March 2017

"Don't you worry an employer will see the personal stuff you have shared online?" ****** When I began writing publicly about my life and experiences with depression, and as a parenting with an ACE score of 9, my career in the mental health field was already on hold. At the time, I was a stay at home mom who needed an outlet. Now being back in the field, I sometimes get asked the question above. Truth is, yes, I do worry. But not for the reasons you may think. It has more to do with my feet,...

A new report finds that the Republican bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act would reduce the federal deficit by $337 billion over a decade but would also leave 24 million more Americans uninsured during that same period. The uninsured estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office could create even greater political hurdles for the GOP bill. That legislation has already drawn opposition from major interest groups, health policy experts and even some GOP lawmakers.

Texas ranks third in the country for the highest number of homeless students in public schools, and research suggests these kids fall behind academically because they’re prone to more health problems. The study from the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness ties homelessness and health to school performance. For example, in districts with more homeless kids than average, about one-third of third graders can read proficiently. In districts with a below-average homeless rate, more...

It's a dream many city-dwellers long for: moving to a spacious house surrounded by greenery in the countryside, where they plan to raise their family. In 1996, Heather Shepherd, now 50, and her family did just that. Moving away from the congestion and noise of their north London home, they migrated to a 17th-century farmhouse that they would renovate and make their sanctuary. Their village near Shrewsbury in Shropshire had just 70 residents, according to Shepherd, whom they would get to know...

In Tim Lisante’s first year as an assistant principal at a school for youth on the prison complex Rikers Island 30 years ago, he met a student with four strikes against her. She had a learning disability, substance abuse problem, no permanent home in the city—and she was pregnant. Some might have seen a lost cause. Lisante saw a student in crisis. Three decades later, Lisante is the superintendent of New York City’s District 79, which consists of over 14,000 students who have fallen behind...

In 2014 I was on a school level team that was attempting to understand and install best practices on a school level. We noticed that there was a correlation between economically disadvantaged students, behavior, and learning disabilities. I was instantly taken by the thought that a child could be disabled due to economical hardship. The following July I heard about Toxic Stress on GPB, which started me on the first step in truly understanding parts of myself and my students. I grew up with...

In February, pollsters at the Public Religion Research Institute asked Americans about their impressions of discrimination in the United States. Two religious groups were included on the list of those who might face bias: Christians and Muslims. Depending on who was answering, the responses were wildly different. Overall, people were twice as likely to say Muslims face discrimination as they were to say the same thing about Christians. Democrats were four times more likely to see Muslim vs.

In my first semester of college, a dorm mate commented to me how “ethnic” my friends from high school were. Confused by the statement, I looked at the picture they were referencing — seeing my friends, I didn’t see what they noticed most — a Filipino American, a Japanese Dutch American, an Indian American, and me. Yet, I know that my friends on a daily basis, even in their childhood, were met by assumptions and treatment due to their race that I did not have to manage as a white American.

Alan Wurtzel met Carole Markin on Match.com in 2010. On their first date, he took her to coffee. After their second date, he walked Markin to her door, followed her inside and, she said, forced her to perform oral sex. Wurtzel later claimed the act was consensual, but in 2011 he pleaded no contest to sexual battery and was sentenced to a year in jail. His victim was disappointed in the short sentence, but she still believed a measure of justice would be served with her assailant locked...

The SAMHSA Spotlight Series highlights different approaches to building trauma-informed, resilient communities. This issue highlights Kansas City's strengths and challenges regarding addressing trauma and building resilience. [Access the report here: http://store.samhsa.gov/product/SMA17-5016]

Among youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system, researchers determined that those who were also involved with the child welfare system were as much as 11 times more likely to be placed in a group home over those with no child welfare involvement. Utilizing Los Angeles County administrative data, a study titled “Juvenile justice sentencing: Do gender and child welfare involvement matter?” and published in the Children and Youth Services Review examined linkages between...

Perhaps you read this well-reported and -written article by Julie Wootton on MagicValley.com , published by the Times-News in Twin Falls, Idaho, about how Heritage Academy, a K-8 public school in nearby Jerome, gave the 10-question ACE survey to its students. The older students took the original 10-question ACE survey, while younger students were given a modified version of the sex abuse question. The brouhaha erupted after a couple of students asked their mother to explain oral and anal...