Tagged With "ACEs prevention"
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In a room full of caring people, ACEs are high
When Dr. Robert Anda began giving presentations about the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study after its first publication in 1998, he often asked people in the audience to anonymously fill out a ...
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Interview with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris on Weekend Edition
Listen to the interview "What Do Asthma, Heart Disease and Cancer have in Common? Maybe Childhood Trama". https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/01/23/578280721/what-do-asthma-heart-disease-and-cancer-have-in-common-maybe-childhood-trauma Burke Harris is the founder and CEO of the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco. She's spent much of her career trying to spread awareness about the dangers of childhood toxic stress. Burke Harris just released a new book, The Deepest Well: Healing the...
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January 24, 2018 ACEs Connection Meeting: How should we proceed?
At the January 24, 2018 meeting of the Sonoma County ACEs Connection, the Steering Committee organized work group sessions among members to answer our most important question: How should our group proceed moving forward? All over the room at Child Parent Institute there were large "Post-It" notes on the wall that the groups brainstormed answers to four questions about the direction of our group: (1) What do you enjoy about the General Meetings? (2) What could we use more of/doesn't serve us?
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January 24, 2018 ACEs Connection Meeting: Reflections & Visions for the Future
At the General Meeting for the Sonoma County ACEs Connection that took place on January 24, 2018, people came together to reflect on their experience in the coalition and to brainstorm about the future of the group. The questions included: What do you enjoy about the General Meetings? What could we use more of/what doesn't serve us? In a post-fire Sonoma County, where and how could we better serve our community? Does our name truly reflect what we are and where we are going? Who are some...
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Kaiser Supports North Bay's VOICES through Youth & Trauma Informed Care Grant
"Kaiser Permanente Northern California Region—Community Benefit Programs (KPCBP)’s Youth and Trauma-informed Care grant program (YTIC), through which 20 community based agencies and school based health centers were funded in 2014, is a critical strategy for addressing community violence by focusing on prevention as well as healing. Experience of trauma in childhood is associated with a range of negative health, social, and educational outcomes. Trauma is frequently undiagnosed or...
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Last Month's Early Childhood Mental Health Summit - Let's Put Our Learning into Practice Now
Just one month ago, on September 28, First 5 and partners pulled together a few hundred community members for an Early Childhood Mental Health Summit called " Building Relationships to Support Families in Times of Stress ." With the local wildfires distressing many families and children, community support is needed now more than ever. The event aimed to ensure participants: 1.) Expanded their understanding of Early Childhood mental Health as the capacity to form close relationships, manage...
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Leaders in SF public housing deal with their own and community trauma head on
Sengthong Sithounnolat, Jeris Woodson, Donald Greene, Ashley Blanco On a recent Saturday, 10 people gather around a table at the offices of Trauma Transformed in Oakland, Calif., where quotes from figures like Frederick Douglas, Nelson Mandela, and Coretta Scott King grace one wall as light streams in from a skylight above. The group is known as the Resident Warriors, which meets weekly. One participant talks of her recovery from addiction and her mother’s murder. Another mentions being...
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Lesson learned integrating ACEs science into health clinics: Staff first, THEN patients
Nearly two years ago, a team of colleagues at LifeLong Medical Clinics jumped at the opportunity to integrate practices based on ACEs science to prevent and heal trauma in their patients when it joined a two-year learning collaborative known as the Resilient Beginnings Collaborative (RBC). A few months after training began, the staff realized they had to put on the brakes.
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MARC Booklet 2016: Features Sonoma County
Please find attached the 2016 booklet for the Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC) project, including Sonoma County and the other 13 communities that have been selected to participate in this 2 year learning collaborative. This is a great summary of the work happening in all 14 communities across the country. I am looking forward to working with you all as we tell your story to the world!
