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When the question of screening patients for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) was first raised a couple of years ago, Santa Barbara pediatrician Andria Ruth had mixed feelings about it.

Jamel Brinkley's debut short story collection probes the experience of boys and men as their masculinity brushes up against society's expectations for them. Set in Brooklyn and the South Bronx, the stories revolve around the hopes and travails of black men: two recent college-grads on the prowl for girls, brothers struggling with their family's past. Brinkley joins us to share his thoughts on toxic masculinity, his precise prose and what it's like having a debut collection at the age of 42.

We hear you! With the phenomenal growth of ACEs Connection (we’re now at more than 22,200 terrific members), the volume of content has burgeoned, and email notifications from the site about the latest blog posts and comments can be (OK, OK...are!) overwhelming. Especially to those people (about 17,000 of you) who became members before October 2017, when we changed our system so that new members don’t automatically receive emails about blog posts and comments from ACEs Connection. So, here’s...

If you're interested in learning more about building equity in the community, check out some of these webinars that are coming up (and the April one that is posted): http://changelabsolutions.org/the-series . From the website... Each training will highlight and open up conversations about the consequences of laws and policies that don’t take health equity into account—and how we can respond; on-the-ground stories and innovations from community health leaders; technical tools and resources to...

Registration is still OPEN for another week to the second annual Policymaker Education Day hosted by the California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA) in Sacramento on May 22nd! Don't miss this opportunity to be able to share your thoughts and expertise with your Assemblymember or Senator on how to address childhood adversity in your communities. Guest speakers include Assemblymember Dr. Arambula of Fresno County, Ted Lempert of Children Now and Sarah Pauter of Phenomenal...

I am writing on behalf of the Steering Committee. We have been working on a Proclamation to declare the 2nd Tuesday of April as Adverse Childhood Experiences & Resilience Awareness and Action Day for your review and approval at our May 8 meeting. We are thrilled to report there are similar efforts in progress or passed in cities, counties and states across the country, including the Sate of California, whose Resolution is soon to be published and designates May 22nd as National...

Despite the landmark ACEs study in 1998, ACEs screening is uncommon in medical clinics - barriers include lack of time, ACEs resources, confidence in addressing sensitive topics, etc. Flanagan et al. developed a training program for clinicians that addressed the barriers, added resilience measures, and included clinic-specific adjustments. The study found that conversations on ACEs and resilience improved women’s trust in and relationship with their clinicians. After the training, clinicians...

Read this comprehensive report presented 3.22.18: Sacramento County Early Learning Roadmap Birth Through Age 8 Copied from the published report: .......As a community, we must work together to provide greater access for all children. On behalf of our many stakeholders, it is with great pride that we are launching the Sacramento County Early Learning Roadmap: Prenatal Through Age Eight, 2017–2022. The S acramento County Early Learning Roadmap reflects a deeply collaborative and intensive...

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...

On Friday, April 20, 2018, the AB 340 Workgroup, otherwise known as the Trauma Screenings Advisory Group, met for the first time to discuss the legislative charge to update, amend, or develop, if appropriate, tools and protocols for screening children for trauma as defined, within the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit in Medi-Cal. Both Children Now and Center for Youth Wellness were appointed members of the Trauma Screenings Advisory Workgroup, and we...

The California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA) invites you to participate in our 2018 Policymaker Education Day on Childhood Adversity. Last year, we had over 100 4CA representatives who participated in the day-long event. Policymaker Education Day is an opportunity to come together as advocates to educate policymakers about childhood adversity, the long-term consequences of childhood adversity on communities, and garner support for 4CA endorsed legislation. Please register...

A growing number of children who attend Sacramento County public schools are homeless or living in unstable housing conditions, new figures show. At a time when affordable housing is scarce and rents are high, the number of students without a stable place to sleep surged 15 percent last year and has risen more than 20 percent since 2011, according to data collected by school districts in the county. Districts use federal guidelines to identify children who are in unstable households,...