Tagged With "foster care"
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2019 Champions for Children
Registration Now Open Join us for an evening to recognize the 2019 Champions for Children. Honorees include: Kelly Blucher: Fierce advocate for child care access and affordability Marti Cates: Thoughtful and loving teacher at A Step Ahead supporting families of infants and toddlers with special needs The Pod Works: Founded by the visionary, Kayla Schroader, a working space dedicated to "Mompreneurs" Laura Lee Bentle: Dedicated Pierce County CASA Coordinator and Advocate Surprise Champion: To...
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Broken Places- A 2019 BPT Film Screening
"The world breaks and afterward many are strong in the broken places" - Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms During the BPT Pre-Conference on June 25th, CRI will be screening Broken Places - a documentary that posits why some children are severely damaged by early adversity while others are able to thrive. Filmmakers explored 40 years of film archives following children who experienced immense childhood stress, watching with curiosity as some overcame hardship and thrived in their adult...
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Free Online Hope Forum - Kids at Hope
Wednesday, March 25, 2020 2:00pm Eastern Time 1:00pm Central Time 12:00pm Mountain Time 11:00am Pacific Time (AZ) To register, click here . Rick Miller Founder of Kids at Hope and Professor of Practice and Clinical Director at Arizona State University’s Center for the Advanced Study and Practice of HOPE will be joined by very special guests for a series of weekly Online HOPE Forums exploring the soul, science and practice of HOPE during times of uncertainty. Joining Rick for the first of...
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Homeless is a circumstance caused by both societal issues and personal misfortune
On Thursday volunteers and local government employees fanned out across Thurston County for the annual “point in time” count of people who are homeless. It’s a task that’s challenging, important and never quite complete. No matter how hard they try, census-takers can’t find every tent camp hidden in the woods, every family living in their car, or every person who sleeps under a bridge or in a backyard toolshed. Census takers also can’t be sure why the people they’re counting are homeless.
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How does a regional healthcare organization integrate trauma-informed care?
Slowly, but at warp speed. That’s what it feels like to take on educating 16,000 staff member in 21 hospitals that serve 29 counties, says Becky Haas, trauma informed administrator for Ballad Health. Turning around a culture, especially a health culture that’s more familiar with doing things the “traditional” way rather than embracing change, will take time and lots of repetition.
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Kids at Hope NW presents: Hope Talks!
Do you have a child or adult in your life that you care about? Be inspired by personal, transformational stories of hope at the first Hope Talks event in the Pacific Northwest! Join Kids at Hope Northwest for a celebration of the science and practice of hope. Hope Talks presenters will include current Kids at Hope practitioners, independent practitioners of hope, and a student from a Kids at Hope school. Hope Talks will take place at Bates Technical College Downtown Campus on November 12 th...
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Latest ACEs science research from PubMed, April 8, 2019
Association of Social Adversity with Comorbid Diabetes and Depression Symptoms in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study: A Syndemic Framework. McCurley JL, Gutierrez AP, Bravin JI, Schneiderman N, Reina SA, Khambaty T, Castañeda SF, Smoller S, Daviglus ML, O'Brien MJ, Carnethon MR, Isasi CR, Perreira KM, Talavera GA, Yang M, Gallo LC. Ann Behav Med . 2019 Apr 5. pii: kaz009. doi: 10.1093/abm/kaz009. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:30951585 Similar...
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Many Washington foster kids become homeless. Tennessee may have found a solution.[Seattle Times]
More than a third of Washington's foster kids become homeless after leaving care. But in Tennessee, there's a possible solution, and Washington is looking at copying it. MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Terrineka Maxwell is only 19, but she’s already had a lot of people come in and out of her life: 20 foster families since she was taken from her mom at 2, and at least seven caseworkers in the past seven years. But her newest caseworker, Cindy Walker, is supposed to be different. Unlike most previous...