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MARC Group Postings
Dear Sonoma County ACES Connection members, This morning I was reading the ACES Connection's MARC group postings and when I read the WA state proposal, I had to share. There seem to be many similarities to what we want to accomplish, although we are working on a smaller (local) scale - maybe we might learn from their statewide processes too? Very exciting! I particularly like how they are planning to bring their individual partners together into a more formal group and their shared decision...
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Marin Community Clinics in California screen babies for ACEs, provide support in effort to prevent trauma
When Marin Community Clinics (MCC) first considered screening their patients for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) they already had decided that if they were going to prevent children from acquiring ACEs, they had to take a radical approach.
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Mark your calendar for March 10 tweet chat on CA ACEs screening!
Hey ACEs Connection communities! Please join us for a boisterous tweet chat about ACEs screening in California on March 10 at 10 am Pacific/ 1 pm Eastern for #SaludTues, hosted by @saludamerica and co-hosted by @CYWSanFrancisco, @acesconnection and @CHCShealth. Get your thumbs ready, and spread the word! What: Tweet chat Who: Salud America, co-hosted by Center for Youth Wellness, ACEs Connection and Center for Health Care Strategies. When: Tuesday, March 10, 10am Pacific/ 1 pm Eastern Why:...
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Maternal Mental Health Awareness
Please see the link below for the MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH infographic for social media ACEs Intern/Volunteer, Elizabeth Najmabadi MPH, and myself developed to bring awareness to Perinatal Mental Health. Thank you to all who gave us support and feedback as well as the Perinatal Mental Health Partnership community partners for allowing me to post organizational logos on the flyer to show where maternal mental health services are available for mothers in Sonoma County. Please share with your...
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Medical students' ACE scores mirror general population, study finds
A national survey published in 2014 revealed a disturbing finding. Compared to college graduates pursuing other professions, medical students, residents and early career physicians experienced a higher degree of burnout. Citing that article, a group of researchers at University of California at Davis School of Medicine wondered whether medical students’ childhood adversity and resilience played a role in their burnout, said Dr. Andres Sciolla, an associate professor of psychiatry and...
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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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Minutes from our May 27th meeting
May 27, 2015 QUOTE: Never before in the history of medicine have we had better insight into the factors that determine the health of an individual from infancy to adulthood, which is part of the life course perspective—a way of looking at life...
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Monthly Meeting for May, agenda, notes, etc
Quick reminder, we meet the 4th Wed of each month, from 3:30 to 5:00 at Child Parent Institute. Please join us if you can! See below and attached for details regarding our May meeting. Karen
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More than 70 4CA participants converge on Sacramento, talk ACEs to power
Mai Le, an ACEs champion and program associate with First 5 San Mateo, wasted no time getting to the point of why she was asking lawmakers to support legislation that would help prevent adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). “When I was a child, my father had a psychotic break and was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia,” she said in a conversation with Eric Dietz, a staff member for State Senator John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa). L-R: Eric Dietz, Richa Sharma, Mai Le “I’m a high achiever,...
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New California Laws May Prevent the Overmedication of Foster Kids (elevaterehab.org)
In the past, lawmakers didn’t think twice about how doctors treated foster children suffering from emotional traumas such as abandonment and abuse. Nobody controlled how often practitioners prescribed psychiatric drugs that had serious potential for doing more harm than good. Today, investigations into California’s foster care system shed light on the doctors who fuel medication problems by inappropriately prescribing narcotics to the state’s most vulnerable children – ultimately leading to...
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New organization calls all pediatricians to end crisis that's "hiding in plain sight"
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.
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New Psychotherapy Practice in Sebastopol!
Hello Sonoma ACES Connection! I'm reaching out about the private psychotherapy practice that I’ve just opened in Sebastopol. My training has focused on trauma informed, attachment based modalities of therapy. Currently, I am a Therapist in Training in the Neuro Affective Relational Model certification program. NARM is a modality design to support healing from developmental trauma, or those people who have mid-to-high ACES scores. In my career I have worked as a Lead Clinician for families...
