Medi-Cal has just published new policy making family therapy a covered benefit for children and adults with mental health disorders and for children who are at risk for mental health disorders. This will be especially relevant for children with ACEs. Under the guidance of the California Department of Health Care Services, the Medi-Cal fee-for-service program aims to provide health care services to about 13 million Medi-Cal beneficiaries. The Medi-Cal fee-for-service program adjudicates both...

On June 16, 2020, the California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative held a webinar entitled, “Fostering HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) during COVID-19" and heard from special guest speakers, Drs. Robert Sege and Dina Burstein from the HOPE Project at Tufts Medical Center . Drs. Sege and Burstein presented research and data supporting the benefits and importance of Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs), background on the HOPE Project, and the relevance to ACEs...

On June 11, 2020, the California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative held a webinar entitled, “California’s Budget & Legislative Landscape Impact of a Pandemic on Child Wellbeing” and heard from special guest speaker, Kelly Hardy, Senior Managing Director of Health & Research for Children Now . This interactive webinar provided an overview of the current legislative and budget situation in California, with a focus on child wellbeing. The state has quickly moved from an expected...

Families with young children are currently facing unprecedented challenges and need support now more than ever. To help parents and caregivers access much-needed resources, our friends/partners at the Early Learning Lab just released Stay Play Grow , a free app that provides a one-stop source of trusted resources curated by their team of child development experts, women, and working moms. Parents and caregivers can find tips, tools, and information across four key areas in English and...

This joint presentation is in partnership with the California Department of Education, the California Department of Social Services, California State PTA, and California Teachers Association. The purpose of this webinar is to provide education professionals with considerations for innovative ways they can help to keep children safe by recognizing and reporting signs of suspected child abuse and neglect through distance learning. This video is 45 minutes and 22 seconds in length.

From Data Resource Center on Child and Adolescent Health, June 10, 2020 The Data Resource Center (DRC), a project of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative located at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health , under a cooperative agreement with the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), is excited to announce the release of the single-year 2018 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) downloadable data sets and...

By Cailin O'Connor, 6/10/20, positiveexperience.org/blog ...The Strengthening Families framework identifies five protective factors, but of course there are far more than five possible strengths in people’s lived experiences. These strengths, and the positive experiences they facilitate, profoundly influence a child’s experience of adversity – including by making those adverse experiences less likely, by buffering a child from the negative effects of adversity, by restoring a sense of safety...

The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities will be launching a monthly e-newsletter at the end of June. You can now subscribe online . Created for policymakers, practitioners, and advocates, this e-newsletter will delve into the public health approach to child welfare transformation. We’ll feature innovative efforts being led around the country to bend the arc of policy and practice toward prevention so that all families can thrive. We encourage you to sign up and share with your...

Golden State Opportunity has released a new report, Our Fair Share: The Earned Income Tax Credit’s Crucial Role During a Recession , with original economic analysis confirming that the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a powerful economic driver. Analysis shows that in 2019 state and federal EITC refunds created or sustained 74,000 jobs in California, which is equivalent to nearly 25% of the total jobs created in California that year. Over the four years California has invested in its own...

By Michelle Cardell, Aaron S. Kelly, and Lindsay A. Thompson, JAMA Pediatrics, May 26, 2020 Parents, empower your adolescents so they can make choices that promote their healthiest self. Teens, getting older means making decisions about what matters to you most. Making healthy choices is a great place to start. Taking care of your physical, emotional, and mental health is what makes it possible for you to do all the things you want to do. Fuel Up You are in charge of what you eat and drink.

Over the past few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused everyone to grapple with uncertainty and manage new stressors at home, at work, and in our communities. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll indicated that 45% of Americans report that the current crisis is harming their mental health. We are facing unprecedented disruption in our daily lives and navigating a world of school and business closures, job losses, social distancing, food access and housing constraints, and other types...

The California Department of Social Services is supporting Parents Anonymous in the launch of the new California Parent and Youth Helpline, which provides support and resource referrals to parent and youth during the current COVID-19 pandemic. We are requesting your assistance in promoting the helpline by sharing the below information with your contacts and placing the logo on relevant websites: The California Parent and Youth Helpline provides support and resource referrals to parent and...