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California Essentials for Childhood Initiative (CA)

The California Essentials for Childhood Initiative uses a public health and collective impact approach to align and enhance collaborative efforts to promote safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for children, youth and families through systems, policy and social norms change.

Tagged With "justice system"

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Sacrifices Californians Make Together to Slow Spread of Coronavirus are Worth It [chcf.org]

By Sandra R. Hernandez, California Health Care Foundation, March 16, 2020 We have entered an important new chapter in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic: After a week filled with school closures and the cancellation of major public events of all kinds, Congress and President Donald Trump are hopefully close to a deal to address the spread of the dangerous coronavirus. This clear-headed collaboration by our political leaders is welcome for the immediate relief it will bring and because it...
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Sesame Workshop to Address Refugee Children's Trauma With Help From Elmo and $100 Million [blogs.edweek.org]

Alicia Doktor ·
The Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee, a refugee aid group, won a first-of-its kind $100 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Wednesday for an ambitious education and outreach program designed to address the needs of displaced Syrian children. The program was selected for the five-year grant from a list of finalists for the foundation's 100&Change competition, which asked organizations to propose "bold solutions to critical problems of...
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Supporting Brain Development in Traumatized Children and Youth

Gail Kennedy ·
This Administration on Children and Families (ACF) bulletin summarizes the effects of early trauma on brain development and looks at steps child welfare professionals can take to screen for developmental delays and identify the trauma-affected children and youth in their care. It also looks at ways to access cross-sector, therapeutic, and evidence-based treatment to encourage healthy recovery for trauma-affected children and youth. HERE TO ACCESS MATERIALS. Document attached.
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The Advancing California’s Trauma-Informed Systems (ACTS) Project

Elena Costa ·
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS), Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP) has partnered with the Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Rady Children’s Hospital – San Diego to launch the Advancing California’s Trauma-Informed Systems (ACTS) project. Designed for child welfare systems, the ACTS Project includes opportunities for: Collaborative planning and thoughtful identification of individualized areas for trauma-informed care (TIC) advancement In-depth resource...
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The Economics of Child Abuse: A Study of California

Jenny Pearlman ·
While the impact of maltreatment on a child and their family is devastating, child maltreatment also has serious effects far beyond those for the victim. Maltreatment results in ongoing costs to taxpayers, institutions, businesses, and society at large. Local communities bear the brunt of these costs in the form of medical, educational, and judicial costs, though more tragic signs are seen in homelessness, addiction, and teen pregnancy. To create a concrete understanding of the widespread...
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Thinking About Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Impacts Through a Science-Informed, Early Childhood Lens [developingchild.harvard.edu]

By Jack P. Shonkoff and David R. Williams, Center on the Developing Child, April 27, 2020 The COVID-19 virus is ruthlessly contagious and, at the same time, highly selective. Its capacity to infect is universal, but the consequences of becoming infected are not. While there are exceptions, children are less likely to show symptoms, older adults and those with pre-existing medical conditions are the most susceptible, and communities of color in the United States are experiencing dramatically...
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Toxic Stress, Behavioral Health, and the Next Major Era in Public Health
 by Mental Health America

To view the document, click on the following link:  http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/issues/toxic-stress-behavioral-health-and-next-major-era-public-health      
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Two studies shed light on state legislators’ views on ACEs science and trauma policy

New and returning lawmakers take the oath of office on day one of Washington state's 2017 legislative session. — Jeanie Lindsay/Northwest News Network As advocates prepare to see how ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) science, trauma, and resilience play out in the 2020 state legislative sessions — many beginning in January — they are undoubtedly asking: “What does a legislator want?" It may be a stretch to play on Freud’s question: “What does a women want?", but the query captures how...
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Updates on the California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA)'s Endorsed Bills

Gail Yen ·
The 2018 legislative session officially wrapped up on September 30th with Governor Brown taking action on all pieces of legislation that made it to his desk. This year, the California Campaign to Counter Childhood Adversity (4CA) endorsed three bills that were aligned with 4CA's objectives. We're happy to share that SB 439 (Mitchell & Lara) is officially law! This means that children 11 years old and younger are excluded from prosecution in juvenile court, except when the child is...
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Webinar Recap: Health Equity and COVID-19: Opportunities to Improve Child Wellbeing through Policy with Dr. Flojaune Cofer

