Tagged With "foster care"
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How To Get Dads To Take Parental Leave? Seeing Other Dads Do It [NPR.org]
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg may have taken an extended paternity leave after the birth of his daughter, but generally, American men do not take more than a few days. Ninety-six percent of American men are back to work within two weeks of a baby's birth. "There might be some stigma attached," says Gordon Dahl, an economist at the University of California, San Diego. " 'What if I take paternity leave, will I not get the next promotion? Or will people think I'm not as connected to the...
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How Work-Life Balance Helps a Baby’s Brain [LinkedIn.com]
Most of us understand that a baby’s earliest months and years are the most critical for brain development. But did you know that a baby’s relationships with parents and caregivers actually stimulate that process? That’s right: An infant’s connections to nurturing, trusted adults help build the foundation for emotions, language, behavior, memory, physical movement – you name it. Right from the start, as parents, we need to bond with these brand-new little people, teach them how the world...
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In Spanish: Handouts for parents about ACEs, toxic stress & resilience
The Community & Family Services Division at the Spokane (WA) Regional Health District has come through again, with a Spanish version of the parent handout (in English) that we posted last year , and which has been downloaded thousands of times. The English versions came about whiledoing a story about the trauma-in formed elementary schools in Spokane, WA .I interviewedp ublic health nurse Melissa Charbonneau who said that she'd been giving an...
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Infancy and early childhood matter so much because of attachment (theconversation.com)
We are born to connect. As human beings we are relational and we need biological, emotional and psychological connection with others . Attachment is the relational dance that parents and babies share together. You can think of this when you see a baby look at their parent and they catch each other’s eyes in a wonderful gaze: the parent smiles and the baby smiles and then the parent kisses and the baby coos. Or, when an infant cries to tell their parent they are hungry, and the parent picks...
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Infants and Toddlers Need Strong Parents [clasp.org]
Parents play the most active and significant role in their baby’s healthy development. Young children learn and grow in strong families where parents are able to successfully face the challenge of nurturing their children. During the first three years of life, experiences are shaping a child’s brain and providing the foundation for later development. Parenting support services, which range from informational resources to more intensive interventions, can help improve parenting skills,...
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It Saves Lives. It Can Save Money. So Why Aren’t We Spending More on Public Health? [nytimes.com]
Not only have many public health interventions in the United States been hugely successful, but they’ve also saved more money than they’ve cost. And yet Americans spend relatively little money in that domain and far more on medical care that returns less value for its costs. Instead of continually complaining about how much is being spent on health care with little to show for it, maybe we should direct more of that money to public health. What Do We Mean by Public Health? It encompasses...
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January California Essentials for Childhood Newsletter
California Essentials for Childhood has just released its second newsletter. The full newsletter can be found attached. Check it out!
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Journal Article: “Secondary Traumatic Stress and Burnout Among Refugee Resettlement Workers: The Role of Coping and Emotional Intelligence.”
An article published in Journal of Traumatic Stress (Akinsulure‐Smith, A. M., Espinosa, A., Chu, T., and Hallock, R., 2018, 202–212, (https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22279), promotes an enhanced understanding of the impact of refugee resettlement work on refugee resettlement workers by examining the prevalence rates of toxic mental health and occupational outcomes, such as secondary traumatic stress and burnout, among a sample of 210 refugee resettlement workers at six refugee resettlement...
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July California Essentials for Childhood Newsletter
California Essentials for Childhood has just released its fifth newsletter. The full newsletter can be found attached. Check it out!
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Key Ingredients for Successful Trauma-Informed Care Implementation [CHCS.org]
As the connection between exposure to trauma and long-term health conditions becomes clear, the health care sector is beginning to focus on how to best care for patients with a history of trauma. For many people, trauma may increase their risk of serious health issues leading to poor health outcomes and higher medical and social service costs. Health care providers can address patients’ traumatic experiences and their associated health effects by implementing trauma-informed approaches to...
