Tagged With "foster parents"
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12 Myths of the Science of ACEs
The two biggest myths about ACEs science are: MYTH #1 — That it’s just about the 10 ACEs in the ACE Study — the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study . It’s about sooooo much more than that. MYTH #2 — And that it’s just about ACEs…adverse childhood experiences. These two myths are intertwined. The ACE Study issued the first of its 70+ publications in 1998, and for many people it was the lightning bolt, the grand “aha” moment, the unexpected doorway into a blazing new...
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A National Agenda to Address Adverse Childhood Experiences
What are ACEs and Why Do They Matter? In 2016 1 , nearly half of U.S. children – 34 million kids – had at least one Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) and more than 20 percent experienced two or more. The new brain sciences and science of human development explain how ACEs can have devastating, long-lasting effects on children’s health and wellbeing. These events resonate well beyond the individual child to have far-reaching consequences for families, neighborhoods, and communities. ACEs...
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A Review of Community Efforts to Mitigate and Prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences and Trauma
This 63-page report was prepared by Christopher Blodgett, Ph.D. Washington State University Area Health Education Center. This paper summarizes a number of community and treatment system initiatives in Washington State that address elements of...
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ACEs Prevention: What's measurable and meaningful progress?
I am often asked, “What are the benefits of ACEs prevention work being data-driven, cross-sector and systemic?” I also hear, “Isn’t raising awareness of ACEs enough?” These are important questions. From our work in child welfare we know that many parents struggle to gain access to behavioral health care, safe shelter and living wage jobs. Imagine twenty-year-old single parent Deirdre with her three-year-old son Ethan. She grew up experiencing emotional trauma and faces huge challenges. She...
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Adverse Childhood Experiences Response Team in Manchester, NH, helps children grapple with trauma, violence, addicted parents
An often-overlooked aspect of the opioid epidemic that has exploded across the U.S. in recent years is how often the abuse of heroin or prescription opiates is accompanied by domestic violence. This is tragic enough for the adults involved, but it’s a ticking time bomb for children who are exposed to these adversities, raising their risk for future drug use and multiple health and mental health conditions. Here’s how one community is trying to address the problem.
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How a natural disaster led one town to do something about its ACEs, past and future
Tracy Franke, principal of Darrington Elementary School, a K-8 school with 300 students, had heard about CLEAR, and called Dr. Christopher Blodgett, who runs the program, to arrange a visit from Turner. “We were hurting,” says Franke. “Our students and staff needed some tools to get through the trauma.”
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It started in her garage. Now, a Puyallup woman helps clothe almost 1,500 foster kids a year (The News Tribune)
It all started in Erika Thompson’s garage. Thompson, who has been a foster parent for a decade, remembers it well. Not long before, she welcomed the first of what would become many foster children into her home. Like many foster kids, the child arrived on Thompson’s doorstep in crisis and with almost nothing. The child was from King County, so Thompson was able to turn to a Seattle-based nonprofit that provides support and services for foster kids and their caregivers, including new and...
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Jubilee Leadership Academy: Using ACEs Science to Transform School Culture
Students at JLA are reminded that change starts with themselves In 2004, after nearly a decade as program director at Jubilee Leadership Academy (JLA), a Christian alternative boarding school for troubled boys ages 13-18 in Prescott, WA, Rick Griffin decided to take a job in Phoenix, AZ, to work with adults with developmental disabilities. There, he began to see similarities between the issues they were having and what he saw in the kids at JLA. “There was a cognitive reason these adults I...
