An estimated 1.7 million youth younger than age 18 have at least one parent currently in prison in the United States, and millions more have a parent currently in jail. Incarcerated parents and their children are a diverse group, and associations between parental incarceration and developmental outcomes are complicated. Research has shown that having an incarcerated parent can present individual and environmental risks for the child and increase the likelihood of negative outcomes. Because...

While overall crime in California increased slightly after 2011, San Joaquin County’s dropped 20% — and hit a decades-old low last year. The county’s jail, which had been under court-ordered monitoring because of dangerous overcrowding, now has empty beds. Participation in specialized drug courts has increased and recidivism among newly released offenders has dropped. It is unclear how much of the county’s success is the result of its new programs rather than other factors, such as hiring...

I am sitting on it. Really. Not just me, but a corps of some 5000 people around the world. We have been fostering recovery from ACEs and Trauma for over 40 years – long before the ACEs study developed the term. We have served over half a million people worldwide – but almost no one knows we are here. Like you, many of us have been angry and frustrated that it has taken decision makers and policy setters over 20 years to learn about ACEs and incorporate trauma informed care into practice and...

December 11, 2018; New York Times In the past two years, progressive district attorneys have been elected in a wide range of cities, note Emily Bazelon and Miriam Krinsky in the New York Times. But will electoral victories be enough to uproot a racialized criminal justice system, which Michelle Alexander has labeled the New Jim Crow , built up over decades? The stakes are high. The data are well known, but the physical and human costs are worth enumerating. The introduction of a new report...

NEW YORK — The price paid by inmates who are behind bars extends far beyond prison walls. A new report finds nearly half of all adult Americans have had a family member incarcerated at some point in their lives. Research from FWD.us and Cornell University shows 113 million adults in the U.S., or 45 percent, have had an immediate family member incarcerated for at least one night, and minorities are disproportionately affected. One in seven adults have had a family member locked up for more...

As a trauma psychologist and researcher, I applaud the article in "The New York Times" this morning, on how providing incarcerated mothers the opportunity to interact and play with their children during visits may reduce the trauma of separation. But, as the Senate thinks about bipartisan prison reform , I urge them to take a broader trauma-informed approach. This is necessary for effective correctional management, prisoner health and successful re-entry to our communities, particularly for...

https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1679197/2A6EFC02B0741BFF9497FF7CF19B475C A Trauma-Informed Approach for Criminal Justice-Involved Women With the increased awareness of the impact of trauma on w omen’s lives, criminal justice professionals are beginning to consider what this means in their specific settings. There is a growing evidence-base documenting the impact of child neglect and abuse (as well as other forms of trauma) on heath, mental health and behavior. While research and clinical...

Lori Lynn Adams was a mother of four living in poverty when Hurricane Floyd struck eastern North Carolina in 1999, flooding her trailer home and destroying her children’s pageant trophies and baby pictures. No stranger to money-making scams, Adams was convicted of filing a fraudulent disaster-relief claim with FEMA for a property she did not own. She also passed dozens of worthless checks to get by. Adams served two year-long prison stints for these “blue-collar white-collar crimes,” as she...

The Nickelsville Northlake tiny-house village provides shelter to Seattle's homeless residents.

Dr. Vincent Felitti studied the connection between ACEs and health. Unexpectedly, he uncovered for the courts and our community partners a path past our litigants’ “past.” By applying science to what we do every day and responding appropriately to ACEs, we have a chance to change the trajectory of each life we touch. We have an opportunity to change the world if we see it through a trauma lens.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/police-officers-learn-meditation-to-tackle-job-tension-1349636163854?v=railb& Lt. Richard Goerling the person teaching is incredible. I met him while I was training Trauma Response for the Justice System and Trauma-Informed Victim Interviewing for the Justice System in Cambridge, Mass. I have attended 2 immersion weekends in the mountains of Bend, Oregon with the LT. It changed my career, helped me get healthier, and I can honestly say saved a...

In the first two installments of this series, we addressed promising approaches for buffering the impact of racism on health—learning cognitive and emotional strategies, known as self-regulation , for coping with stress and building cultural connections that buffer the impacts of toxic stress. Both of those arenas are born out of social science research showing a connection between these elements and improved health outcomes, even in the face of significant adversity. But these individual...