Elena Costa ·
On May 13, 2020, the California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative held a webinar entitled, “Health Equity and COVID-19: Opportunities to Improve Child Wellbeing through Policy” and heard from special guest speaker, Dr. Flojaune Cofer, Senior Director of Policy with the All Children Thrive (ACT) California project . This interactive webinar examined what success could look like to address COVID-19 by describing equity concerns arising for children and families that have been...
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Webinar Recap: Trauma-Informed Care/Practices in Light of COVID-19: Applying Lessons Learned from Child-Serving Systems with Dr. Melissa Bernstein

Elena Costa ·
On April 29, 2020, the California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative held a webinar entitled, “Trauma-Informed Care/Practices in Light of COVID-19: Applying Lessons Learned from Child-Serving Systems” and heard from special guest speaker, Dr. Melissa Bernstein, an Implementation Specialist with the Advancing California’s Trauma-Informed Systems (ACTS) Initiative . Dr. Bernstein shared considerations for practical application of key trauma-informed elements put into practice through...
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Whom do we call to report the mistreatment of children by the federal government? [washingtonpost.com]

Marianne Avari ·
By Nadine Burke Harris, Washington Post, July 11, 2019. Nadine Burke Harris is the surgeon general of California. Children in dirty clothes who haven’t been bathed in days. Eight-year-olds caring for toddlers out of necessity. Kids deprived of the safe, stable and nurturing care that’s fundamental to their health and well-being. As a pediatrician who has spent my career working to address childhood trauma, I’ve unfortunately seen it all. And I’ve had to make my share of reports to Child...
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Youth Law Center Webinar Series

Bonnie Berman ·
The Youth Law Center has launched a webinar series to highlight some best practices for parents and resource parents during the Covid-19 crisis. More information is available below. https://ylc.org/news/ylc-launches-qpi-resource-series-covid19-the-new-normal/ YLC launches QPI resource series "COVID19: The New Normal" We understand that the daily changes and constantly updated information on the COVID-19 crisis can be overwhelming. However panic cannot and should not drive our work off...
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Changing the Mindset: Foundational Relationships Counter Adversity with HOPE [cssp.org]

David Willis ·
By David Willis, MD and Robert Sege | Kay Johnson, 5/21/20, cssp.org The following excerpt was written for the positiveexperience.org blog . Today, the HOPE team leader, Dr. Robert Sege, joined with HOPE National Advisory Board member David Willis and HOPE consultant Kay Johnson to call for a change in mindset for child-serving professionals and organizations. The collaborative post begins with the following excerpt: The three of us have been talking together for years – and have come to...
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Child poverty is as bad now as it was 30 years ago–here’s how we can make progress again [fastcompany.com]

Marianne Avari ·
By Eillie Anzilotti, Fast Company, June 17, 2019. A simple measure of societal progress is: “Will the next generation be better off than the current one.” Right now, we seem to be going backwards on that metric. A child born today has around the same chance of growing up in poverty as one born in 1990. “We haven’t seen the progress we’ve wanted to see on reducing child poverty, and part of that is to do with the way our economy is working—even though it’s technically growing, we haven’t seen...
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Congressional Briefing Addresses Public Policy to Improve Response to ACEs

In the final weeks of the 114 th Congress, Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) welcomed her colleague Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) as a new host in the third and final briefing on addressing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The December 1 briefing focused on public policies to improve coordination, prevention and response to childhood trauma. In addition to joining forces to raise awareness of the impact of ACEs, Senators Heitkamp and Durbin are drafting legislation based on a framework they...
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Creating a 21st Century Child Well-Being System [HuffingtonPost.com]

Samantha Sangenito ·
As National Child Abuse Prevention Month draws to a close, we take time to reflect on how we protect young children and make new plans to move forward. The final report of the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities seems a fitting, though sorrowful, place to start. According to the Commission’s report, between 1,500 and 3,000 children — three-quarters of them babies and preschool-age children — become fatalities each year as a result of maltreatment, ending short lives...
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CYW releases "Children Can Thrive: A Vision for California's Response to ACEs"

Jane Stevens ·
The  Center for Youth Wellness  released a new report “Children Can Thrive: A Vision for California’s Response to ACEs”.     This report is a follow up to last November’s Children Can Thrive Summit.  ...
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December 2016 California Essentials for Childhood Newsletter

Marissa Abbott ·
California Essentials for Childhood released its sixth newsletter in December 2016. The full newsletter can be found attached. Check it out!
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Dr. Ken Epstein Speaks About Trauma-Informed Work

Gail Kennedy ·
In recognition of Child Abuse Prevention Month, the California Departments of Public Health, Health Care Services and Social Services, and multiple community partners welcomed Dr. Kenneth Epstein to speak about his work highlighting trauma and resilience-informed practices. The event was also co-sponsored by ACEs Connection Network, Kaiser Permanente, and UC Davis Medical Center. Dr. Epstein leads the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s (SFDPH) Trauma-Informed Systems Initiative,...
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Dr. Vincent Felitti ACEs - January 17, 11am-12:30pm DHCS Auditorium