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New Publication in Health Promotion Practice Journal Provides a Framework for Action on ACEs
Advocates, leaders, and professionals in the child health and well-being space have identified a need for concrete steps for building resilience to prevent ACEs. Current frameworks focused on ACEs fall short of including a multilevel approach, considering the role of health equity in well-being, and providing concrete, tangible steps for implementation across the life span. The empower action model addresses childhood adversity as a root cause of disease by building resilience across...
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Nominations are OPEN for the Sonoma County ACEs Connection Coalition Steering Committee
Dear ACEs Connection Members, We would like to invite you to formally participate in the election process for the ACEs Connection Coalition Steering Committee. The following positions are available for 2-year terms: Co-Chair (2 positions) Secretary Treasurer We are accepting nominations through August 20th . You can elect yourself or if you would like to nominate a member, please let us know as soon as possible, so we can reach out to them to see if they are interested in running. Please use...
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Notes and materials from our first meeting of 2015
We had a good meeting last Wednesday. Allen Nishikawa greeted us with a mindfulness practice that helped us relax and be present. ACEs Connection staff Alicia and Jesus joined us and it was a pleasure to meet them in person! Karen Clemmer once...
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Notes from 4/22/2015 meeting
Seventeen Sonoma County ACEs Connection members attended our monthly, in-person meeting on April 22. Once again, Allen Nishikawa greeted us with a warm, steamy hand towel so that we could truly “arrive” and be mindful. We agreed that, for...
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Notes from 9.26.18 meeting re aligning with 4CA policy efforts
At the September 26, 2018 Sonoma County ACEs Connection meeting, there was discussion about firming up the SCAC policy subcommittee and aligning efforts with 4CA . For those seeking more information regarding 4CA, click this link: www.4cakids.org See attached for the 4CA Action Plan Link to resent post by Gail Yen at 4CA: ACEs Connection Updates on the (4CA)'s Endorsed Bills Copied from the 4CA website: The C alifornia C ampaign to C ounter C hildhood A dversity is guided by the 4CA Action...
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Notes from May 27, 2015 meeting
May 27, 2015 Never before in the history of medicine have we had better insight into the factors that determine the health of an individual from infancy to adulthood, which is part of the life course perspective—a way of looking at life not as...
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Notes from our 1-23-19 meeting - Check these out!
ACEs Enthusiasts Community Meeting NOTES! Date: January 23, 2019 About this community: We bring the community together to prevent, heal, and treat ACEs while promoting resiliency. Embedded GREEN text= hyper link just click for more information New Year - New Focus! With start of new year, Sonoma County ACEs Connection will re-start fresh with a community focus, while seeking opportunities to leverage and coordinate with others. Welcome & Gather - thanks to Nancy for bringing (lots of!)...
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Notes from our 3.27.19 meeting
ACEs Enthusiasts Community Meeting Notes March 27, 2019 from 3:30 to 5:00 Location: Child Parent Institute About this community: We bring the community together to prevent, heal, and treat ACEs while promoting resiliency. New Year - New Focus! Sonoma County ACEs Connection is starting fresh in 2019 with an emphasis on community, while seeking opportunities to leverage and coordinate with others. Welcome & Gather Mindful moment - volunteer to lead? Welcomed several new folks, representing...
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Notes from our 9/23/15 meeting
Twenty of us attended the meeting. We were warmly greeted by Allen Nishikawa with a warms towel ceremony that allowed us to truly arrive and be present. The topics we discussed were the Paper Tigers viewings, Dr. Anda’s presentation at Hanna...
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Nothing About Them Would Stand Out in a Crowd
photo credit: chuttersnap/unsplash.com By Alice M. Kenny (pseudonym) (The article below is an excerpt from my new book, Crazy Was All I Ever Knew: The Impact of Maternal Mental Illness on Kids . I have used a pseudonym to protect the privacy of family members.) The emotions adult children of parents with mental illness experience are a mixed bag. Sometimes a jumble. Guilt, loss, grief, and resentment are among the emotions that persist or bubble to the surface in adulthood. Some feel...
