Adverse Childhood Experiences

Last week Kaiser Permanente announced it would invest $2.75 million in research to mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences. Kaiser Permanente conducted the original study with the Centers for Disease Control and those findings were published in 1998 linking childhood trauma and poor health outcomes later in life dubbed adverse childhood experiences, commonly referred to as ACEs.

The Imprint is highlighting each of the policy recommendations made this summer by the participants of the Foster Youth Internship Program (FYI), a group of 10 former foster youths who have completed congressional internships.

The Center for Youth Wellness (CYW), a San Francisco-based organization focused on addressing toxic stress and the study of adverse childhood experiences, is looking to add a vice president of applied and translational science.

Five states – Arizona, Arkansas, Montana, New Mexico and Ohio – hold the dubious distinction of leading the country in the percentage of children burdened with three or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), between birth and age 17, according to a recent Child Trends report.

This week’s episode of 60 Minutes will feature a segment by Oprah Winfrey on childhood trauma, specifically looking at how adverse childhood experiences early in life can lead to physical and mental challenges later in life.

According to a leading group of children’s advocates, it’s not enough to just study the impact of childhood trauma and how we can lessen its toll on children and adults later in life.

Recent federal legislation put forward by senators Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Al Franken (D-MN) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) proposes to address the issue of childhood trauma through the creation of a federal trauma task force.

For a growing number of educators, researchers and advocates, helping children and families heal from child trauma means talking about a subject that makes many Americans uncomfortable: racism. In recent years, the idea of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) has gained traction in child-serving organizations as a way to understand behavioral issues and poor health outcomes faced by children with traumatic life experiences, such as abuse, neglect or household dysfunction, like having an incarcerated parent.

The efforts of pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris to address of trauma experienced early in life have vaulted her to national attention. In September, Burke Harris earned recognition from the Heinz Foundation for her work to establish a system to screen and treat children who are dealing with toxic stress and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as abuse, neglect, poverty and violence.