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Legislation Signals Growing Support for Significance of Trauma Indicators
by David Gorn, California Healthline Sacramento Bureau Thursday, January 28, 2016 As a college student, Rob Bonta had a summer job working as a counselor for troubled kids. Now, two decades later he is bringing legislation to address some of the needs he saw then. "I worked with some of these kids as a counselor out of college, and I'd walk them home and hear some of these stories," Assembly member Bonta (D-Oakland) said. "Shootings they heard. Or shootings they witnessed the night before."...
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Love in the TIme of Coronavirus: Inequities and Supporting Children
This blog is re-posted from positiveexperience.org/blog/ Link there for associated resources, and for the other blogs in the series. Having safe, stable, and equitable environments to live, learn and play forms the second of the 4 Building Blocks of HOPE. Children need homes where they feel safe and secure and have their basic needs met. Children thrive in an environment that encourages curiosity and provides opportunities for learning to play and interact with other children. Today’s blog...
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Low pay for child care workers puts more than half at poverty level, study finds [edsource.org]
A majority of child care workers in California are paid so little they qualify for public assistance programs, according to a new report on the early education workforce. Fifty-eight percent of child care workers in California are on one or more public assistance programs, such as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families , a federally funded program that helps pay for food, housing and other expenses, the report by UC Berkeley’s Center for the Study of Child Care Employment found. This is...
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Low wages undermine efforts to improve the quality of preschools, federal report says [EdSource.org]
Efforts in California and other states to raise the quality of child care and preschool programs are being undermined by the low wages that workers earn in jobs that now require more skills and education, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Education released Tuesday. In California, preschool teachers were paid an average salary of $31,720 in 2015, about half of what California kindergarten teachers earned that year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the report said.
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Make Time for Yourself—A Self-Care Guide for Busy Parents from Yolo County Children's Alliance
Yolo County Children’s Alliance is excited to share our new self-care resource for parents and caregivers for Child Abuse Prevention Month. Make Time for Yourself—A Self-Care Guide for Busy Parents talks about the importance of self-care and provides many ideas to try. The guide is available in English, Spanish, and Russian at www.yolokids.org/forfamilies/ . To help parents prioritize self-care, the guide divides specific self-care ideas into those that only take 5 minutes to do and those...
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Many Insured Children Lack Essential Health Care, Study Finds [NYTimes.com]
Margo Solomon has health insurance for herself and her four children. But actually getting treatment is another matter. Ms. Solomon, a 35-year-old mother from the Bronx, says she has struggled to find a doctor who accepts her insurance. And with three of her children coping with asthma, and one with more complicated medical problems, locating a specialist is even more challenging. And once in the door, she cannot afford the costs, including for deductibles and medications. “I feel like I am...
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Mapping Trauma Informed Care throughout First 5 Associations
On April 15th, representatives from 6 counties met on a conference call to discuss recent First 5 activities around Trauma Informed Care (TIC). Since our first gathering at last year's Association Summit, we have been meeting quarterly via conference call and have learned that there is a lot going on with TIC. So much is going on that we decided to send out a survey gathering data to map all our TIC efforts across the state. Please let us know if you are at a First 5 and are interested in...
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Maryland Essentials for Childhood Hosts Advocacy Day at the State Capital
Maryland Essentials for Childhood, a statewide initiative educating policy makers and communities on the science of ACEs, developing brains, and how we can build resilience for children, families and communities in Maryland, is poised to meet with Maryland elected officials this coming Thursday, ,February 7th, 9-1 pm. We will educate legislators on the science and policies that reduce or mitigate ACEs and other childhood trauma. Key policies being considered by the General Assembly are:...
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May California Essentials for Childhood Newsletter
California Essentials for Childhood has just released its fourth newsletter. The full newsletter can be found attached. Check it out!
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Meet the Essentials for Childhood Initiative Team (Part 2/2)
Meet some of the Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative team members: Angela Ponivas is the Chief of the California Department of Social Services Office of Child Abuse Prevention (CDSS/OCAP). She has been in the OCAP almost five years, working at a systems level on behalf of children and families. Angela provides executive oversight of the development and execution of Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative activities at CDSS. Prior to working for the State, Angela was the Executive...