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Mobilizing ACEs, Trauma, and Resilience Networks to Support and Strengthen Pandemic Response Efforts [MARC.HealthFederation.org]
By @Anndee Hochman
“What are your signs of stress?” asked the leaders of a recent mindfulness webinar hosted by the Philadelphia ACE Task Force (PATF), held during the week that U.S. cases of COVID-19 neared half a million and more than sixty Philadelphians had died of the disease.
Participants spilled their responses into the chat box: “headache…teeth grinding…can’t think clearly…nervous stomach…ruminating thoughts…muscle pain…itchiness…bad dreams.”
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New grant-funded health care reporter [The Spokesman Review]
There are hundreds of untold stories about rural health care and precious few resources to tell those stories. Report For America, The Spokesman-Review and the Innovia Foundation have all committed to do something about that. On June 4, The Spokesman-Review will welcome Arielle Dreher as our rural health care reporter. Report for America is a national service program that places talented emerging journalists into local news organizations to report for one to two years on under-covered issues...
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New Lakewood mental health clinic opens for veterans and their families (The News Tribune)
A new mental health care option for the military community is available in Lakewood. The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Valley Cities celebrated its grand opening Friday. The clinic had an earlier “soft” opening. The clinic, which was recently touted in Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier’s State of the County address , will offer mental health services regardless of discharge status or ability to pay. The clinic is part of the nonprofit Cohen Veterans Network, which has 11...
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Resource List - Growing Cross-Sector, Community-Based ACEs and Resilience Initiatives
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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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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Save the Date – Wednesday, May 15, 2019 - ACEs and Resilience Community of Practice Event
Mark your calendar for the third Washington statewide ACEs and Resilience Community of Practice event, hosted by the Washington State Essentials for Childhood, Washington State Department of Health, and Everett Public Schools. Time: 8:30 am – 3:00 pm Location: Everett Public Schools Community Resource Center 3900 Broadway Everett, WA 98201 Registration information will be available soon. This event will provide opportunities to connect with people across the state who are working to grow...
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Self-care leadership
Join the SELF-Leadership Cohort Your inner-state makes all the difference, as a care provider and/or leader. We are in a time of disruptive change that has us challenged and facing higher stress loads. We can turn to the N.E.A.R. Sciences to help us upgrade our practices for navigating change (N.E.A.R. = Neuroscience, Epigenetics, ACEs, and Resilience). Are you ready for new strategies and self-care practices? Join the six-week SELF-Leadership Cohort . The cohort launches June 9 th with...
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Supporting Families with Children Prenatal through Age 5 - Help Me Grow Pierce County
Last month, Help Me Grow and First 5 FUNdamentals released their Parent Feedback Summary Report. Below is an excerpt, and you can access the full report in the attachment. Background In the fall of 2017, community leaders came together to brainstorm how to solve the child welfare crisis in Pierce County. 6,200 children entered out-of-home care in Washington State in 2017. Among all counties in the state, Pierce County experienced the highest number of children entering care, at 1,009.
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Talking ACEs and building resilience in prison
At Washington State Penitentiary, Tony McGuire talks to the inmates in his construction trades apprenticeship preparation (CTAP) class about ACEs, trauma and resilience every single day. Not only is he teaching the guys a trade, but he also teaches them how to be a healthy, happy and well-adjusted employee. Note: Becoming a healthy, happy, well-adjusted employee is way harder than basic carpentry, plumbing, electrical and HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning).
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United Way of Pierce County - Poverty Summit Update
Below is a brief update on our collective work being done since our annual poverty summit, From Poverty to Possibilities event, in November 2018. Advocacy – This is critical to address if we are to disrupt systems that are keeping people from getting ahead in life. Updates: Supported Project Child Success with their advocacy training and their Day on the Hill by informing poverty summit attendees about this opportunity to advocate for policies that will help reduce barriers to families...
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Upcoming screening of Paper Tigers in Tacoma!
Tickets are still available to see the moving documentary, Paper Tigers! The movie will be shown on December 17th at 7:30pm at the Cinemark Point Ruston & XD. Click here to reserve your seat. Event Info Join us for a screening of an amazing documentary that captures insights about the hidden epidemic of childhood trauma plaguing our schools and communities. Watch how one school systematically tackled this very challenging problem by understanding [how] "trauma threatens brain...
