Childhood trauma is a rising crisis in California. Trauma like childhood poverty and abuse have ripple effects on the state's public health, education, and juvenile and criminal justice systems. Teachers and law enforcement are rarely trained on how to deal with traumatized kids. Not to mention the affect on children's brains, bodies, and futures. To raise awareness about childhood trauma and better serve kids in California (38.9% Latino), 100 health professionals and advocacy groups created the the California Campaign to Combat Childhood Adversity in 2014. The group is now pushing five big policy strategies to address childhood trauma in the California Legislature. And they've created a toolkit to help other state advocates do the same. "Often people think about trauma, ...
Most early childcare providers deal with children who have experienced or will experience neglect, poverty, or other traumatic events that can harm long-term health. But not all providers know how to best help these children. Fortunately, a new report from Child Trends and the National Center for Children in Poverty, is giving childcare providers guidance in dealing with children of trauma.
How Early Childhood Trauma Affects Kids
Trauma is a sad fact of life for many children. Whether its child abuse or witnessing domestic violence, trauma can impair a child's body and brain development. It also can hinder learning and the ability to develop healthy relationships across the lifespan. Latino kids exposed to many traumatic events are at higher risk for obesity, asthma, heart ...
Swimming is one of the most promising physical activities to get Latino kids active in and out of school. But as many as 6 in 10 Latinos do not know how to swim. Fortunately, people are stepping up to help. A Florida program gives out coupons for free swim safety classes. Detroit is combining swimming and literacy. And recently a Holocaust survivor helped a YWCA put together the Los Pecesitos ("The Little Fishes”) program to help Latino kids learn to swim in Tulsa, Okla. "What we know is that the drowning rates for children of color are two to three times higher than that of Caucasian children,” said Lacey Thompson Caywood, director of health and wellness for the Tulsa YWCA. “So there was a need for basic swim lessons.” In addition to preventing drowning, swim ...
Oprah Winfrey is raising awareness about childhood trauma and the need for trauma-informed care. Childhood trauma—like abuse, neglect, and poverty—changes a child's brain, body and behavior. Behavior is often the first "red flag" of trauma. But too often caregivers, teachers, and law officers misinterpret that red flag as "bad behavior" that needs "fixing." They are rarely trained on the science of childhood trauma and how it affects Latino and all children. That is why Oprah Winfrey returned the city where she grew up facing poverty, sexual abuse and other negative experiences to explore the science of childhood trauma on 60 Minutes with trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry.
Science Behind Adverse Childhood Experiences
What started as inquiry into high patient drop-out rates ...
Local leaders can get $1.4 million to help their community prepare for, withstand, and recover from disasters, thanks to a new two-year grant opportunity from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The new grant aims to help community leaders and researchers create "resilient communities." Resilient communities can anticipate and adapt to unexpected challenges, like the recent devastating hurricanes in Texas and Puerto Rico. Disasters cause damage from infrastructure to the local economy. They also impact institutionalized discrimination, access to healthcare, and mental health issues and stress. For example, Texas leaders formed a task force to respond to mental health issues in schools impacted by Hurricane Harvey. How prepared is your community for an ...
Did you know Latino kids are twice as likely to die from asthma than their peers? More than 1 in 10 U.S. Latino kids have been told they have asthma. These kids struggle with this incurable lung disease that causes recurring periods of wheezing, chest tightness, coughing, shortness of breath, and can result in missed days of school or emotional and physical stress. Why is this? Poverty plays a big role, but it's more than that, said Genny Carrillo of Texas A&M, who studies the disease. "Possibly due to more limited access to health insurance and health care providers and higher presence of environmental triggers such as pollution, dust and mold," Carrillo said. There is good news. A person with asthma can live and sleep without interruptions with proper ...
Latino families are often lack economic support and healthcare they need, which jeopardizes their kids' academic, social, and physical development, according to Salud America! research. But two San Antonio organizations may have the solution. Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas is giving $175,000 to HASA—the health information exchange for San Antonio and other parts of the state—to expand their services by adding socioeconomic factors like housing, access to healthy food, and more social issues to patient's medical records, according to the San Antonio Business Journal. What does that mean? It means that healthcare providers will get a better look at a patients' health history, including clinical, social and behavioral risk. This will arm doctors with ...
Can you get a Water Bottle Fountain at your school? Register now for our new webinar to get tools and support to help you get a Water Bottle Fountain for your school or district! The webinar, set for 12 p.m. CST on Feb. 27, 2018, will explore why Water Bottle Fountains are good for schools and students, and provide an example of someone who has achieved this change and tools you can use to make the change happen at your school. The webinar is the first of our new Salud America! Webinar Series on how to achieve healthy change in communities and schools.
Why Water Bottle Fountains?
Water Bottle Fountains filtered water dispensers for easily filling and refilling water bottles. They can replace or upgrade existing classic water fountains. Water Bottle Fountains can increase ...
Children don't magically "get over" trauma when they turn 18. Trauma, toxic stress, and adverse childhood experiences permanently change a child's body and brain, which can have serious, lifelong consequences, according to a recent report from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Here are four ways trauma can overload a child's developing system: 1. Hormone level changes: Cortisol and adrenaline are the "stress hormones" that help you react to a perceived threat or danger by directing blood flow to major muscle groups and bypassing the thinking part of the brain to activate the survival part. High levels of these hormones keep your blood pressure elevated, which weakens the heart and circulatory system; keep your glucose levels elevated, which can lead ...