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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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Self-Healing Communities: A Transformational Process Model for Improving Intergenerational Health
Self-Healing Communities: A Transformational Process Model for Improving Intergenerational Health Laura Porter, Kimberly Martin, PhD, and Robert Anda, MD, MS Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, June 2016 http://www.rwjf.org/en/library/research/2016/06/self-healing-communities.html
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New Study Shows Communities Can Reduce the Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences [Mathematic Policy Research]
[ Ed. note: Following is a media release published yesterday by Mathematica Policy Research. This follows on the heals of the report, "Self-Healing Communities" that Laura Porter, Dr. Robert Anda and WHO wrote for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Both reports and executive summaries are attached to this blog post. Both reports are significant, because they show that community ACEs initiatives -- with "modest investments and limited staff" -- are solving some of our most intractable...
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NJ medical school program requires all first-year students to learn about ACEs science
In 2015, Dr. Beth Pletcher, a pediatrician and associate professor specializing in genetics, was at the annual conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Washington D.C. when she heard two speakers that forever changed her work with medical students. Dr. Beth Pletcher “I went to two talks on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that were so mind-boggling to me that I decided on my drive back to New Jersey that I had to do something about it,”says Pletcher, director of the Division...
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Nonprofit makes art accessible to public school kids in Pierce County [K5 NEWS]
Peninsula Hands on Art brings art instruction to public elementary schools in the greater Gig Harbor area. GIG HARBOR, Wash. — Fifteen years ago Marla Morgan was a mom who wanted her own kids to have more art in school. Today, she leads Peninsula Hands On Art , a nonprofit that provides art instruction to more than 4,000 students in Pierce County each year. Reaching every elementary student in the Peninsula School District, it is the program's foundational belief that students across all...
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Parent Handouts: Understanding ACEs, Parenting to Prevent & Heal ACEs (English)
Here are links for downloading these two parent handouts. Understanding ACEs To download pdf go here The full pdf URL address is: https://www.acesconnection.com/fileSendAction/fcType/5/fcOid/480246307010819276/fodoid/480246307010819275/UnderstandACEs-Flyer-Linked.pdf The shorter bitly URL (as requested) is: bit.ly /UnderstandingACEshandout Parenting to Prevent & Heal ACEs To download pdf go here: The full pdf URL address is:...
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Press Release: Washington Partnership Bolsters Parental Resilience, Documented in National Film
OLYMPIA, WA – The United States Children's Bureau (CB) has released Building Community, Building Hope , the inaugural film in a planned series aimed at documenting what's working across the country to help prevent child maltreatment and promote child well-being. In Washington, the Department of Corrections and the Department of Early Learning (DEL) joined together in a special partnership featured on the film, which focuses on innovative programs working to engage parents transitioning from...
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Program gives Spokane schools resources to help students rise above adversity
By Jim Allen , Thu., Oct. 24, 2019 Think of it as a well-school checkup. On Tuesday morning at Bemiss Elementary School, educators and health professionals spoke enthusiastically about something called Resilience in School Environments, or RISE. A collaboration between Kaiser Permanente and the Spokane and West Valley school districts, the RISE program is expected to lift up teachers and administrators and give them tools to cope with all the challenges of the modern student. The challenges...
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Reflection on the Challenges of the Coronavirus Pandemic
Join us in reflecting on the pandemic challenges shared by our ACEs Connection community members so far
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Resource List - Hope, Happiness and Well-Being
This ACEs-related internet resource list includes links to information about hope, happiness and well-being, positive psychology, character strengths, and grit and self-control.
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Resource List - Hope, Happiness and Well-Being
Ideas and resources for individuals, organizations, and communities moving along a hope-informed pathway 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. Hope...
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Resource List - Primary Care
This list of ACEs-related internet resources is intended for primary care practices and people seeking to engage them in using an ACEs lens and trauma informed approaches. it includes links to introductions to ACEs, self-care, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy statements and resources and other information about trauma-informed approaches. Self-Care Protecting Physician Wellness: Working with Children Affected by Traumatic Events , Part of the Trauma Toolbox for Primary Care,...