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Washington State Prevention Summit - Nov 5-6
Registration is Now Open! Washington State Prevention Summit Celebrating 35 Years! Click here to register. Registration deadline: September 20, 2019 Date : November 5 - 6, 2019 Location : Yakima Convention Center 10 N. 8th St. Yakima, WA 98901 About the Summit The goal of the Prevention Summit is to provide an enriching and culturally competent training and networking opportunity for youth, volunteers and professionals working toward the prevention of substance abuse, violence and other...
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We Have to Better Understand What Foster Parents Need [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Ross Hunter, The Chronicle of Social Change, October 11, 2019 As a new leader in the child welfare space, I thought it would be worth my while to do some listening before I made any big changes. So I went on a tour all over the state of Washington. I talked to caseworkers, foster parents, birth families, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and anyone else I could find who had an opinion. I got an earful. “Everything is broken.” “I had a great experience.” “The caseworker never called...
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WEBINAR | Integrating a Trauma-Informed Approach into Substance Use Disorder Treatment
Join a webinar highlighting how two providers have incorporated trauma-informed care into their substance use disorder treatment practices, shaping the experiences of their patients and staff.
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Re: 2020 People's State of the Union
I love this idea! And it might need to happen online. Please keep me informed. We need to come together as a community in order to confront racism, poverty, militarism and ecological devastation. If we were building a health care system that was resilient and inclusive instead of specialized and efficient, this epidemic would be very different. Plus we would have a public health care system working to lower not only epidemics of infection but ACES. This would lower the epidemics opioids and...
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Re: Programs Help Incarcerated Moms Bond With Their Babies In Prison [NPR.org]
Such a positive story about women and children developing the skills and attachment that they will need to successfully transition into the community. It seems that the Washington prison system has been innovative for some time. More than ten years ago, when we traveled, we brought our well loved dog Lucky the prison to be boarded. They had a special program which allowed inmates to love and care for dogs that needed to be boarded. Our dog, Lucky was well taken care of and always so clean,...
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Re: Programs Help Incarcerated Moms Bond With Their Babies In Prison [NPR.org]
Hi Karen, Thank you for sharing your experience with the dog boarding program! I have heard great comments about it from others as well. One thing that I love about the WCCW Early Head Start program, is that the women have a voice and are able to participate in PSESD's Policy Council! "Family involvement and leadership are critical to the success of our programs. Policy Council representatives, who are elected by their respective sites' parent groups, work in tandem with program...
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Re: ‘Brick by brick.’ Ending mass incarceration will take concrete steps at the local level
Such an insightful article, Melissa! I found this part particularly interesting - Thank you again for sharing! Karen “When I tell you that 900,000 people are coming out of jail every year, that sounds like an insurmountable problem, but when you understand that lots of people are active in their houses of worship, and we have 300,000 of those, that means that in any house of worship you only have to commit to taking on three,” Forman said. “If every group, if every church, if every...
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ACEs screening is about building relationships, says early adopter
Whether or not to screen for ACEs in primary care is an important debate—and I hear and respect the passion from both sides of the argument. I fall in the “pro-ACE assessments” camp, but with some important caveats. I think that assessments for ACEs are dramatically different from screening for autism or developmental delays. In my opinion, assessments for ACEs in primary care should be primarily about building relationships.
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DCYF Strategic Plan Feedback Survey - needs your input!
Before the creation of DCYF, funding and services were not always connected. The draft strategic plan helps our agency focus on how we serve children, youth, families and our communities as one entity. This framework helps to build on existing funding and services to strengthen our ability to serve families as well as to disrupt racial inequity and disproportionality in our systems. There is more work ahead for us to accomplish the priorities set out in the draft plan. The process to gather...