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November 18, 2015 Meeting Notes
Fifteen members attended. Attendance was anticipated to be lower, because many members had prior commitments. Allen Nishikawa opened the meeting and introduced Elisabeth Chicoine, Manager of the Public Health Family Health Section. She announced that...
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OCAP needs you! Apply now to become a member of their 2019 Citizen Review Panels
Make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children in California. Use your voice to change the child welfare system in California! Convened by the Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP), they are seeking citizen (YOUR) input at their quarterly meetings. Now is your chance to make recommendations to the State! Apply now t o become a member of the California Child-welfare Citizen Review Panels (CRPs). Meetings are held 4 times a year. Participation can be by phone, computer, or in-person.
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Oreos, Apples, Coconuts and Bananas: The Precarious Position of Interpreters. Basic ACES Training for Providers, Part Three
If you work with clients in health or human services, you will at some point work with an interpreter. Have you thought about the awkward position they occupy? Language is only part of the problem. They must be “white” enough to understand and navigate the bureaucratic culture, while being black/brown/yellow/red enough to understand the client’s worldview and concerns and to be able to gain the trust of the communities they serve. When I worked with refugees, I often served...
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PAPER TIGERS Educational Version Now Available on DVD or Digital Streaming!
From Tugg.com, March 17, 2016 Tugg Edu is proud to present the highly anticipated ACEs documentary PAPER TIGERS to the educational marketplace. Directed by James Redford ( THE BIG PICTURE: RETHINKING DYSLEXIA, RESILIENCE ), PAPER TIGERS follows a year in the life of an alternative high school that has radically changed its approach to disciplining its students, becoming a promising model for how to break the cycles of poverty, violence and disease that affect families. With over 450...
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PBS Recent Video Highlights ACEs
Thanks to ACEs Connection Members Gabrielle T. and Kathy C. for sharing this compelling video showing how Memphis tries rooting out childhood trauma to improve life long health: With ACEs in National News this concept is reaching into the homes of even more of our community members. Memphis provides an inspiring vision for how we in Sonoma County might "prevent, treat, and heal" ACEs in our own community.
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Peer Voices Now! Spring 2018 Newsletter
Kalia Mussetter of Living Bridges " Bringing people together for transformative community service," invites you to read the attached Peer Voices Now! newsletter. Kalia writes: "Please enjoy this beautiful newsletter. It is rich with fine, heartfelt writing by many local mental health Peer Providers; talented individuals who serve our mental health stakeholder community every day. There is a focus on experience of both loss and healing from the recent fires, as well as moving accounts of peer...
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Petaluma Group Inspired to Prevent, Heal, Treat ACES
A local Petaluma group kicked off 2016 by inviting Karen Clemmer, PHN, and Brian Farragher, Executive Director of Hannah Boys Center to speak about preventing, healing, and treating Adverse Childhood Experiences. Erin Hawkins, Community Outreach Program Manager of the Petaluma Health Care District, encouraged members of the Community Health Initiative for Petaluma Area (affectionately known as "CHIPA" to many members) to ponder the impact of ACES on the health of Petaluma...
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Petaluma Health Center leads effort to link women to services
Sonoma County was one of six sites selected nationally to participate in a CityMatCH practice collaborative to prevent substance exposed pregnancies. In 2012 Rebecca Munger CNM, PHN the Sonoma County Maternal, Child, Adolescent Health Coordinator lead a broad coalition of reproductive health champions who worked across sectors and settings to develop a trio of strategies to reduce substance exposed pregnancies. The first strategy developed with CDC and WHO technical support was a bundled...