Gail Kennedy ·
CA Department of Health Care Services and Department of Public Health welcome Dr. Vincent Felitti, Co-Principal Investigator of the O riginal CDC-Kaiser Adverse Childhood Experiences ( ACEs ) Study, 1995-1997 The DHCS Office of the Medical Director and CDPH would like to invite you to hear Dr. Felitti speak about the seminal ACE Study, one of the largest investigations of childhood abuse and neglect and later-life health and well-being. The ACE Study now includes more than 80 publications...
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Essentials for Childhood Case Study: Collective Impact through Strategic Opportunities

Elena Costa ·
The California Department of Public Health, Safe and Active Communities (CDPH/SACB), Steve Wirtz and Marissa Abbott co-authored a case study showcasing the methodology, successes, and opportunities for improvement from the 2013-2018 Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative. Read more about the lessons learned and how the EfC Initiative will move forward from 2019 and beyond by clicking the attachment below.
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Essentials for Childhood Framework

Emerald Montgomery ·
From the CDC’s Injury Prevention & Control, Division of Violence Prevention: "Safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments are essential to prevent child abuse and neglect and to assure all children reach their full potential. The Essentials for Childhood Framework proposes strategies communities can consider to promote relationships and environments that help children grow up to be healthy and productive citizens so that they, in turn, can build stronger and safer families and...
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Essentials for Childhood Initiative: October 30th, 2019 Convening Summary Document

Elena Costa ·
The California Department of Public Health, Injury and Violence Prevention Branch (CDPH/IVPB), (formerly the Safe and Active Communities Branch) and the California Department of Social Services, Office of Child Abuse Prevention (CDSS/OCAP), co-hosted an Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative convening on Wednesday, October 30, 2019. This event, entitled “Defining Goals and Strategies to Achieve Child Wellbeing,” took place at the California Endowment in Sacramento from 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM...
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Fact Sheet on Resilience and Child Traumatic Stress from National Child Traumatic Stress Network

Julia Wei ·
This four-page fact sheet provides questions and answers about child traumatic stress and resilience, which is the ability of a child to recover and show early and effective adaptation following a potentially traumatic event. Topics include what resilience looks like in children, what factors might enhance resilience in children after traumatic events, and some initial steps to enhance recovery during treatment or services.
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Federal funding opportunity primary prevention of abuse and neglect

Tory Henderson ·
The purpose of this FOA from the federal Administration on Children, Youth and Families - Children's Bureau is to fund cooperative agreements that support the development, implementation, and evaluation of primary prevention strategies to improve the safety, stability, and well-being of all families through a continuum of community-based services and supports. During the project period, grantees will address site-specific barriers and mobilize communities to prevent child maltreatment,...
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ACEs Science Champions Series: First 5 San Mateo County (CA) Forges Ahead with Trauma-Informed Initiative

Sylvia Paull ·
Each year for the past 20 years, First 5 San Mateo County has spent nearly $7 million to help meet the needs of children from birth through age five, and support their families. In 1998, First 5 was established and funded in California by Proposition 10, which funneled tobacco tax dollars into transforming the early childhood system and guaranteeing better outcomes for all counties in the state. In January 2018, the First 5 San Mateo County started a planning committee based on incorporating...
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FREE WEBINAR: Trauma-Informed Advocacy: Practical Tools for Working with Vulnerable Populations

Madison Hammett ·
Working at the intersection of trauma, health equity, and law, attorney Sarah Hess will join the Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative in this free webinar to talk about ways advocates from all disciplines can use a trauma-informed approach to help their clients thrive...
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Futures Without Violence - Safe, Healthy, and Ready to Learn

Julia Wei ·
Interesting report from Futures Without Violence: Safe, Healthy, and Ready to Learn: Policy Recommendations to Ensure Children Thrive in Supportive Communities Free from Violence and Trauma
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Got time for a little brainstorming with ACEsConnection?

