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On behalf of California Essentials for Childhood, I am very excited to announce the release of a new Child Adversity and Resilience data topic on Kidsdata.org! This has been a collaborative effort between the CA Essentials for Childhood Initiative's Shared Data and Outcomes Work Group and the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. I represent ACEs Connection Network on Essentials and am the co-chair of the Shared Data & Outcomes Work Group so I couldn't be more thrilled about...

I waited as the elevator ascended at an achingly slow pace. Anxiety filled my body, and I could hardly breathe. When the doors finally opened, I stepped out, clutching my bag, expecting to see a creepy monochromatic clinical space filled with zombies and screaming people being held down by aggressive staff whose sole job was to control patients like caged animals. Instead, I was welcomed by a wall of bright, hand-drawn inspirational quotes and a handful of warm smiles from staff and other...

The next presidential administration should build on the momentum researchers, advocates and policymakers have created to close youth prisons, experts say. They are hopeful a new report that lays out the case for investing in community-based alternatives to incarceration will be a valuable guidepost as the transition to a new administration begins after the election. “Maybe having this teed up early on will make it a priority. They have a tremendous opportunity to be successful,” said...

Isn't that the most encouraging headline? Isn't that a wonderful photo? Too few articles about ACEs offer any hope about what can help. For so long, researchers, writers and activists have been trying to make the point and "prove" that ACEs matter, ACEs matter and oh yeah, ACEs really really do matter! There has been too little focus (and funding) on what can be done to counter the impact of ACEs, in general, as well as for parents, in particular. That's starting to change, in no small part,...

In partnership with the Defending Childhood State Policy Initiative and the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice, new guidance has been released on trauma screening in schools. Importantly, this document lays out a series of important considerations when determining whether trauma screening is indicated in each context, and how to go about collecting and utilizing the data generated from the process. Please feel free to share input.

When I met up with school psychologists Donna Christy and Robert Hull at the Starbucks in Greenbelt, MD, they sparred good-naturedly about each other’s extra-curricular activities outside the school building—he says she is a big honcho with the National Education Association (NEA) and she says he will speak to any audience, anywhere (as long as his expenses are covered) on the subject of trauma and education. Both work for the Prince George’s (P.G.) County School District in nearby...

If you're having a tough time, the United States is a pretty good place to find some understanding, a new study contends. The research found that America ranks seventh among nations in terms of empathy. More than 104,000 people from 63 countries completed an online survey of empathy, which measured compassion for others and the ability to imagine other people's point of view. Ecuador was ranked as the most empathetic country. It was followed by Saudi Arabia, Peru, Denmark, United Arab...

A man claiming to be a police officer wrote to me recently with an important question, one that’s applicable to all people who sleep: Dr. Hamblin, I’m a police officer who works a night shift. … A lot of police departments have a rotating schedule requiring officers to change from nights to days, and back to nights again. My department keeps us on the same shift indefinitely unless we ask to change. Is there any research or medical opinion about working a rotating night-day schedule versus...

Today’s college students seek campus counseling services more often than any other generation in the modern history of the United States. Most of those who report mental-health challenges cite anxiety and depression as their top concerns. In last year’s 10-year summary report , the Center for Collegiate Mental Health set out to determine whether the overall growth in enrollment at universities was responsible for the increased usage of these services by retrospectively comparing the growth...

“Though media and advocacy efforts have largely focused on the extreme and intolerable abuse cases involving Black boys,” begins Monique W. Morris in the introduction to her recently published book, “a growing number of cases involving Black girls have surfaced to reveal what many of us have known for centuries: Black girls are also directly impacted by criminalizing policies and practices that render them vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, dehumanization, and, under the worst circumstances,...

Activists concerned about disciplinary policies that force students out of school and into the justice system will gather in cities across the country this week to make their case for reform. In Boston, they plan to fan out to ask their peers about their experiences with school discipline, results they will pass on to city school administrators. In Miami, the community will gather for a Forum on Black Lives focused on local county and school board races to ensure school discipline is on the...

The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACEs), conducted by Dr. Vince Felitti of Kaizer Permanente and Dr. Robert Anda of the Center for Disease Control, was a groundbreaking study when it’s findings were released in 1998, and it confirmed what nonviolence advocates, social service and health care providers had witnessed for decades–violence is bad for your health. ACEs provided a wealth of information to illustrate how deeply our individual and community health is impacted by trauma. [For...