December 2024 Newsletter

New and Noteworthy

November 2024 Quarterly Data Report: Health Care Teams Have Conducted More than 3.3 Million Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Screenings of 2 Million Medi-Cal Members  

The ACEs Aware initiative released the November 2024 quarterly data report detailing the number of ACE screenings conducted for Medi-Cal members (children and adults) and the number of individuals who completed the Becoming ACEs Aware in California online training. 

Between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2023, Medi-Cal clinicians conducted 3,304,490 ACE screenings of 2,020,320 unique Medi-Cal members. Between December 4, 2019, and September 30, 2024, more than 42,240 individuals completed the Becoming ACEs Aware in California training, including approximately 19,990 Medi-Cal clinicians who are ACEs Aware-certified and eligible to receive Medi-Cal payment for conducting ACE screenings. 

Visit the ACEs Aware Data Reports webpage for easy access to Medi-Cal screening data and all past ACEs Aware data reports, interactive data visualizations of screening data by age and county, and county-level data for completions of the Becoming ACEs Aware in California core training.

The Live Beyond Campaign Introduces New Health Care Provider Resources 

The Live Beyond campaign recently published helpful materials to support health care teams and their patients’ journey toward healing from ACEs and toxic stress.

The new resources available on the Live Beyond website include: 

• Provider Tip Sheet – Actionable tips to support patients after an ACE screening, or when a patient comes to a provider to discuss their ACEs or toxic stress. This piece also provides information about the resources available for patients as part of the campaign. 
• Posters – Double-sided posters for provider practices, available in English, Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese, Arabic, and Vietnamese. Each poster links patients to a helpful Patient Guide to support discussions with their health care provider. 
• Patient Guide – This extensive guide helps patients understand how to get started navigating the process of seeking professional help, how to get help, and where to go if they need to see a provider. It also helps patients learn how to prepare for those conversations, understand their rights, and other helpful tips.  

Thank you for helping the Live Beyond campaign deliver this important information and resources to patients in need. Together, we can take steps to heal and thrive. 

We encourage you to take a moment to explore the Live Beyond campaign and the resources available at LiveBeyondCA.org/campaign-resources. 

In Case You Missed It: Webinars About Youth and ACEs Now Available on Demand 

In September, ACEs Aware hosted a webinar, Elevating Youth Voice: Talking to Adolescents and Young Adults about ACEs that included ACEs Aware youth and young adult patient advisors who shared their recommendations for how health care teams can discuss ACEs and toxic stress with young patients.  

This followed The Live Beyond Campaign: Raising Awareness to Help Californians Heal from ACEs, a webinar in September that featured current and former California Surgeon Generals Dr. Diana Ramos and Dr. Nadine Burke Harris.  

You can now watch both webinar recordings – and earn Continuing Education credit – on the ACEs Aware Learning Center.

Five Years of California Being ACEs Aware 

On December 4, 2019, California launched the ACEs Aware Initiative as a first-in-the nation effort to screen patients for ACEs to help improve and save lives. As we celebrate five years, we reflect on the progress that California health care teams and communities have made in preventing, identifying, and responding to ACEs and toxic stress. 

Read the ACEs Aware Progress Report: 2019-2023 (published in May 2024) for an overview of the progress and impact of the initiative’s first four years.

Mental Health Impact of Politics: 8 Ways to Cope 

In the face of both personal and political upheaval, we can strengthen our resilience and increase our coping ability. The Newport Institute shares eight therapist-approved and science-backed techniques for navigating the mental health impact of politics. 

News, Events, Resources, and Research

NEWS

Children Born Very Preterm Experience More ACEs and Worse ADHD Outcomes

October 2024 | Physician’s Weekly

Researchers conducted a prospective study to examine whether ACEs contribute to socio-emotional problems in children born very preterm. Read the research paper in The Journal of Pediatrics.  

Access Abstract→

EVENTS

Upcoming ACEs Aware Webinars  

December 5, 12 – 1 pm

Implementation with Intention: Enhanced Care Management (ECM) for Children and Youth

Ralph Silber

Register →

December 12, 12:30 – 1:30 pm

Science and Innovation Speaker Series: ACE Screening of Adolescents – Psychological Flexibility as a Moderator 

Cody Hostutler, PhD

Register →

January 9, 12:30 – 1:30 pm

Science and Innovation Speaker Series: The Resiliency Clinic – A Caregiver-Child Intervention for Mitigating Toxic Stress 

Joan Jeung, MD MPH FAAP 

Registration coming soon. Subscribe to the Science and Innovation Speaker Series to be notified when registration is available.

January 16, 12:30 – 1:30 pm 

Community Spotlight: National Foster Youth Institute: Uplifting Lived Experience to Address the Impact of ACEs  

Pip Keogh

Registration coming soon. Subscribe to the Community Spotlight Series to be notified when registration is available.

ACEs Aware Webinars on Demand  

We provide Continuing Education credit for live webinars and for the on-demand versions that are posted a few weeks after the live sessions. Visit the ACEs Aware Learning Center to access past webinar trainings. 

RESOURCES

Supporting Your Mental Health During the Holiday Season

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 

Strategies for finding moments of joy amidst the hustle and bustle this holiday season.

Access →



Safety Planning for Holidays and Weekends

National Domestic Violence Hotline

Safety planning tips to help families and survivors of domestic violence feel safer during the holidays. 

Access →

ACEs Health Champions Gatherings: Webinar Recordings

ACEs Health Champions Network

A roundup of webinar recordings by ACEs Health Champions Network centered around ACEs and trauma-informed care.

Access →

Seasonal Affective Disorder

National Institute of Mental Health

An overview of symptoms, causes, and treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder.  

Access →

RESEARCH

Characterizing Chronic Pain and Adverse Childhood Experiences in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer Community

October 2024 | Anesthesia & Analgesia

Examines the associations between chronic pain conditions or intensity and childhood adversity in the LGTBQ+ community, a population that has a disproportionately high chronic disease burden.  

Read→ 

Young Adults’ Perceptions of Adverse Childhood Experiences as Context and Causes of Mental Health Conditions: Observations from the United States

October 2024 | Child Protection and Practice

Explores how young adults with serious mental health conditions describe childhood adversities and relate those experiences to their mental health conditions. 

Read→ 

Childhood Maltreatment is Linked to Larger Preferred Interpersonal Distances Toward Friends and Strangers Across the Globe

August 2024 | Translational Psychiatry

Examines the association of childhood maltreatment with altered responses to social stimuli and interpersonal signals. 

Read→ 

Let’s Make All of California ACEs Aware  

Becoming ACEs Aware in California is a free, two-hour online training for clinics to become trauma informed. Completion of the training is required for eligible Medi-Cal providers to be reimbursed for conducting ACE screenings.  

Ready to help improve health for all and promote health equity through screening for and responding to ACEs and toxic stress? Visit the ACEs Aware Learning Center to take the training today.  

This activity is approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ and other continuing education credit. 

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