The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on May 22 on the challenges that states face in their efforts to support children affected by trauma. The findings were based in part on interviewing state and local officials in six states (Colorado, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Washington, and Wisconsin) along with questionnaires to 16 states. The request for the report was made by two Illinois members of Congress, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and Congressman Danny Davis, and...

One of the most frustrating aspects of many school reforms efforts of the past several decades is the intense focus on test scores with far less attention, if any, on the personal experiences that students bring to the classroom and how those who have suffered chronic stress are affected. The rise of social-emotional learning in recent years has been seen as a move toward embracing the idea of dealing with the whole child in school, but many SEL programs don’t use trauma-informed...

Imagine what our communities would be like if mindfulness and compassion were at the heart of city leadership. This vision is driving the Mindful Cities Initiative, a new social innovation project of the Foundation for a Mindful Society. The Mindful Cities Initiative heralds a new phase in the development of mindfulness in society. People are increasingly talking about the benefits of mindfulness practice in holistic terms: about personal wellness and public health, about mindfulness in the...