Blog

Great ideas can start with one Tweet! April 28, 2018, Tonja Frank , aka School Nurse T sent this tweet asking "Who wants to have a #schoolnursechat? Let's share our experiences. Who's in?" It was a tweet heard through the Twittersphere and before we knew it, the #SchoolNurseChat was born. The original pioneers with me in this adventure were Tonja, Lisa Kern , and Chris Amidon , all colleagues who connected through the magic of social media. A Twitter chat is a public Twitter conversation...

I'm excited to announce our newest ACEs Connection geographic community for my region, the Midwest & TN: Douglas County (WI) Fostering Futures . This community is the collaborative effort of community members with a mission to support and advance trauma informed principles by enhancing efforts toward community-wide competency in trauma informed practices that build individual and community resilience. The site managers are Amanda Lindquist & Tracy Henegar. Amanda Lindquist is a...

Finally, we can all agree that the following are bad: Child abuse and neglect The opioid crisis and other substance misuse Children dropping out of school Adults losing their jobs and income Parents hurting one another while their kids watch People with untreated mental health challenges raising kids Adults misusing alcohol when they should be parenting Cities without services to keep children safe from harm Schools without resources to help students with challenges Elected officials...

The Prison Policy Initiative released a report yesterday (October 30) called “ Getting Back on Course ” that explores “educational exclusion and attainment among formerly incarcerated people.” It breaks down the ways those who have been in the prison system are typically blocked from educational opportunities for the rest of their lives, which in turn adversely impacts their ability to attain employment. The report, which relies on data from the National Former Prisoner Survey , reveals that...

“Why would someone wait this long to report their story? When police stations are in place and there are laws to protect survivors, why won’t they utilise these avenues?” It makes logical sense. After all, these entities exist with the sole purpose of protecting these women. However, the questions reek of ignorance and privilege. The intricacies of sexual trauma demonstrate how the social, economic and political spots occupied by the survivor can have implications on their physical and...

Millions of families live in poverty in the United States. Associated stressors can often lead to adverse life experiences for children in those families, and negative socioemotional outcomes later in life. Family-centered programs are a well-supported way of buffering against these effects. More than two decades of peer-reviewed research suggests family -focused interventions play a role in improving outcomes over a long period of time. Now, a paper published in Child Development finally...

When I ask an audience, “Who believes we are on a path to self-extinction ?” nearly every hand goes up. It’s a sign of a growing awareness that humanity is on a path to self-imposed environmental and social collapse. For me, that awareness is a source of hope. I recently discovered an even deeper source of hope on a trip to South Korea. There I was involved in a remarkable series of international discussions on the transition to “ecological civilization.” I had the privilege of keynoting a...

For the fifth year in a row, Mental Health America (MHA) released its annual State of Mental Health Report , which ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on several mental health and access measures. This year, Minnesota came out on top overall with Nevada coming in 51st. The report also dives into addressing trauma in youth, and its long-term impact on performance and behavior in school. In developing the report, MHA looked at 15 different measures to determine the rankings.

Trauma-informed care has emerged as a core competency to improve how health care organizations deliver services to people who have experienced adverse life events. Through the Advancing Trauma-Informed Care (ATC) initiative, and with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Center for Health Care Strategies convened innovators in the field to build on existing trauma-informed efforts and share lessons nationally. The Urban Institute conducted an implementation analysis to better...

Evidence has been building in recent years that our diet, our habits or traumatic experiences can have consequences for the health of our children -- and even our grandchildren. The explanation that has gained most currency for how this occurs is so-called 'epigenetic inheritance' -- patterns of chemical 'marks' on or around our DNA that are hypothesised to be passed down the generations. But new research from the University of Cambridge suggests that this mechanism of non-genetic...

Welcome Merced County (CA) Trauma & Resilience Network to the ACEs Connection community! Their community consists of a wide-range of local representatives from various public and private organizations including businesses, faith-based organizations, school districts, local government and NGOs. Together they have a common desire to make their communities trauma-informed build resilience in their youth, families, neighborhoods and county. Their mission: Building momentum for individuals...

Please advocate vigorously for the maintenance of the Flores standards and regulations which protect immigrant children from incarceration-requiring that they be reunited with families (outside of prison) or if that is not possible, that they be placed in licensed child welfare settings. Instructions for creating your own message and how to forward your message are at the following link. Immediate followup is needed to preserve FLORES. ...