Congratulations on being chosen as the Impact Lab's pioneer project! This is GREAT news!!

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Children and Family Resource Services is a young 501(3)(c) formed in partnership with Santa Barbara County Education Office. While the nonprofit is young, our multiple programs have been operating for many years, providing comprehensive programs to support the health and resilience of the children and families in Santa Barbara County. Our vision is Healthy and Resilient Children and Families. Our mission is to provide high quality, family-focused, strength-based services to build resilient...

Resilient Santa Barbara County is a countywide network dedicated to preventing and reducing the impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Santa Barbara County. We educate, exchange ideas, share opportunities and work collectively to transform lives through practical and community- centered solutions. Community Partners are organizations that are committed to building their own capacity for being ACEs-informed, trauma-responsive and resiliency –focused, while also contributing their...

A hug may be comforting to many children, but for a child who has experienced trauma it may not feel safe. That’s an example used by Julie Kurtz, co-director of trauma informed practices in early childhood education at the WestEd Center for Child & Family Studies (CCFS), as she begins a trauma training session. Her audience, preschool teachers and staff of the San Francisco-based Wu Yee Children’s Services at San Francisco’s Women’s Building, listen attentively.

On June 6, 2018, over 60 people gathered in mid-Santa Barbara County for a special convening of the KIDS Network. The meeting was advertised among stakeholders as the unveiling of the 2017 Children's Scorecard and the launch of the Santa Barbara County ACEs Connection. After receiving an overview of the Children's Scorecard, participants were invited to discuss the three objectives previously identified by stakeholders who met with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris in April. These were support for...

The Santa Barbara ACEs Connection Steering Committee met for the second time on August 10, 2018 to continue contemplating and exploring the countywide vision for growing a resilient community. The committee refined its guiding principles and spent the majority of the meeting time engaged in three systems mapping activities designed to tap into each person's unique viewpoint and perspective. These activities provided an opportunity to build trust, create a safe space, embrace trial and error...

The Bridges to Resilience Conference will take place on October 11, 2018 from 8am-5pm. This is the third annual conference, to be held at the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott in Buellton. The conference has fueled a growing awareness across service sectors about the impact of childhood adversity and the importance of working collaboratively to support the health and wellbeing of children and youth in our community. Presentations and breakout sessions will provide opportunities to deepen...

The Santa Barbara County Probation Department is excited to join a team of trauma informed community partners dedicated to resiliency and collaboration. In our commitment to improve the ways in which we serve our youth and families, we recently implemented the Positive Achievement Change Tool (PACT). The PACT screens for ACEs in addition to assessing a youth’s risk to reoffend and criminogenic needs. This, along with training around the latest research on the adolescent brain and ACEs...

The Santa Barbara County ACEs Connection Steering Committee brought its work to the larger SB ACEs community at the KIDS Network meeting on September 5th. Participants connected with one another through a brief storytelling exercise before hearing a report on the learning process and outcomes of the committee's Phase 1 efforts. Those in attendance had the opportunity to grapple with one of the mapping exercises undertaken by Steering Committee members in previous months. They were also...

Welcome to Resilient Santa Barbara County! Children & Family Resource Services is connecting and engaging many partners, and is actively educating and supporting our community in so many ways. Thank you for being champions in this movement!

Amid the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, Resilient Santa Barbara County (RSBC) network partners continue to collaborate on projects that promote resiliency in our community. LegacyWorks Santa Barbara, an RSBC community partner, has been working diligently to facilitate and manage a countywide public-private collaborative effort to launch a new and improved Santa Barbara Community Data Dashboard. Outside of being a community partner with the organization themselves, LegacyWorks has been working...

The Children’s Resource and Referral of Santa Barbara County has been a pillar in the community for over 50 years. The grassroots nonprofit organization began in 1971 as various childcare programs and family workshops offered throughout parks in Santa Barbara. Today, CRR works with an astounding 725 licensed and licensed-exempt child care sites! The organization is composed of dedicated leaders who steward the mission to develop strong and healthy families by providing education, care, and...

Thank you CRR for supporting children, families and care providers in our county to help ensure that children have the best possible start in life!

In April we recognized National Child Abuse Prevention Month, an opportunity to highlight the importance of working together as a community to keep families strong so that children and youth are safe and thriving. Each year, our local campaign has a theme. This year, we invited you to focus on how community support strengthens families. The conditions in which people live, work, play and learn can have a big impact on wellness. Adverse community environments can create challenges for...

In July, the Partnership for Safe Families & Communities of Ventura County hosted the first Lunch & Learn Session: Mitigating ACEs for Families with Children Ages 0-5. The session educated participants on how sustaining safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for all children and families can prevent adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), increase positive childhood experiences (PCEs), and help all children reach their full potential.