December 2020

By Vanessa Delgado, Cal Matters, December 17, 2020 When the stay-at-home order went into effect, schoolteacher Andrea Rivera scrambled to transition her 3 rd grade class material into virtual format. Not only was online learning affecting her students but as an older sibling, it was affecting her 14-year-old sister and 20-year-old brother. Andrea helped her younger siblings by creating email and Zoom accounts, sharing her laptop so they could review weekly lectures, walking them through...

By Somini Sengupta, The New York Times, December 2020 The fires sweeping across millions of acres in California aren’t just incinerating trees and houses. They’re also filling the lungs of California’s children with smoke, with potentially grave effects over the course of their lives. The effects are not evenly felt. While California as a whole has seen a steady uptick in smoke days in recent years, counties in the state’s Central Valley, which is already cursed with some of the most...

Childhood trauma impacts millions of Americans, and its consequences can be devastating. Those experiencing high levels of trauma can see dramatically lower life expectancies, and the CDC estimates it accounts for billions of dollars in healthcare costs and lost productivity. Special correspondent Cat Wise reports as part of our series, “Invisible Scars: America’s Childhood Trauma Crisis." Nadine Burke Harris: We're seeing increased rates of domestic violence, increased rates of substance...

By EdSource Staff, Edsource, December 18, 2020 Even in the most frustrating, hopeless, boring, grief-filled days of the pandemic, California families found slivers of joy. In Los Banos, the Ruiz and Gutierrez family played indoor badminton and learned American Sign Language together. In the Lucerne Valley, 8-year-old Colton Reichow careened over the desert hills on his dirt bike and learned how to butcher a cow at his grandfather’s farm. In Los Angeles, Shari Abercrombie found a way to make...

By Center for Law and Social Policy, December 2020 Youth and maternal mental health are critical targets for systems and policy change. Between 2018 and 2020, the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) engaged state and local leaders in technical assistance initiatives targeting mental health systems and policy change in several jurisdictions. Focused on youth and mothers, these two initiatives were: Policies Advancing Transformation and Healing (PATH) , addressing young people ages 16-25;...

By Vanessa Rancano, KQED, December 15, 2020 UC Irvine and the state prison system have reached a deal to create the first University of California bachelor’s degree program behind bars. Since California opened the door for community colleges to teach in prisons in 2014, some 2,000 incarcerated men and women across the state have earned associate degrees, said Brant Choate, director of rehabilitative programs for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. But opportunities...

By Larry Gordon, EdSource, December 17, 2020 Right out of high school and not sure where the advising office is, let alone how to register for classes, freshmen need special care at California’s big public universities. Without it, they are at higher risk of not making it back for a second year. That’s why about a quarter of the 23 campuses in the California State University system recently overhauled their academic advising to first-year students. [ Please click here to read more .]

A Trauma-Informed Approach: Three Myths Busted 1pm on January 12 Amidst all of the trauma in the world, the time for a paradigm shift is now. Join Origins Training & Consulting for an overview of what a trauma-informed approach is (and what it isn’t!) and how you can apply these concepts in your setting. Whether you have just learned about ACEs, toxic stress, and the impact of trauma or have been using this approach for years, this one-hour interactive session will give you information...

This short and practical paper explains how relationships are vital to health, and what you can do as a health provider to help children and families be healthy in the face of increasing stress and physical distancing. The fear and social isolation associated with COVID-19 are worsening existing chronic stressors, as well as creating new ones for families who are experiencing new kinds of adversity. People are feeling isolated and alone and have less emotional support than they did prior to...

By Mary Severance, Public Policy Institute of California, December 17, 2020 Millions of Californians have lost work and income during the COVID-19 crisis, with low-income families, communities of color, and women bearing the brunt. The virus and its economic fallout are likely to exacerbate longstanding income inequality in California. Can policymakers pave the way for an equitable recovery? At a virtual event last Tuesday, Sarah Bohn , vice president of research at PPIC, outlined a new...

It’s an enormous understatement to say that healthcare workers today are suffering. Every day, you hear interviews with nurses, physicians, social workers, and others in healthcare saying they’re pushed to the breaking point and beyond. But, by using skills taught in the Community Resiliency Mode l (CRM), even people under severe stress can weather the onslaught, do their work, and get along with colleagues. CRM is an evidence-based training program that’s being used by millions of people in...

In this episode of Delusional Optimism, Dr. B talks about stress. She explains the differences between healthy and toxic stress and the neuroscience behind it. Dr. B also shares how moods play a role in temperament and provides tips on how to stay on the sunny side. Listen to why relationships with people you trust are a key to resilience. “Breath is a cleanser and a disperser of energy and anxiety and trauma, so we need to embrace it and use it to our advantage.” - Dr. B Wear a mask and...