Jane Stevens ·
On Friday, March 20, 2020, you're invited to join me to talk about how we, as a community, can continue to guide and educate ourselves about to deal with the effects of the spread of Covid-19, and how to continue those efforts with people who don't yet know about ACEs science. And, given this last week, how we can provide more support to stay in the front of our brains instead of feeding our amygdala.
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Health Beyond Healthcare

Gail Kennedy ·
In line with our focus at Essentials , I wanted to alert everyone to a three minute video created by the Community Development arm of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (thanks to Donielle Prince who orginally posted this on ACEs Connection...
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Health Equity Policy Platform for COVID-19 Response and Recovery

Mai Le ·
From Human Impact Parters: A COVID-19 Public Health Response & Recovery Policy Platform Decades of underinvestment in our public infrastructure and neoliberal policies that gutted protections for working people, our healthcare, and our wider safety net are vividly exposing their consequences. People of color — most harshly Black, Latinx, and Native people — are disproportionately experiencing the consequences of these conditions. In this context, directly impacted communities are naming...
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Hidden Crisis Report - ACEs in CA

Gail Kennedy ·
Attached find the full report from Center for Youth Wellness (CYW) d ata report  of ACEs in California, prepared in partnership with Public Health Institute (November 6, 2014).    
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How do you tell the story of a huge early childhood program over time? [centerforhealthjournalism.org]

Alicia Doktor ·
Thanks — for nothing, Mr. Reiner. When I started my reporting on the 20th anniversary of California’s Proposition 10 — now known as First 5 — I fully expected to have filmmaker Rob Reiner’s quotations and retrospective as a central piece of the package . After all, he was the sponsor of the ballot measure that created the tobacco tax-funded system for programs serving young children from birth to age 5. And, he welcomed me into his Beverly Hills office for an interview when the measure was...
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In push to expand universal preschool, lessons to be learned from California's class size reduction program [edsource.org]

Alicia Doktor ·
The rapid rollout of a hugely ambitious plan to reduce elementary school class sizes in California over two decades ago should serve as a cautionary tale for how quickly the state should implement universal preschool, a long-sought-after goal of children’s advocates and their allies in the Legislature. It may also give incoming Gov. Gavin Newsom some cover for not moving aggressively to implement universal preschool, which he said he was committed to on the campaign trail. He articulated...
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January California Essentials for Childhood Newsletter

Julia Wei ·
California Essentials for Childhood has just released its second newsletter. The full newsletter can be found attached. Check it out!
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July California Essentials for Childhood Newsletter

Marissa Abbott ·
California Essentials for Childhood has just released its fifth newsletter. The full newsletter can be found attached. Check it out!
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Legislation Signals Growing Support for Significance of Trauma Indicators

Alison Lobb ·
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

Bob Sege ·
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 wages undermine efforts to improve the quality of preschools, federal report says [EdSource.org]

Samantha Sangenito ·
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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Learning How to Convince Leaders to Create Trauma-Informed Programs, Systems and Environments.

Laurie Udesky ·
How do you build a narrative around ACEs science, bolster it with data and convince your leadership that integrating it is critical for the community you serve? Representatives from San Francisco Bay Area health and social service agencies had an opportunity on December 5 to learn about ACEs science, find data sets to help them make a case for supporting ACEs education and resiliency programs, and then role play ways to deliver powerful messages. Donielle Prince, ACEs Connection Network’s...
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Meet the Essentials for Childhood Initiative Team (Part 1/2)

Elena Costa ·
Meet some of the Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative team members: Elena Costa – Elena Costa is the new Program Coordinator for the Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative with the Safe and Active Communities Branch (SACB) at the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Elena joined the EfC Initiative in April of 2019 and is excited to work with the membership of the Initiative to promote Safe, Stable, Nurturing Relationships, and Environments (SSNR&E) and assist with...
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Meet the Essentials for Childhood Initiative Team (Part 2/2)

Elena Costa ·
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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National commission aims to improve schools through social and emotional learning [EdSource.org]

Samantha Sangenito ·
The Aspen Institute announced Tuesday it has launched a commission to accelerate the transfer of research about social and emotional skill-building — which includes developing the interpersonal skills that organizers say contribute to success in school, college and work — into teaching practices across the nation. Seven Californians are members of the National Commission on Social, Emotional and Academic Development. Linda Darling-Hammond , president of the Learning Policy Institute, is one...
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National Council Webinar: Organizational Approaches to Effective Trauma-Informed Services

Gail Kennedy ·
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 CDC Campaign: THE STAY HERE-OS: FIGHTING WHAT’S OUT THERE, IN HERE

Elena Costa ·
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a new family-centered advertisement campaign that provides simple tips and guidance for what parents can do to help their families stay safe. Please see below: We are excited to share with you this fun, family-centered campaign that arose from Ad Council research of audiences, and a need to provide simple tips and guidance for what parents can do to help their families stay safe. It’s expected to get a lot of media attention...
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NEW Essentials for Childhood Kidsdata.org ACEs Topic

Gail Kennedy ·
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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