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Arc of King County: Support for King County's developmental disabilities community
The Arc of King County Advocacy Team April 2020, COVID-19 and mental health - A newsletter to support King County's developmental disabilities community Have stress? Resources to support mental health Parenting in stressful times - Facebook Live Mental health referrals for youth Disability resources for COVID-19 DD Virtual Town Hall, on tape Need 0-3 supports? Dear King County Parent and Family Coalition members and friends, Staying connected is so important during this time - simply seeing...
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Artists in the ACE and Resilience Movement: Creative Avenues to Change
They began with a song and ended with a poem. In-between, there were photographs and giant graphic renderings, movement exercises and a “human pulse” formed when 90 people stood in a circle and squeezed each other’s hands. At a June summit in Whatcom County, Washington, titled “Our Resilient Community: A Community Conversation on Resilience and Equity,” the arts played a starring role. Kristi Slette, executive director of the Whatcom Family and Community Network, one of two Washington sites...
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Authors, mothers and teachers: Meet the speakers for Ignite Education Lab 2019 [Seattle Times]
We’re just a little over two weeks away from Ignite Education Lab , our fourth annual storytelling event — and we want you to meet our speakers. .... Kari O’Driscoll The Power of Perspective Kari is a native of the Pacific Northwest, the mother of two teenage daughters and a huge fan of teenagers in general. She founded The SELF Project to promote mindfulness, self-awareness and critical thinking in teens, and to strengthen parent-teen relationships. She has worked in mental health and...
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Building Resiliency 1 Workshop - Strategies to Engage Students Exposed to Trauma
School's Out Washington is presenting Sound Discipline's Building Resiliency Workshop on June 5th. Price: $59.00 Monday, June 5th 9:30am - 12:30pm Location: 2100 Building, Community B 2100 24th Ave S, Seattle Register at this link - https://www.schoolsoutwashington.org/products/building-resiliency-working-with-students-exposed-to-stress-and-trauma-seattle-jun-5 Participants will learn the impact of trauma and insecure attachment on developing brains, tools for building children’s resiliency...
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Building Resiliency Workshops Mar 18 & May 6
Sound Discipline offers a Building Resiliency series for educators, parents and anyone who works with youth. Our next workshop is March 18 - Building Resiliency 1: Strategies to Engage Youth Exposed to Trauma. Details and registration here. Building Resiliency 2: Firmness Tools is next offered May 6. Details and registration here. You can take these workshops in any order. We appreciate your referrals! Refer your colleagues and friends - we do a drawing each month for a Community Building...
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Community Leaders Tell Their ACEs Success Stories at 2016 ACEs Conference in California
(l to r) Teri Barila, director of the Children's Resilience Initiative; Dr. Ariane Marie-Mitchell, assistant professor in Loma Linda University Preventive Medicine and Pediatric Depts. (Photo: Jennifer Hossler) _________________________________ Sauntering on stage to the beat of Everyday People by Sly and the Family Stone, four “heroes” of the ACEs movement took their seats for a panel on trauma-informed and resilience-building communities on October 21, the last day of the 2016 Adverse...
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Durbin, Capito, colleagues introduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation to address childhood trauma [Office of Senator Durbin of IL]
The following is a press release issued by the office of U.S. Senator Durbin (D-IL) on Monday, June 10, announcing the introduction of bipartisan bicameral legislation that builds on last year’s opioid legislation SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act and recommendations from a recent GAO report. A link to the bill and other information will be provided as soon as possible. In the meantime, an earlier draft of the bill and a section by section are attached to this post. For Immediate...
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Early-childhood development offers a brighter future to entire nations [The Seattle Times]
By Steve Davis and Peter Laugharn, July 29, 2019 The Seattle Times The World Health Organization just unveiled an initiative that could improve millions of children’s lives and boost the global economy by trillions of dollars. The initiative, known as the Nurturing Care Framework for Early Childhood Development , [ PDF attached ] seeks to change how we raise infants and toddlers. Children’s experiences during their first three years of life heavily influence their well-being as adults,...