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Most kids on public coverage have parents who work for big companies, new study finds [centerforhealthjournalism.org]
By Giles Bruce, Center for Health Journalism, July 3, 2019. The conventional wisdom is that kids are on government health insurance because their parents are unemployed or work at small businesses with meager benefits. A study released this week debunks that theory. Research from the PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that the majority of children insured through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — more than 70% — have a parent employed by a large...
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Moving Upstream to Address Contributors to Toxic Stress in Pediatric Primary Care [chapinhall.org]
By Angeline Spain, Angela Sander, and Amanda Brown, Chapin Hall at The University of Chicago, October 2019 Healthcare in the U.S. is increasingly moving “upstream” to address the risk of social determinants of health. One common strategy is the early screening of needs and connection to services. Chapin Hall, in collaboration with national and local partners, is conducting an evaluation of innovations designed to promote screening for contributors to toxic stress during pediatric well-child...
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National Council Webinar: Organizational Approaches to Effective Trauma-Informed Services
I viewed this webinar a couple of weeks ago and found it quite useful. https://www.thenationalcouncil...ars/webinar-archive/ Scroll down to find Organizational Approaches to Effective Trauma-Informed Services Cheryl Sharp, Senior Advisor...
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New California law expands low-income parents’ access to subsidized child care [edsource.org]
In an effort to remove obstacles for Californians trying to succeed in the labor market, a new law could make access to child care easier for low-income parents taking classes to learn English or complete high school. The law will expand the eligibility requirements for subsidized child care. It will make low-income parents who are are enrolled in English as a second language classes (ESL) or a program to earn a high school diploma or general education development certificate (GED) eligible...
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New Childhood Adversity and Data and Dashboards [kidsdata.org]
May 19, 2020 New and updated data describing childhood adversity and resilience are now available on kidsdata.org . The data cover more counties than previously offered and provide greater detail on childhood adversity. Also, in partnership with the Essentials for Childhood Initiative, you can now access data dashboards for every county in California. Adversity and Resilience Data See the latest parent reported data on childhood adversity and resilience in California. Based on the National...
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New Data on Infant Mortality Rates Across California Counties
Infant Mortality Rate 1996-1998 to 2013-2015 Kidsdata is excited to feature new data on infant mortality in California for 2013-2015. Infant mortality is a key measure of public health, as it reflects maternal health, quality of and access to medical care, socioeconomic conditions, and public health practices. Reviewing infant mortality rates indicates troubling disparities. Among counties with data across time, San Mateo County has been consistently lower than the statewide rate since...
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NEW Essentials for Childhood Kidsdata.org ACEs Topic
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...
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New estimates from the combined 2017-2018 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) now available on the DRC Interactive Data Query
The National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) provides rich data on multiple, intersecting aspects of children’s lives—including physical and mental health, access to quality health care, and the child’s family, neighborhood, school, and social context. The Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DRC), under a cooperative agreement with the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), announced the release of the child and...
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1/3 of CA children who need mental health treatment fail to receive it
Thirty-seven percent of California children who need mental health treatment failed to receive it, according to the most recent data available on kidsdata.org. Madera, Merced, Monterey, and Tulare counties had the lowest rates of all counties with available data, with nearly half of children who need mental health treatment failing to receive it in the previous 12 months. Screening, early identification, and treatment are critical, as untreated mental illness can disrupt children’s...
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New Report Explores Paid Family Leave: How Much Time is Enough?
A growing body of research is finding that, on the whole, job-protected paid family leaves of adequate duration and wage replacement lead to more income and gender equality, significant reductions in infant, maternal and even paternal mortality, improved physical and mental health for children and parents, greater family stability and economic security, business productivity, and economic growth.
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Next "A Better Normal" community discussion series: April 2, 2020/ Secondary Traumatic Stress and Caregivers
Our next COVID-19 "Better Normal" community discussion is Thursday, April 2, with Vic Compher and Rodney Whittenberg, producers of CAREGIVERS (Portraits of Professional CAREgivers: Their Passion, Their Pain). These wonderful folks are bringing an entire team of people from the secondary traumatic stress committees from the Philadelphia ACE Task Force (PATF).
