A new report from the Center for Youth Wellness outlines policy ideas and recommendations for creating momentum around addressing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) across California.
A primary-care pediatric clinic in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood in San Francisco, the Center for Youth Wellness (CYW) has taken a leading role in exploring the way early adversity can negatively impact the developing brains and bodies of children, both at its clinic and as a state-wide advocate. A CYW-sponsored summit on ACEs in November 2014 gathered 200 leaders from a diverse set of fields to develop public-policy strategies that think about exposure to ACEs as a public health crisis.
The new brief, “Children Can Thrive: A Vision for California’s Response to Adverse Childhood Experiences,” presents ideas shared at the ACEs summit by participants and suggests opportunities for building a multi-sectoral approach toward responding to the impact of ACEs across California.
The following ideas and recommendations are offered as ways to increase the profile of ACEs and create progress toward further support of ACEs as a way to benefit the health and well-being of children and families in California:
- Address supports and services that can bolster the health and well-being of children and their parents or caregivers through a two-generation approach
- Increase early screening for ACEs and identify opportunities for early intervention
- Make greater investments in and broader movement toward integrated physical and behavioral healthcare
- Raise awareness about unaddressed exposure to ACEs and create organizations at the local level
- Organize partnerships across diverse sectors to address systematic barriers to the prevention and treatment of toxic stress
- Identify, research and advance best practices that establish the evidentiary basis for clinical and community interventions
- Support and expand efforts to foster trauma-informed practices across health care, education, child welfare, and juvenile justice systems
You can read the full report here.