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Electronic Home Monitoring [CascadiaWeekly.com]
When considering reforms to our local criminal justice system, three questions must be answered: are we reducing victimization, do we save taxpayer costs to systems and are we transforming or helping to stabilize the lives of people who enter the system? When it comes to Bellingham’s Electronic Home Monitoring program, we are doing all three. The program, now halfway into its second year, is part of our response to jail booking and housing restrictions imposed by the Sheriff. Starting over a...
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Essentials for Childhood Washington State Fact Sheet, March 2017
Attached below is an updated Fact Sheet for Essential for Childhood in Washington State.
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RSVP now for two lunchtime webinars! April 14th & April 28th!
Washington State Essentials for Childhood is launching a series of lunchtime webinar series. Series three and four webinars are: 3 Guiding Truths for Building Regulation and Resilience in Children with Significant Trauma Related Needs Time and Date: April 14, 2020; 12:00 – 1:00pm Presented by: Tiffany Sudela-Junker Mother by adoption, Tiffany Sudela-Junker shares stories from her own personal and parenting transformation along with the science & insight that led her to uncover Three...
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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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Sequim Mayor and City Council Proclamation of October as Resiliency Month
PROCLAMATION WHEREAS, there is compelling scientific evidence of a correlation between negative childhood experiences known as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) or “toxic stress”, and WHEREAS, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) include such experiences as physical, sexual, or verbal abuse, physical and emotional neglect, witnessing domestic violence, losing a parent to separation or divorce or having a family member who is: experiencing mental health issues, struggling with substance...
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Specialized Foster Homes Needed for Commercially Sexually Exploited Children in King County
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Become a foster parent! King County is starting a new and innovative program—the Puget Sound CSEC Foster Care Pilot Program—to serve these youth! CAREGIVERS WILL RECEIVE THE FOLLOWING TRAINING AND SUPPORT: Extensive training and support—both upfront and ongoing Access to a CSEC social work expert for consultation services In home support services and respite care Ongoing community building/recreational activities for families and children INTERESTED IN LEARNING...
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Substance-abuse doc says: Stop chasing the drug! Focus on ACEs.
He says: Addiction shouldn’t be called “addiction”. It should be called “ritualized compulsive comfort-seeking”. He says: Ritualized compulsive comfort-seeking (what traditionalists call addiction) is a normal response to the adversity experienced in childhood, just like bleeding is a normal response to being stabbed. He says: The solution to changing the illegal or unhealthy ritualized compulsive comfort-seeking behavior of opioid addiction is to address a person’s adverse childhood...
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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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The Center for Youth Wellness Launches Childhood Adversity Screening Program with Leading North Carolina Health Systems [PR Newswire]
Charlotte pilot program with Atrium Health and Novant Health supports state's goal to address social, economic and environmental health to improve child and family health outcomes The Center for Youth Wellness (CYW) announced it is partnering with two leading U.S. health systems in the Southeast to launch a screening program on childhood adversity. CYW's National Pediatric Practice Community (NPPC) has done on-site training at the headquarters of Atrium Health and Novant Health in Charlotte,...
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The Rise of the Trauma-Informed Mothers
The next generation is less likely to wear predisposed shackles of trauma because as trauma-informed parents we are re-wiring the traumatically stressed DNA that was passed down to us.
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Trauma and ACEs missing in response to opioid crisis, says national organization
A new policy brief (attached) issued this week by the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) forcefully develops the case for trauma-informed approaches to address the opioid crisis—to prevent and treat addiction—based on strong evidence that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are at the root of the crisis. CTIPP is a national organization that advocates for trauma-informed prevention and treatment programs at the federal, state and local levels. Successful strategies to...
