatally overdosed. Armstrong wanted to leap out of the pulpit and chase the villain out of the church. Only his grandmother's audible...
Blog Post
Hinton: Conference offers clergy training in child trauma
Several faith organizations and other agencies are joining forces to offer a special clergy training conference. The "Faith Communities Protecting Children: Recognizing and Responding to Adverse Childhood Experiences Conference" is set for 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. April 2, 2019, at Metro Tech Business Conference Center, 1900 Springlake Drive. "We strongly believe that faith-based organizations can and do play an important role in the prevention and healing of children who have experienced trauma.
Blog Post
Hofmeister: Moving beyond trauma to hope
‘Our future can be brighter than our past.” These words of hope are critical for hundreds of thousands of Oklahoma children impacted by trauma and the public educators who serve them. Science tells us that childhood experiences of abuse and neglect linger in the brains of young people — causing them to relive their most agonizing experiences in an endless feedback loop and propelling them into a subconscious, and recurring, state of fight or flight that disrupts their ability to learn.
Blog Post
Hutchison: First Lady of Oklahoma Visits Duncan for Childhood Trauma Awareness Event
The mental health of children was at the forefront of a discussion led by the First Lady of Oklahoma in Duncan today. The event started with a showing of the documentary Resilience, which focuses on studies into how experiencing trauma as a child could negatively impact you as an adult. Those studies centered around a test called the ACE Test, with ACE standing for adverse childhood experiences. That test asks you questions about your childhood, such as if you were ever abused, if you lived...
Blog Post
Infancy and early childhood matter so much because of attachment (theconversation.com)
We are born to connect. As human beings we are relational and we need biological, emotional and psychological connection with others . Attachment is the relational dance that parents and babies share together. You can think of this when you see a baby look at their parent and they catch each other’s eyes in a wonderful gaze: the parent smiles and the baby smiles and then the parent kisses and the baby coos. Or, when an infant cries to tell their parent they are hungry, and the parent picks...
Blog Post
Jones: Day 2: Soda, cigarettes and trauma: How Adverse Childhood Experiences alter brain chemistry, cultivate unhealthy habits and prompt premature death
Patients would carry soda into Dr. Gerard Clancy’s office, with cigarettes tucked away for after therapy. Often victims of abuse or violent crime, they would seek soothing but risky behaviors to cope. Overweight. Chronic pain. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Type II diabetes. His former patients will die younger than they should, he said. Clancy conducted therapy sessions until he became president of the University of Tulsa in 2016. At his psychiatry clinic, he saw firsthand how a...
Blog Post
Jones: Task force finds three important gaps in Oklahoma's trauma-informed care offerings
The Task Force on Trauma-Informed Care has identified three critical gaps in services in Oklahoma: rural communities, poverty-stricken residents and foster care. The panel, established a year ago by Senate Bill 1517, published its interim report this month. Its goal is to find ways to reduce or mitigate harm inflicted by Adverse Childhood Experiences, of which Oklahoma is No. 1 in the nation for youths experiencing two or more . The final report that will recommend a comprehensive strategy...
Blog Post
Keith: Local trauma specialist spreading knowledge statewide
NORMAN — Jeremy Elledge thinks he can change Oklahoma. From where he sits, that’s a tall order. Elledge works in mental health services in a state that's top in the nation for childhood trauma. Oklahoma leads in female incarceration and heart disease mortality, and has high rates of child abuse and divorce, lending to the cycles of trauma that impact the state’s youngest residents, the Tulsa World reports. But Elledge wants to stop that cycle. For the last two years, he’s been traveling the...
Blog Post
Let's Go Upstream
As the knowledge of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and trauma resilience begins to flow through Oklahoma and our nation, multiple programs, interventions and entire agencies are popping up to address the negative impact of trauma. As the river of knowledge flows faster and rises, the words of Desmond Tutu should inspire agencies and schools to take action. Desmond Tutu so brilliantly stated: There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go...
Blog Post
Limited Dollars, Significant Influence: How We Advocate, Convene & Catalyze
So Your Grant $ Don’t Go Far? Then be little but loud! Using your voice with people of influence can move others to action. Be they business, foundation or policy makers; you have credibility (earned or not) just by virtue of being a foundation. You can provide a stronger voice for the cause represented by the nonprofits that do the work you care about. That voice can be through social media, through newspaper editorials, through presentations to civic groups, etc. You can involve volunteer...
Blog Post
Looking at childhood experiences related to stress
April is Stress Awareness Month and Child Abuse Awareness Month. In recognition of both of themes of awareness, I want to raise cognizance of toxic stress and adverse childhood experiences (ACES). Both lifelong physical and mental health problems arise when children experience extreme stress (toxic stress) caused by ACEs. Daily many children in our community experience toxic stress related to adverse childhood experiences (ACE). ...
Blog Post
Lucas & Block: Raising Resilient Oklahomans
W ith the opening of the 57th Legislature, the Potts Family Foundation has been busy rebuilding its Early Childhood Legislative Caucus with returning and new members alike. Membership comes from both sides of the aisle and both chambers of the Legislature. The caucus is made up of members who have committed to working through the state budget and policy to improve the lives of Oklahoma’s youngest and most vulnerable citizens and their families. In 2016, the foundation announced the OK25by25...
