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By Kirby L. Wycoff and Meredith Matone, Journal of Adolescent Health, August 2019 In a global political climate that is characterized by increased use of both polarizing rhetoric and policy proposals across the political spectrum, there has been escalating concern about a deprioritization of women's health care and reproductive rights. Current social and political events have elevated the need for focused attention on the well-being of vulnerable adolescents. Recent policies that restrict...

By Elissa S. Lee, Center for Health Journalism, July 19, 2019. Joy Dewing had a healthy pregnancy. But during labor, complications abruptly arose. Machines started going off as nurses rushed into the room, moving her body through multiple positions. One nurse held an oxygen mask to her face. “She was saying, ‘Breathe, honey, breathe for the baby,’” Dewing recalled. “And I was like, what is going on?” Then Dewing saw the doula staring at the fetal heart rate monitor with a look of horror. The...

By Derrick Bryson Taylor, The New York Times, July 24, 2019, Depression and anxiety. The state of the country. Climate change. Mass shootings. Today’s students are grappling with a variety of issues beyond the classroom. To that end, lawmakers in two states have recently recognized the importance of the mental health of their students by allowing them to take sick days just for that. The measures “empower” children to take care of their mental health, one expert said. On July 1, a law in...

By Elise Gould, Marcy Whitebook, Zane Mokhiber, and Lea J.E. Austin, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, July 23, 2019. What this report finds: California’s child early care and education (ECE) system is underfunded, and California policymakers have not been willing to acknowledge the true cost of creating a comprehensive ECE system. Proposals for ECE reform have focused primarily on improving access and affordability for families but have ignored the elephant in the room: Early...

By Sophie Kasakove, Pacific Standard, July 23 2019. In December of 2018, Miami passed an ordinance—the first of its kind in the city—mandating the inclusion of affordable housing in new developments in certain neighborhoods. The city claims the highest share of rent-burdened residents in the country, and the inclusionary zoning ordinance was intended to address the city's severe shortage of affordable housing. But the city was quickly stopped in its tracks: At the end of June, Florida's...

Residents hold up "Divest" signs Tuesday before the public comment portion of a Board of Sonoma County Supervisors meeting. Residents urged supervisors to divest from U.S.-Mexico border detention facility-connected companies. (Tyler Silvy/The Press Democrat)

ACEs, Adversity's Impact 'Chaos' in the home linked to poor asthma control in children Program offers hundreds of young men, boys safe space to heal from ACEs New documentary focuses on trauma faced by first responders Chicago's gun violence deeply rooted in trauma and toxic stress House panel takes up treatment of childhood trauma Why trauma survivors can't just 'let it go' Three adverse childhood experiences that linger long into adulthood Infographic: What Can We Do About Toxic Stress?

By Kelley Czajka, Pacific Standard, July 18, 2019. The United States House of Representatives voted Thursday to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, higher than any current state minimum wage and more than double the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The bill is likely to face challenges in the Republican-controlled Senate. The federal minimum wage was last raised in 2009, and its value has been decreasing with inflation over the last 10 years. A yearly salary on...

By Katja Ridderbusch, Kaiser Health News, July 22, 2019. CHEROKEE, N.C. — Light pours through large windows and glass ceilings of the Cherokee Indian Hospital onto a fireplace, a waterfall and murals. Rattlesnake Mountain, which the Cherokee elders say holds ancient healing powers, is visible from most angles. The hospital’s motto — “Ni hi tsa tse li” or “It belongs to you” — is written in Cherokee syllabary on the wall at the main entrance. “It doesn’t look like a hospital, and it doesn’t...

By Alyson Klein, Education Week, July 24, 2019. We've all seen the hype: Advances in technology, including increased automation, are likely to reshape the workforce over the next two decades. So how should K-12 schools be responding to that? The answer depends, in part, on the race of the person you're asking, according to a report published this week by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington-based organization that aims to improve the socioeconomic status and...

By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, July 22, 2019 The University of California opened its doors to the largest and most diverse class of Californians ever for the fall semester of 2019, according to preliminary data released Monday. The system’s nine undergraduate campuses offered seats to 71,655 California freshmen, nearly 600 more students than last year. Overall, UC admitted 108,178 freshmen among 176,695 freshman applicants. It also admitted 28,752 transfer students from a pool of...

AVAIYA University is hosting a free online class, Healing From Childhood Trauma, July 29 - August 6, that features 18 physicians, therapists, psychologists & more who share life-changing strategies to heal from childhood trauma. Featured in the course are Dr. Dan Siegel on "Trauma & Mindfulness", Dr. Jamie Marich on "Healing the Wounds of Childhood Trauma", and Ann Kelley and Sue Marriott on "U nderstanding Unresolved Attachment to Heal From Loss & Trauma." I'm doing a session on...