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Ann Penn-Charles casts a wide net to reduce generational trauma in Washington State coastal tribes
You could say that Ann Penn-Charles, a native of La Push, Washington, was a natural resilience builder even before there was an ACE Study. La Push is a Native American reservation on the western edge of Olympic National Park, where the Quileute Nation ancestors of “Miss Ann”, as she is known, have lived for generations. Although she faced hardships growing up on the reservation, including having her first child when she was a junior in high school, she was able to graduate with the support...
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'A Better Normal:' Can universal ACEs screening be equitable? -- Concerns and solutions
Can universal ACEs screening be equitable? A conversation about concerns and solutions. When: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2-3:30 pm PDT/5-6:30 pm EDT This webinar explores what it takes to ensure that equity is built into the process of screening and providing support for families who have experienced trauma and want help. REGISTER HERE Background At the beginning of this year, California, through the ACEs Aware initiative began rolling out universal screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs),...
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A Better Normal Community Discussion - Reimagining Health Care
In a conversational style, join physician Drew Factor who will speak with Dr. Tracy Gaudet, Liza Guroff and An é Watts in a discussion entitled "Reimagining Health Care". Dr. Gaudet will speak about her experience engaging in transformational change at the Veterans Administration and how this has shaped the development of her own Functional Medicine Institute , while Ms. Guroff and Ms. Watts will speak about their knowledge of a Trauma-Informed Approach both at a systems (National Council...
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Clallam Resilience Project's "Take Care & Be Well" Tiny Video Series
Clallam Resilience Project is facilitating a community project to create a tiny video series called "Take Care & Be Well." The series intends to share resilience skills that community members are already using, and help identify new ones. Videos can be found on the Clallam Resilience Project website or youtube channel . What resilience skills do you practice in everyday life?
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"A Better Normal" Community Discussion: Suicide Awareness and Community Cafes
Join us on Friday November 6, 2020 from noon to 1:00 PST as we come together and join Satya Chandragiri MD, Bonnie O’Hern RN, Denise PNP, & Michael Polacek RN for a discussion around the tender issue of suicide. Together we will discuss ways people and providers can support each other and encourage communities to take action to support one another around suicide prevention, crisis intervention, and the layers of culture and structural barriers to care. A special emphasis will be on...
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Washington Youth Flex Lobbying Might on Rights of Native Americans, Homelessness and Foster Youth [imprintnews.org]
By Elizabeth Amon, The Imprint, February 1, 2021 When teens and young adults who’ve lived through homelessness and foster care gather this year to tell Washington state policymakers what their peers need most, the youth advocates will have three priorities: they want lawyers for every foster child, a task force to focus on the experience of Native Americans and better support for the newly independent. The youth advocates, ages 13 to 25, represent seven local chapters of The Mockingbird...
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Announcing the Keep Community Campaign!
Inspired by last weekend's blog post I wrote on Rise to Resilience, They Are Human, Too , I decided to create a campaign called Keep Community. Over the next month, I hope to collect $1000 to donate $500 towards the Tacoma Mutual Aid Collective who does incredible work in the local community. The other $500 will go towards creating care packages for unhoused individuals in Pierce County (Washington state). These packages will include items such as: cloth and single-use masks, hand sanitizer,...
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Seeking Executive Director for Children's Mental Health Organization
Are you a leader who is passionate about supporting a team of professionals that help transform the lives of children and families? Jumping Mouse Children’s Center offers unparalleled support to our staff, health benefits, and opportunities for professional growth. We pride ourselves on carrying reasonable caseloads to encourage a personal/work life balance. About Jumping Mouse: Located in Port Townsend, Washington, Jumping Mouse Children’s Center is a nonprofit founded in 1999 to address...
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Christopher J. Clifford
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Elise Gooi
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EXCITING NEWS – PACEs Connection is BACK!
Former PACEs Connection employees Dana Brown (L) with Vincent Felitti, MD, co-author of the 1998 Adverse Childhood Experiences study, and Carey Sipp (R) in San Diego in January, 2024. The last few months have been quite challenging, but we pushed, persevered, and didn’t give up hope. The “we” is Carey Sipp and Dana Brown. We were long-time staff members of PACEs Connection determined to reinstate the website and the resources and information we provide to communities after the platform went...