Blog Post
Martinez-Keel: 'A source of hope': Oklahoma teachers learn impact of child trauma at state summit
Thousands of educators gathered in the Cox Convention Center on Monday and eagerly stared at a model of a brain. With 86 billion neurons firing, the brain is a “miracle of complexity,” Dr. Bruce Perry said as he showed the image on a screen. The impact of childhood trauma is similarly intricate. The renowned psychiatrist and child trauma expert spoke to an arena full of teachers, school counselors and nonprofit workers for the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s third-annual trauma...
Blog Post
"Moving from Understanding to Implementing Trauma-Responsive Services" Takeaways from SAMSHA Forum in Johnson City 9.5.19
Speakers and guests at the SAMSHA Forum included (l-r) Mary Rolando of the Department of Children's Services; Chrissy Haslam, First Lady of Tennessee; Dr. Joan Gillece, SAMSHA Center for Trauma Informed Care; Dr. Andi Clements, East Tennessee State University; Becky Haas, Johnson City Police Department; Carey Sipp, ACEs Connection, and Robin Crumley, Boys & Girls Club of Johnson City/Washington County. It was easy to be both inspired and a bit overwhelmed at the Substance Abuse and...
Blog Post
Neal: United Way hosts seminar on effects of childhood trauma
ENID, Okla. — The United Way Coach-A-Kid program hosted a lunch-and-learn session Wednesday at Stride Bank Center on the effects of childhood trauma. Garfield County Child Advocacy Council Director Carole Wade was speaker for the event, sharing perspectives from her time as an advocate for children and families. Wade discussed with the group the findings of a 1998 study by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of more than 17,000 adults into the long-term effects of Adverse...
Blog Post
Nominate a Trauma-Informed Care Champion: #TICchampion
Becoming a trauma-informed organization requires clear communication about the transformation process, and support from staff at all levels of an organization. Often these efforts are spearheaded by “trauma-informed care champions”— individuals committed to raising awareness regarding the health effects of trauma and toxic stress and improving care for people who have experienced trauma. This week, the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) invites you to recognize people around you who...
Blog Post
Nothing Matters More Than Hope -- Including Resiliency
“In every published study of hope, every single one, hope is the single best predictor of well-being compared to any other measures of trauma recovery. This finding is consistently corroborated with other published studies from top universities showing that hope is the best predictor for a life well-lived."
Blog Post
OK Trauma-Informed Care Task Force to launch
(l to r) Joe Dorman, CEO, OK Institute for Child Advocacy, OK State Rep. Mark Lepak _______________________________________________________________ Joe Dorman, CEO of Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) , and former Oklahoma state representative and challenger to Republican Governor Mary Fallin in 2014, conveyed surprise and satisfaction when he told me that Fallin gave him the pen she used to sign a bill to create a Task Force on Trauma-Informed Care ( SB 1517 ) in April. This...
Blog Post
Oklahoma 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Oklahoma. 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, we’ll...
Blog Post
Oklahoma First Lady Stitt to provide resilience workshop at Northwestern
Alva and Northwestern Oklahoma State University will host Oklahoma's First Lady Sarah Stitt on Feb. 13 at an event designed to educate community members about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE). Stitt and her office have joined forces with the Potts Family Foundation, Northwestern and Northwest Family Services to present a film screening and panel discussion on this important topic. The documentary film "Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope" will be shown at 11 a.m. in...
Blog Post
Pennington: TIME4K program expands to help students in Wayne, Cabell counties
HUNTINGTON — Through blowing bubbles, easy-to-follow activities and the occasional use of glitter, the West Virginia Trauma-Informed Mindfulness for Kids program is expanding to help youth struggling with trauma or toxic stress find positive coping strategies in Cabell and Wayne counties. The program, also known as TIME4K, is a three-year, grant-funded pilot initiative through Marshall University’s Social Work and Psychology departments that offers resources to teachers and behavioral...
Blog Post
Positive Childhood Experiences offset ACEs: Q & A with Dr. Robert Sege about HOPE
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...
Blog Post
Positive Childhood Experiences offset ACEs: Q & A with Dr. Robert Sege about HOPE
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...
Blog Post
Public health strategies, ACEs, and much more to learn [ClaremoreProgress.com]
What does a legislator do when not in session? Last month, I was asked by the Speaker to attend a regional meeting of key state policymakers with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It seems the committee chairmen of our health-related committees couldn’t attend, so I was afforded the opportunity to learn about something not exactly in my wheelhouse. The meeting was sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislatures, and is the third such specialized session they’ve...
Blog Post
Rains: Ardmore community seeking ways to address childhood trauma amid low state rankings in well-being, high drug-related arrests
Most parents would never look at their child and say, ‘I can’t wait to mess you up.’ Instead, it’s often ‘I want better for you than I ever had,’ said Ardmore Behavioral Health Collaborative Director Ashely Godwin. However, within the last couple of years, Oklahoma has ranked in the bottom 10 states in the nation for child well-being and has been among the states with the highest recorded juvenile drug-related arrests. A report conducted by Greenhouse Treatment, a rehabilitation facility,...