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Trauma & Resiliency Summit in the Columbia River Gorge
Hello all! The Columbia River Gorge is hosting a Trauma & Resiliency Summit on October 20th & 21st, 2016 in The Dalles, OR. Registration is made free to attendees through MARC Grant funding. If you are in the area please join us! And please note that registration is only available prior to the event as we have a limited amount of space. Claire
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Using State Administrative Data to Identify Social Complexity Risk Factors for Children [annfammed.org]
Background Identifying children with adverse childhood experiences is challenging but critically important, because early intervention has the potential to improve health across the lifespan. This study tests the feasibility of using an integrated state agency administrative database to identify childrens' social complexity risk factors and examine their relationship to emergency department usage. What This Study Found State administrative data can be used to identify social risk factors for...
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Video series shows how San Diego Unified is creating trauma-informed schools
"We're committed to lifting up the work around healing, belonging and inclusion," said Joey Bravo, program associate at The California Endowment (TCE). Joey and his colleagues with TCE's Center for Healthy Communities supported the creation of a series of videos that capture the groundbreaking efforts of the San Diego Unified School District's campaign to create trauma-informed schools. In this series of videos, SDUSD's transformation of their discipline policies...
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VYFS aims to create ‘trauma informed community’ [vashonbeachcomber.com]
With a grant from King County’s Best Starts for Kids, Vashon Youth & Family Services plans to help Vashon become a “trauma informed community” in an effort to improve the overall health and resilience of islanders. “With this program, we see a unique opportunity to create a culture shift,” Roderick McClain, VYFS’ grantwriter, said. “The ultimate goal is for individuals and organizations to be better equipped and organized to deal with those experiencing the effects of trauma.” The roots...
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WA Strengthening Families May June Newsletter 2019
Thank you to everyone who participated in April’s Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) month – from those who helped plant pinwheels at the capitol or at their home or work, to those who helped share our social media messages – it was a great month! Here are some highlights from this year’s events and displays. We started the month with our annual Pinwheel Planting at the Capitol Campus - helped once again by bikers from Bikers Against Child Abuse and the Junior League of Olympia, along with staff...
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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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When a child has more than a bad day
By Justyna Tomtas Aug 5, 2019 The Tribune Conference offers strategies for people to help children who have experienced trauma When a child throws a tantrum, it’s easy to chalk it up to having a bad day. But the underlying cause may be much more, according to Ginny Foote, president of the LC Valley Resilience Coalition . Trauma kids encounter through what are called adverse childhood experiences, or ACES, can affect how they behave for years to come. “The science shows that when a person has...
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Whole Child Assessment Found to Effectively Screen Children for Adverse Childhood Experiences [llu.edu]
By Briana Pastorino, Loma Linda University, August 22, 2019 New research demonstrates that using the Whole Child Assessment (WCA), which was developed at Loma Linda University Health, improves identification of child-adverse childhood experiences (Child-ACEs) during a routine well-child doctor visit versus not using a screening tool. Ariane Marie-Mitchell, MD, PhD, MPH , lead author of the study and a preventive medicine physician at Loma Linda University Health, said ACEs are a growing...
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Whole People Series & Study Guide (www.pbs.org)
There's a fantastic five-part series, Whole People , done by PBS, " spotlighting the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) through personal and community stories. It explores the long-term costs to personal well-being and our society. While much work needs to be done, there are many innovative developments to prevent and treat ACES. We all play a role in becoming a whole people." It's amazing. The five topics covered are as follows: Childhood Trauma Healing Communities A New...
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Wisconsin state agencies end year one of trauma-informed learning community; goal is to be first trauma-informed state
Here in California, many people think that it’s only liberal Democrats who have a corner on championing the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and putting it into practice. That might be because people who use ACEs science don’t expel or suspend students, even if they’re throwing chairs and hurling expletives at the teacher. They ask "What happened to you?" rather than "What's wrong with you?" as a frame when they create juvenile detention centers where kids don’t fight, reduce...
Ask the Community
Building Community Resilience Infographic
Is anyone familiar with any counties in WA state that have filled in the BCR Infographic? Attached here for reference. Would be interested in filling it in for Tacoma-Pierce County area!