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Please join us for a Strengthening Families and Protective Factors training! 10/28/15
Register now on Eventbrite here . This afternoon is especially designed for program managers and supervisors that directly support families with children. The training will include: An overview of the the...
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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...
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Preparing People for Climate Change in California: Sonoma County Listens and Shares
Last summer Bob Doppelt asked me to join a planning committee for a conference on climate change . I was surprised to be asked as my recent professional expertise is tied to addressing childhood adversity. Bob changed my perspective on the relevance by saying, "Adversity and trauma are the social side effects of climate-related disasters. Imagine the social-emotional impacts on Katrina survivors." The connection was a glimmer in my mind, but I agreed to support a California conference .
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Prevent Child Abuse - Sonoma County annual report 2014-2015
In case you missed picking up a copy of the 2014-2015 annual report from Prevent Child Abuse-Sonoma County, here it is. This year, it provides a snapshot of child abuse and neglect data, a two-page overview of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study,...
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Prop. 64 Stakeholder Group: Prioritize Trauma-Informed Approach to Youth Substance Use Education, Prevention and Treatment
In November 2016, California voters legalized adult use and sales of cannabis, and authorized state excise taxes that are estimated to generate up to $1 billion in revenue for regulation, research, public safety, prevention and treatment. A group of stakeholders representing youth-serving organizations and agencies across the state has issued recommendations for use of the tax revenue allocated to youth substance use education, prevention and treatment that emphasize a trauma-informed approach.
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Proposed Changes to Sonoma County ACEs Connection Working Guidelines
Holly asked me to review the SCAC Working Guidelines we developed at the retreat and prepare a document for approval at the October meeting. I invite all members to send me any comments or suggestions regarding the current document. For the purposes of this vote, I am limiting proposed changes to only those issues where there is a discrepancy, disagreement or lack of clarity concerning an existing guideline. Any brand new guidelines should be proposed and adopted later. The current version...
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Proposed Changes to the SCAC Working Guidelines: Vote at October Meeting
At our October meeting, we will vote to approve a set of working guidelines for Sonoma County ACES Connection. Attached you will find a description of the recommended changes. Please read and be ready to discuss and vote on the proposed changes at our meeting on the 26th. How we developed these recommendations I had requested that SCAC members post any comments or concerns about the proposed guidelines. I received comments from a few persons and invited all of them to participate in an ad...
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Raising of America evening screening and Parental leave Panel on August 28, 2017 at the CA State Capitol
We wanted to share information with you about an important event taking place next week sponsored by some of our California Essentials for Childhood Initiative partners on Monday, August 28, 2017 from 4:45 pm - 7:00 pm at the California State Capitol, Eureka Room (1315 10th Street, Sacramento - basement). The event - “Equal Rights to Parental Leave: A Strong Start for all Children” - includes a special screening of “The Raising of America,” as well as an interactive forum on the benefits of...
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Register now: Free ACEs Connection Webinar on the Human Impact of Climate Change
A year after 85 people died in the wildfire that swept through Paradise, CA, and nearby towns, one of the town’s survivors will talk about how she and others are using resilience practices in their recovery from the trauma. On Wednesday, Nov. 13, Paradise resident Kelly Doty will have a conversation with Elaine Miller-Karas, who developed the Community Resiliency Model (CRM). Doty, who lost her home in the fire, and Miller-Karas will discuss resilience education skills designed to help...
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Early childhood educators learn new ways to spot trauma triggers, build resilience in preschoolers
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.
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Eleven state-specific profiles feature ACEs-related data and ACEs/trauma-informed/resilience-building initiatives
One of the resources shared with participants in the Sept. 13-14 convening of First Spouses in Milwaukee to address trauma was a series of state information sheets that featured data on ACEs prevalence and ACEs/trauma-informed/resilience-building initiatives. These one-pagers provided a succinct summary of state highlights on trauma that in some instances were well known to the First Spouses but for others, provided new information. In partnership with state trauma leaders, ACEs Connection...