October 2016

A Report from the 2016 California Adverse Childhood Experiences Conference For many children, middle childhood marks the entrance into the formal education system. Three speakers at the 2016 California Adverse Childhood Experiences Conference in San Francisco, held Oct. 19-21, spoke at a breakout session on ways that schools can play a critical role in identifying and supporting children who have been exposed to adversity. The conference was hosted by the Center for Youth Wellness in San...

Summary: A new study could explain why the ‘one size fits all’ approach to treating depression has been ineffective. Source: University of Amsterdam. Depression is generally considered to be a specific and consistent disorder characterised by a fixed set of symptoms and often treated with a combination of psychotherapy and medication. However, the standard rating scales used by healthcare professionals and researchers to diagnose this disease often differ in the symptoms they list, perhaps...

California preschools are mirroring an alarming national trend, suspending or expelling children from preschools far too frequently. This is the judgment of a group of state educators, policymakers and representatives of public agencies, including the California Department of Education, who are working on a proposal that will offer solutions. The group is an unofficial committee that grew out of a project involving the Department of Defense and the WestEd Center for Child and Family Studies...

This special report from the Austin American-Statesman is worth a read for a glimpse into just how difficult it is for a police chief to change the culture of local law enforcement. On October 20, investigative reporter Tony Plohetski released audio of a private meeting that Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo held with police department commanders in August. The chief was miffed about two publicized instances of police violence. One involved police officer Bryan Richter, who was caught on film...

Hundreds of unaccompanied child asylum seekers are being taken to Britain, moved from a camp in Calais, northern France, as its closure begins . There were 387 unaccompanied minors in the French refugee camp known as “the Jungle” with links to the UK and they are arriving in England in groups of 70. Upon arrival, the children are taken to a secure unit for 72 hours, before being reunited with families already living in the UK. They are from a group of more than 1,000 children who have been...

The Linn County Juvenile Detention Center has enlisted a new breed of counselors to help young people — specifically a Leonberger, a Labrador retriever and a golden retriever. The certified therapy dogs take a trip to the detention center, 800 Walford Road in Cedar Rapids, the third Tuesday of each month to interact with the youth, ages 12 to 18, who are being housed at the facility. At the beginning of each visit, the owners introduce their dogs to two groups, tell them about the breed and...

How do race and inequality intersect with space? American mapmakers have been trying to answer this question since at least 1895, when a group of reform-minded Chicago women published the Hull-House Maps and Papers . At the height of the Gilded Age, inequality was skyrocketing. Housing and labor conditions among droves of new immigrants were dire. Putting their faith in data as catalyst for progress, the Chicago reformers meticulously surveyed the ethnicities and wages of industrial workers...

“Every one of us can play a role.” Eric Holder campaigns to reduce childhood trauma - The Washington Post window.wp_pb=window.wp_pb||{pageName:"article-local",pageId:"rt4MDj25k3mYZp",contextPath:"/pb",isAdmin:!1,layoutEngineName:"off",environment:"production",resourceToken:"201610251227EST"};var commercialNode="local"; console.time("load_immediately"); console.timeEnd("load_immediately"); wp_import.valor(!0);...

This notice is from SAMHSA's GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation. SAMHSA's GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation, operated by Policy Research Associates, Inc., is known nationally for its work regarding people with behavioral health needs involved in the criminal justice system. Each year, the GAINS Center provides its trauma-informed responses training, How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses , to the field via...

A Report from the 2016 California Adverse Childhood Experiences Conference At the 2016 California ACEs Conference, First 5 Executive Director Moira Kenney moderated a panel October 20 on Early Identification and Promising Interventions in Early Childhood (focus on ages 0-5). The conference was hosted by the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco and sponsored by the California Endowment, Kaiser-Permanente, and Genentech. Public Health Professor Christina Bethell, who also directs the...

"Attorney General Eric Holder launched a program in 2010 called Defending Childhood, and last week Holder announced the launch of “Changing Minds,” to help adults heal children exposed to trauma.

As part of its $305 million plan to "change the culture" around mental illness , NYC now has its own round-the-clock mental health hotline called NYC Well . First Lady Chirlane McCray said, "No matter where you live or how much money you make, you can reach out to NYC Well with a call, text or chat. If you are a spouse worrying that drugs or alcohol are taking over your partner’s life; a parent concerned about changes in your teenager’s behavior; so stressed that you can’t work or so sad and...