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No Small Matter (Trailer)
www.nosmallmatter.com The feature documentary NO SMALL MATTER confronts America's most pressing problems with an unlikely but powerful weapon: babies and young children. From home to childcare to preschool, high-quality early care and education has far-reaching impacts, and groundbreaking science to back it up. With a healthy dose of humor and a surprising edge, NO SMALL MATTER reveals the tragic cost of getting this wrong, and the huge payoff—for our kids, our families, and our country—of...
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Nurturing relationships in childhood boost adult mental health, relationships
We're proud to announce major research that suggests that positive childhood experiences — such as supportive family interactions, caring relationships with friends, and connections in the community — are associated with reductions in chances of adult depression and poor mental health, and increases in the chances of having healthy relationships in adulthood. This association was true even among those with a history of adverse childhood experiences.
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OCAP Buzz: Child Abuse Prevention Month Materials
The California Department of Social Services, Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP) just released their newsletter with information about the upcoming Child Abuse Prevention month in April 2017. Please check out the attached PDF for more information on materials to help #unite4kids to prevent child abuse and neglect for all California children and families.
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OCAP grants announced, applications due by 12-14-18
The Office of Child Abuse and Prevention ( OCAP ) recently announced a funding opportunity that may align with the work of California based ACEs champions. Please see the details below, the OCAP Grants link, and the attached document for further details. Copied from the website : The Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP) administers federal grants, contracts, and state programs designed to promote best practices and innovative approaches to child abuse prevention, intervention, and...
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Only a fraction of California children eligible receive subsidized child care [EdSource.com]
As Gov. Gavin Newsom pushes to expand subsidized childcare in California, a new report indicates that the state still has a long way to go to reach a substantial share of its neediest children. Only 1 in 9 children eligible for subsidized childcare and preschool programs in California were enrolled in a program that provided full-day, year-round care in 2017, according to an analysis by the California Budget and Policy Center, a nonpartisan organization that analyzes how budget and tax...
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Opioid Crisis Resource
The California Department of Health Care Services’ (DHCS) new website, Addiction Free CA , hosts an interactive data dashboard, project resources, and treatment provider locator to support the California Medications for Addiction Treatment (MAT) Expansion Project. This website serves as a hub for providers, partners, and the public to identify data regarding treatment resources, infrastructure, and opioid response projects in California. Addiction Free CA also hosts a data dashboard of...
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Opportunity to join DHCS CalAIM Work Groups on Policy Changes to Medi-Cal delivery systems
Learn more about CalAIM workgroups. Deadline to join: This Friday September 27!
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Over 1 Million Children Live in Low-Income Neighborhoods in California [calhealthreport.org]
By Claudia Boyd-Barrett, California Health Report, October 15, 2019 Nearly 1.2 million California children live in low-income neighborhoods, a number that has decreased in the decade since the Great Recession, but remains troubling, researchers said in a new report. Research has shown that the type of neighborhood low-income children live in can influence their health. Children who live in low-income neighborhoods are less likely than those in more affluent areas to have access to quality...
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Over 14,000 CA foster youth facing end to critical services
May is National Foster Care Month. If foster youth are not reunified with their families or adopted by age 21, youth “age out” of the state’s foster care system and services often end abruptly. In 2015, more than 14,000 California foster youth—nearly a quarter of all those in care statewide—were between the ages of 16 and 20 years old.
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Pandemic EBT [cdss.ca.gov]
From California Department of Social Services, May 2020 Due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), children who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals at school will get extra food benefits. These food benefits are called Pandemic EBT or P-EBT benefits. P-EBT benefits help families in California buy food when schools are closed because of the coronavirus emergency. Families will get up to $365 per eligible child on their P-EBT card to use on food and groceries. Families with children who get...
