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COOPERATION FUN BUILDS CHARACTER April 17, 2019| by Janai Mestrovich, M.S. Aka Grandma Boom A burst of sound from one foot popping a plastic packing bubble fills a gymnasium with a loud pop. Before cooperating and popping the packing bubbles together we have looked at the Cooperation poster that shows everyone focusing on the same thing. There is a feeling of equality that enhances the camaraderie of cooperation because we all know it is going to be a really fun experience working together.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to give every newborn in the state the chance to be cared for by a parent or close family member for the first six months of life. Newsom moved one step closer to that goal last week, with a legislative proposal to expand paid family leave from six to eight weeks beginning in July 2020, and to extend it to six months per child by 2021-22. The proposal is part of Newsom’s budget package, to be presented to the state Legislature in May. Paid family leave,...

Change is not easy and it takes time. It can be especially challenging when we’re working to change policies and systems that have been in place for decades. But we know change is necessary because many people in America still face discrimination, live in poverty, and do not have the basics they need to be healthy. We also know that some places are making progress to replace policies that are driving inequities with new policies that can help close health gaps. Places like Newark, N.J.,...

Marcus Alston thought he was fiddling with a bottle of his friend’s perfume when he unleashed pepper spray on the floor of his high school Spanish class. It didn’t seem serious to Alston, now a junior at Manhattan’s Pace High School, and he admitted responsibility. But officials said in a letter that Alston “was in possession of a dangerous chemical,” classified as a weapon in the discipline code. The incident last school year resulted in a month-long suspension in one of the city’s 34...

Here’s a compelling interview with David Brooks, op-ed columnist for The New York Times, introducing his latest book, The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life . In the interview Brooks discusses his nonprofit, Weave: The Social Fabric Project , “a community of people who are helping each other answer this question: What can I do today and tomorrow to replace loneliness, division and distrust with relationship, community and purpose?” On the Weave website Brooks says, "We seek to learn...

Charles County Department of Social Services (CCDSS) and community partners are seeking an evidence-informed, structured training series to develop a trauma informed child welfare model of service provision. The selected trauma informed series will give public agency staff and local community partners a mutual understanding of trauma and how to meet the needs of our clientele in a more collaborative and comprehensive way. This series will also result in the development of policies and...

"People who feel called to their careers, according to these researchers, have a passion for the work, a sense of obligation or moral duty to do it, and the need to make a positive social difference. This attitude makes for incredibly valuable employees—but their passion for their work also means that they are easy to take advantage of. " "Between 40-50% of new teachers will leave the teaching profession by their fifth year of service. Teachers who leave the profession cite many different...

In my opinion we as ACEs/trauma educators must be very mindful that whether we talk about ACEs in front of a large group of people or one on one, it’s not just information. We are giving people an experience, an experience that may rock them to their core especially if they have never heard the information before.

"Many Westerners, when they come to dharma practice, come looking for psychological healing—but this is not what meditation was designed to do. As meditation has become mainstream, it has been marketed as a way to address physical and emotional ailments as well as a way to improve performance at work, reduce stress, and rewire the brain. I’ve been a psychotherapist for nearly twenty-five years, working with meditators and non-meditators alike; I have also taught meditation in the Theravada...

On April 23rd, 2019 from 12:00pm-1:30pm PST the National Pediatric Practice Community on ACEs (NPPC) , an initiative of the Center for Youth Wellness, will be hosting a webinar to support efforts to screen all children for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and additional adversities. This webinar will summarize the findings of a state advisory group assigned to review tools and protocols for screening children for trauma, and provide an introduction to two tools the advisory group...

"Although people believe they like to have lots of choices, in fact, having too many choices can be discouraging. Instead of making people feel more satisfied, a wide range of options can paralyze them. Studies show that when faced with two dozen varieties of jam in a grocery store, for example, or lots of investment options for their pension plan, people often choose arbitrarily or walk away without making any choice at all, rather than labor to make a reasoned choice." ~The Happiness...

While Mindfulness is a powerful way to foster calm and awareness, it can also trigger trauma. Here's what I learned through my meditation practice.