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At a March 6 hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) addressed the impact of family separation on the mental and physical health of children at the border. Her questions to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen focused on the impact of toxic stress caused by family separation on short and long-term health outcomes for children. Sec. Nielsen was unfamiliar with the concept of “toxic stress.” Here’s a short description of the 6-minute exchange...

Of the 16 million American adults who live with depression, as many as one-quarter gain little or no benefit from available treatments, whether drugs or talk therapy. They represent perhaps the greatest unmet need in psychiatry. On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved a prescription treatment intended to help them, a fast-acting drug derived from an old and widely used anesthetic, ketamine. The move heralds a shift from the Prozac era of antidepressant drugs. The newly approved...

Princeton, N.J. —The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) today announced the 12 communities chosen as finalists for the RWJF Culture of Health Prize. The Prize recognizes communities that are bringing partners together around a shared commitment to health, opportunity, and equity. Selected from nearly 200 applicant communities, the following 12 finalist communities are one step closer to the national Prize: Broward County, Fla. Carrollton, Ga. Del Norte County & Tribal Lands, Calif.

If they had known, they never would have bought the house on Bayou Glen Road. Sure, it was a beautiful lot, tucked in a bend of the creek, backyard woodsy and wild, the neighbors friendly and the street quiet. A little piece of nature just 20 minutes from downtown Houston. It was exactly what John and Heather Papadopoulos — recently married, hoping to start a family — were looking for in 2007. They didn't think much about the creek that ran along their yard, aside from appreciating the birds...

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has made a call for universal, high-quality child care a central theme in her campaign to win the Democratic presidential nomination. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., introduced legislation this week that proposes cost-sharing between the federal government and states to provide affordable, high-quality child care up to age 13. The idea of good, affordable child care and preschool appeals to many parents of young children, but how...

C ornel West said we have a history that is “inseparable from though not reducible to victimization.” This is just as essential as it is difficult to keep in mind when white high school dropouts own more wealth than black and Latino college graduates . Black children in America today are constantly being told that they do not belong and they are not enough. The past several years have forced me to reflect on what it means to be not only a black man in this country but a black educator for...

In recent months, there has been a surge of legislative actions for children’s health advocates. New laws have been passed that provide funding for programs and research initiatives essential for improving the health and well-being of children and families across the country. Here, NICHQ provides an update on the legislation, as well as a brief analysis of the impact on children’s health. We share this update to help our readers stay informed about policies that influence children’s health...

Homelessness in early childhood is a known risk factor for children’s health and well-being. Because high-quality early care and education (ECE) programs can buffer some of the negative effects of homelessness on a child’s development , federal ECE programs (such as child care subsidy, Head Start, and early intervention) have begun to prioritize these children for care. Unfortunately, ECE providers in the field often have difficulty identifying families eligible for child care slots that are...

At 86, Bob Bastion would be forgiven for sleeping in on the recent subzero mornings in Alcona County, Michigan, a one-stoplight former timber community of around 10,000 in the northeast part of the state's lower peninsula. Instead, the retired dairy truck driver often wakes up at 3 a.m., climbs five feet into the seat of a six-wheel Champion road grader and drives the roads of Lost Lake Woods Club, the private gated community and resort where he lives with his wife, clearing snow so cars can...

Welcome to a new feature on the Relentless School Nurse website: "What Happened at School Today?" The idea for this view from different health offices is the result of discussions with school nurses across the country who wanted to share their practice settings. Last year, Abby Pelletier and I shared pictures taken from our perspective health offices. I am in an urban NJ school and she is in rural NH, so the differences were quite distinct. "What Happened at School Today?" will feature...

7 months ago, i stopped binge eating and increased my own work therapudically and within my mindfulness practice. I am having a challenging time understanding that for those of us who come from a history of trauma and violence, that the eating disorders community here at home is reluctant to speak about this going forward for me. As a professional and someone who has never been formally diagnosed with disordered eating and have been working to develop a consistent regulated way of being,...

Join me in the Capitol Building of Juneau, Alaska, or via webcast, for a presentation to legislators and legislative staff. The presentation will discuss the impact of ACEs on our communities, workplaces and state. ACEs are a significant contributor to all the issues we struggle with, and cost Alaska an estimated $866 million per year. Learn examples of trauma-informed approaches to policy-making. For those not in Juneau, the Lunch and Learn will be broadcast live and archived at...