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When members of Maryland’s State Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (SCCAN) began in 2006 to examine what their state was doing in the realm of prevention, they discovered a gaping hole. Many participants in the 23-member Council—people working in child welfare, mental health, law enforcement and advocacy groups—knew about ACEs and about the corrosive effects of early childhood maltreatment. But they discovered, through informational interviews across different sectors and an environmental...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has just launched a three-year, four-state, $6-million project, “Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences: Data to Action (PACE-D2A)” with the potential to energize an already blossoming movement of statewide community-based initiatives to address ACEs. The CDC awards of $500,000 annually for three years, announced on August 25 , were given to the Department of Public Health in Georgia and Massachusetts, the Office of Early Childhood in...

[Editor's note: Dr. Harise Stein at Stanford University edits a web site — abuseresearch.info — that focuses on the health effects of abuse, and includes research articles on ACEs. Every month, she posts the summaries of the abstracts and links to research articles that address only ACEs. Thank you, Harise!! — Jane Stevens] Bryant DJ, Oo M, Damian AJ. The rise of adverse childhood experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychol Trauma. 2020 Aug;12(S1):S193-S194. PMID: 32551773 “At some...

By Lindsay Broyhill, Acend The Aspen Institute, September 29, 2020 Infant and parent brains and bodies undergo rapid growth and transformation during the transition to parenting, presenting a unique opportunity to positively impact two generations. In the 2015 report Two Open Windows: Infant and Parent Biologic Change , Drs. Pilyoung Kim and Sarah Watamura (also an Ascend Fellow) of the University of Denver highlighted research supporting the transition to parenting as a co-occurring...

By Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News, September 28, 2020 At a time when the suicide rate among firefighters increasingly concerns officials, fire crews and their families have a new center in a former firehouse where they can go for behavioral health treatment. United Firefighters of Los Angeles City and Los Angeles Fire Department officially opened the Center for Health & Wellness in Arleta at Old LAFD Fire Station 7 on Monday, Sept. 28, during National Suicide Prevention...

I am often asked if I know of resources to educate youth about ACEs, I am excited to share with you that our next Better Normal- Education Upended will focus on just that! Join us Thursday 10/1 as we welcome our speical guest Samantha Wettje from the 16 Strong Project . 16 Strong is dedicated to empowering resilience to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) through educational workshops, school partnerships, and community outreach. 16 Strong strives to continue conversations that help young...

By Shoshana Kordova, The New York Times, September 28, 2020 When my youngest daughter was 3, her preschool teacher called me a few months into the school year to tell me she still had no idea what my daughter’s voice sounded like. This was not hyperbole: My daughter, now 7, had not said a single word to any of the teachers or children. She didn’t sing with the other kids or even speak in their presence, although she chattered, shouted, whined and laughed freely at home — at least when no one...

Transforming Trauma Episode 024: Dismantling Anti-Semitism and the Complex Trauma of Colonialism with Dani Ishai Behan In this next Jewish “High Holiday” episode, NARM Training Director Brad Kammer welcomes author Dani Ishai Behan to Transforming Trauma to discuss the nuances of the Jewish experience in Diaspora, and specifically the challenges around years of ethnic oppression, anti-Semitism and intergenerational trauma. Dani, a writer for the Times of Israel focuses his writing on the...

Service providers and the children, youth, and families whom they serve have long faced system barriers which often present more challenges than solutions. In today’s climate, the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated many of these issues, forcing child and youth-serving providers to find unique ways to meet the needs of individuals and communities. For many reasons, the relevance and timing of the arrival of the Virginia HEALS model of service delivery could not have been more perfect.

By Ann Diamond Weinstein, Psychology Today, September 28, 2020 The experience of life during the pandemic and the impact of COVID-19 guidelines for perinatal care have changed the maternal-fetal experience of pregnancy and birth, as well as the maternal-infant experience during the postnatal period. The neuroception (1) of danger and the potential threat to one’s own life and that of loved ones has been sustained since the magnitude and lethalness of the pandemic was fully appreciated.

By Theresa Vargas, The Washington Post, September 26, 2020 A 13-year-old girl sits in her home on the Northwest side of the nation’s capital, taps on her screen to get to class — and feels relieved. Relieved that she doesn’t have to sling her backpack over her shoulder and say goodbye to her mom and little sister. Relieved that she doesn’t have to step outside and make the 2-minute walk to her middle school. Relieved that at the end of the school day, she doesn’t have to walk home alone.

By Lauren E. Wisk, Alon Peltz, and Alison A. Galbraith, JAMA Pediatrics, September 28, 2020 Key Points Question Is the Affordable Care Act (ACA) associated with a change in health care–related financial burden for families with children? Findings In this cohort study of US families with children using a difference-in-differences design, low- and middle-income families experienced a larger reduction in out-of-pocket costs after initiation of the ACA compared with higher income families who...