New and Noteworthy

ACEs Aware Implementation with Intention Webinar Series

Starting this month, we are offering a series of webinars designed to help California clinics implement Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) screening and response.  

The series is led by experts who will provide practical step-by-step guidance, as well as resources and tools, to help clinics move further along their ACE screening implementation journey.  

Sessions will be held on the fourth Thursday of the month and will offer Continuing Medical Education credit. Recordings will be posted on the ACEs Aware website.

Details and schedules are available on the ACEs Aware website. 

Registration is now open for Webinar #1:  

Getting Your Practice Ready  

Thursday, January 26, 12-1 p.m.  

CalMatters Commentary Clarifies Facts about ACE Screening & Mandated Reporting

Dr. Mikah Owen, M.D.

Dr. Mikah Owen, a pediatrician and the senior clinical and academic program director of health equity at the UCLA-UCSF ACEs Aware Family Resilience Network (UCAAN), the organization that implements the ACEs Aware initiative for the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), recently published a commentary in CalMatters that responds to a claim made in a previous commentary that ACE screening leads to unwarranted reports of child maltreatment to Child Protective Services. 

“There is no evidence supporting the claim that ACE screening leads to unwarranted referrals to CPS,” wrote Owen. “Rather, evidence collected as part of a seven-region statewide learning collaborative of 48 frontline clinics shows that both patients and providers find ACE screening to be acceptable and beneficial.”  

Read the commentary on CalMatters!

More Information about Mandated Reporting and ACE Screening 

The California Department of Social Services, DHCS, and the Office of the California Surgeon General provide clarifying guidance on the responsibilities of health care clinical teams that conduct screening for ACEs in the context of the state’s mandated reporting requirements. The guidance points to data from a 2020 study in a large, urban pediatric clinic in California showing that “of a total of 367 ACE screenings that were conducted during the study period, 54 experiences of physical and sexual abuse or neglect were reported by caregivers. All of the families met with the health care clinician and/or mental health clinician to be assessed for immediate safety. Ultimately, four CPS reports were generated – three of the cases had been previously reported and one new case was identified.” 

See the California’s Mandated Reporting Requirements and ACE Screening guidance document.

California Surgeon General Tools & Resources

The Office of the California Surgeon General (CA-OSG) has launched a newsletter that includes useful information and resources. 

Highlights of the first newsletter include: 

• A video message from California Surgeon General Dr. Ramos about her background, the Office, and how to reach her. 
• Surgeon General priorities fact sheet 
• Self-care social media toolkit  
• Information about the new Trauma-Informed Training Expert Review Panel

Stay up to date with CA-OSG by subscribing to the newsletter below.

California Academy of Physician Assistants Features ACEs in Member Newsletter

The January edition of the California Academy of Physician Assistants (CAPA) newsletter features an article entitled, “Adverse Childhood Experiences and Toxic Stress: What Can We as Medical Providers Do?” written by ACEs Aware advisers and staff. 

The article provides information about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress physiology and provides practical steps for how physician assistants can access science-based tools, strategies, interventions, and community resources to address toxic stress in their clinical practice and help patients heal and thrive.

The article concludes: 

“Knowing how ACEs and toxic stress can impact both child and adult behavior as well as mental and physical health outcomes encourages all of us to provide trauma-informed, healing-centered care and shift the narrative from ‘What is wrong with you?’ to ‘What happened to you?’ and ‘What is healing for you?’ Together, working with our community partners, we can prevent and buffer early life adversity, support our patients to lessen their stress load, and address toxic stress biology to improve our patients’ health and well-being across their lifespan. It is never too late to heal.”

Read the article on the ACEs Aware website

(reprinted with permission from CAPA).

Putting Implementation into Action

News, Events, Resources, and Research

EVENTS

ACEs Aware Implementation with Intention Webinar #1: Getting Your Practice Ready

Thursday, January 26, 2023 | 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. PST | UCAAN

Join us for the new ACEs Aware “Implementation with Intention” webinar series dedicated to helping California clinics implement Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) screening and response.

Sessions will be held on the fourth Thursday of the month, January through May 2023, and will offer Continuing Medical Education credit.

Register Now →

ACEs Aware Implementation with Intention Webinar #2: Form Your Team & Get Buy-In

Thursday, February 23, 2023 | 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. PST | UCAAN

Registration coming soon; check the ACEs Aware website in the coming weeks.

Register Now →



RESOURCES

PACEs Connection to Launch Statewide Cooperative of Communities 

In 2023, PACEs Connection is launching a cooperative designed for state PACEs and resilience coalitions. It will provide learning opportunities and assessment support to strengthen community resilience via eight interactive virtual workshops to build new, or expand existing, PACEs-informed statewide initiatives.

Access →

Number Story Healing & Prevention Resources

Always a champion for ACEs prevention, Number Story has a resource page that details ways people can support themselves, their families, and their communities. Notably, the Caregiver Toolkit for Children ages 0-5 (also available in Spanish) is great for those entering parenthood. 

Access →

National Conference of State Legislatures ACEs Resources

Learn from how states across the nation are tackling ACEs. This webpage presents research and resources, as well as state strategies, aimed at preventing and reducing the occurrence and negative consequences of ACEs. 

Access →

RESEARCH

Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Resilience and School Success in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

November 2022 | Cureus

Adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders face known academic challenges and higher chance of poor life outcomes. It was imperative to explore and find if the new diagnostic criterion for diagnosing autism profoundly affects educational outcomes and resilience in individuals diagnosed with co-occurring autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Read →

Relationship between Alcohol Consumption and Adverse Childhood Experiences in College Students – A Cross-Sectional Study 

October 2022 | Frontiers In Psychology

This study observed an association between a higher incidence of ACEs and alcohol consumption among college students. More ACEs were associated with increased alcohol consumption in both male and female university students and may represent one of the main aspects of the development of excessive alcohol consumption in later life.  

Read →

Intergenerational Pathways between Parental Experiences of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Child Weight: Implications for Intervention

December 2022 | Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine

This study observed an association between a higher incidence of ACEs and alcohol consumption among college students. More ACEs were associated with increased alcohol consumption in both male and female university students and may represent one of the main aspects of the development of excessive alcohol consumption in later life.  

Read →

Childhood Trauma and Other Formative Life Experiences Predict Environmental Engagement

December 2022 | Nature

This study observed an association between a higher incidence of ACEs and alcohol consumption among college students. More ACEs were associated with increased alcohol consumption in both male and female university students and may represent one of the main aspects of the development of excessive alcohol consumption in later life.  

Read →

Kick off the new year by completing our improved Becoming ACEs Aware in California  online training. Learn how to provide trauma-informed care, screen for ACEs and assess the risk of toxic stress, and use clinical protocols to develop a treatment plan to prevent and mitigate toxic stress.

Already completed the training?

Providers with National Provider Identifiers should attest on the DHCS website

so they can become eligible for Medi-Cal reimbursement for screening.

“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

– Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Black Minister & Civil Activist

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