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Pediatric Medical Homes Provide Essential Parent & Family Support
From the American Academy of Pediatrics , "Poverty and related social determinants of health can lead to adverse health outcomes in childhood and across the life course, negatively affecting physical health, socioemotional development, and educational achievement. The American Academy of Pediatrics advocates for programs and policies that have been shown to improve the quality of life and health outcomes for children and families living in poverty. With an awareness and understanding of the...
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Prepped to Change: Towards Healing Organizations - Ken Epstein and Community Panel with Special Guests!
In recognition of Child Abuse Prevention Month, please consider attending a presentation co-sponsored by DHCS, CDPH and DSS to learn about the Trauma-informed Systems Initiative from San Francisco’s Department of Public Health. Dr. Kenneth Epstein, lead for the Initiative, will be speaking about how the department has been educating all 9,000 staff in San Francisco’s public health, hospitals and ambulatory care services about trauma-informed practices and care. There will be a community...
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Preschool Teachers Earn Less Than Tree Trimmers [TheAtlantic.com]
In the past several decades, advances in brain science have suggested that the learning that occurs in the first few years of a child’s life lays the groundwork for a productive adulthood. The expansion of preschool is one of the few topics where both Republicans and Democrats in Congress find common ground; while lawmakers don’t always agree on how programs should be funded or structured, the belief that good early-childhood education can help prevent later gaps in test scores and...
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Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect: A Technical Assistance Package for Policy, Norm, and Programmatic Activities, CDC)
Contents include: Strengthen Economic Supports for Families Change social Norms to Support Parents and Positive Parenting Provide Quality Care and Education Early in Life Enhance Parenting Skills to Promote Healthy Child Development Intervene to Lessen Harms and Prevent Future Risks Sector Involvement Monitoring and Evalution Full document: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/can-prevention-technical-package.pdf
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Preventing Early Childhood Adversity Before It Starts: Maximizing Medicaid Opportunities [CHSCS.org]
The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are a critical window for cognitive, physical, and social development. Exposure to adverse experiences during this period and beyond in early childhood dramatically increases the potential for lifelong poor health and social outcomes. This in turn can result in substantially increased health care costs across an individual’s life span. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) — including neglect, abuse, exposure to violence, family dysfunction, etc. — also...
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Prevention Summit: San Diego County Spotlight
In January of 2019, the Prevention Cabinet of the County Welfare Directors Association of California, the California Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP), and Strategies 2.0 co-hosted the Prevention Summit. The purpose of the Prevention Summit was to develop or strengthen a public-private partnership for strengthening families, begin or strengthen a countywide prevention plan, and commit to an ongoing collaborative process with clear action steps. Participants from 22 counties from across...
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Public Health Insurance Expansion for Immigrant Children and Interstate Migration of Low-Income Immigrants [jamanetwork.com]
By Vasil I. Yasenov, Duncan Lawrence, Fernando S. Mendoza, et al., JAMA Pediatrics, November 18, 2019 Key Points Question Is state-level expansion of public health insurance coverage to non–US-born children and pregnant women associated with increased in-migration of eligible immigrant families from other states? Findings In this difference-in-differences analysis of data on 208 060 immigrants from the American Community Survey from 2000 through 2016, no association was found between...
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Registration is OPEN for the Strategies2.0 November 8, 2018 Sierra Region Learning Community! Learn How the Trauma Informed Systems Approach Can Promote Resilient Families, Agencies and Communities
Second in the Building Resiliency Series: Build Resilient Communities by Fostering Trust and Finding Champions. Explore how innovative Child Abuse Prevention Month activities can promote resilience. Learn self-care strategies to stay motivated! Thursday, November 8, 2018, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm Locations: Amador Child Abuse Prevention Council in Jackson, on-line and remote sites in Loyalton, Markleeville, and South Lake Tahoe Network in the Sierra Nevada Region to learn about innovative Child...
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Report: Girls Face ‘Sex-Abuse-To-Prison Pipeline’ [JJIE.org]
The numbers are huge: An Oregon study found that 93 percent of girls in the state’s juvenile justice system had been sexually or physically abused at some time. South Carolina research found that 81 percent of girls in its...