February 2024 Newsletter

New and Noteworthy

Providing Support after the Los Angeles Wildfires 

The recent fires and devastation in Los Angeles have impacted people in Los Angeles County and throughout California. Stress, anxiety, and depression-like symptoms are common reactions for both children and adults after a disaster.  

The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health published a Disaster Mental Health Resources webpage that includes information and resources on how to talk with children and cope with retraumatization. Helpful resources include: 

• Children & Recovery from Wildfires: Guide that covers potential reactions and helpful responses according to age groups. 
• Helping Children After a Wildfire: Tips for Caregivers and Teachers: From the National Association of School Psychologists, this resource provides tips to help children after a disaster. 
• Mental Health and Stress After an Emergency: This one-page resource can help you identify common reactions and support you and your family. 
• Trauma from Wildfires: Resources from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. 
• Tips for Survivors of a Disaster or Other Traumatic Event: Coping with Retraumatization: This brochure explains the signs and symptoms of retraumatization and provides guidance on how to manage the symptoms. 

DHCS Launches Portal to Support Primary Care Providers with Youth Mental Health Care 

In December, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), in collaboration with the University of California San Francisco, launched the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Access Portal (Cal-MAP) to support California’s primary care providers (PCP) by offering free consultations, training, and resources to help them care for youth ages 0-25 with mental health and substance use issues. 

A key component of the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), Cal-MAP is a pediatric mental health care access program designed to increase timely access to mental health care for youth throughout California, especially in communities that have historically faced barriers to accessing care. The program expands equitable access to high-quality, culturally appropriate youth mental health care within lower-stigma, early-intervention-focused primary care settings.

Cal-MAP’s interprofessional team of psychiatrists, psychologists, and clinical social workers provides no-cost consultation, education, and resource navigation directly to PCPs. This multi-pronged approach supports the ability of providers to manage common mild-moderate behavioral health conditions within primary care, thereby promoting the integration of pediatric primary and behavioral health care and increasing access to child psychiatry for more complex presentations. PCPs are strongly encouraged to explore resources and opportunities through Cal-MAP.  

PCPs may contact the Cal-MAP team via phone at 800-253-2103 or email at info@cal-map.org for any questions about registration or services provided.

New Public Education Campaign Encourages Youth to Take Space to Pause 

The California Department of Public Health's Office of Health Equity recently launched Take Space to Pause, a public education campaign aimed at reducing stigma around mental health and inspiring California teens to seek help before mental health challenges escalate. The campaign, made possible with funding from California’s CYBHI, features resources, including a short quiz to create a custom plan to take space to pause and feel better.

Events, Resources, and Research

EVENTS

Upcoming ACEs Aware Webinars  

February 13, 12:30 – 1:30pm

Science and Innovation Speaker Series: Early-Life Adversity and Intergenerational Epigenetic Transmission of Trauma 

Joanne Ryan, PhD 

Register →

February 20, 12 – 1pm

Clinical Pilots Series: Trauma Inquiry and Response in Family Planning 

Kelsey Loeliger, MD, PhD 

Megha Shankar, MD 

Sara Johnson, MD

Register →

March 6, 12 – 1pm

Community Spotlight: Public Works Alliance EMS Corps: Shifting Agency and Power in Health Care

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

March 13, 12:30 – 1:30pm

Science and Innovation Speaker Series: Youth Engagement in Child Maltreatment Research 

Nicole Racine, PhD 

Katelyn Greer 

Register →

March 20, 12 – 1pm 

Clinical Pilots Series: Using Human-Centered Design to Advance Trauma-Informed Care in Emergency Surgery 

Amanda Sammann, MD, MPH 

Marissa Boeck, MD, MPH 

Maxwell Presser, MD, MPH 

Jon Friese, MD, MPH 

Registration coming soon. Subscribe to the Clinical Pilots Series to be notified when registration is available.

March 27, 12 – 1pm

Implementation with Intention: Practical Tools for Building Resilient Communities 

Registration coming soon. Subscribe to the Implementation with Intention 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

About Adverse Childhood Experiences

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

An overview of ACEs, their outcomes, prevention, and what the CDC is doing to prevent, identify, and respond to ACEs at the community, state, and national level. 

Access →



In Case You Missed It: Live Beyond Health Care Provider Toolkit

Live Beyond

Recently published helpful materials to support health care teams and their patients’ journey toward healing from ACEs and toxic stress, including a provider tip sheet, posters, and a patient guide.

Access →

Dyadic Care in Pediatrics

ACEs Aware

A resource hub centered on dyadic care, a proactive approach that empowers families to build strong relationships and promote healthy emotional and physical development in children. 

Access →

RESEARCH

Adverse Childhood Experiences: Increased Likelihood of Socioeconomic Disadvantages for Young Adults

January 2025 | Health Affairs

This study provides large-scale, person-level longitudinal evidence of the long-lasting and substantial societal cost of ACEs. 

Read→ 

Depression Rates Rising in Preteens. Mental Fitness Tools Can Help

November 2024 | American Medical Association Newsletter

Research supporting The Permanente Medical Group’s “mental fitness” tools such as well-being apps, therapy, and support groups to help young people cope with loneliness, isolation, stress, depression, and suicidal thoughts.

Read→ 

Bullying Victimization and Perpetration of Foster and Kinship Youth in the USA

October 2024 | Injury Prevention

Foster youth are at high risk for victimization and perpetration compared with youth living with kinship or birth families. Results indicate that prevention efforts in school settings may be the most effective solution to addressing this issue. 

Read→ 

Adverse Childhood Experiences, Education, and Involvement in Terrorist Violence: Examining Mediation and Moderation

October 2024 | Journal of School Psychology

This article draws from data gathered on a purposive sample of radicalized individuals from Europe and North America, half of whom became involved in terrorist violence at the end of their radicalization trajectories.

Read→ 

Early Life Trauma, Emotion Dysregulation, and Hormonal Sensitivity Across Female Reproductive Life Events

August 2024 | Current Psychiatry Reports

Explores the relationship between early life trauma, hormonal sensitivity, and psychiatric disorders across female-reproductive life events, with a focus on the neurobiological mechanisms. 

Read→ 

Become ACEs Aware Today 

Becoming ACEs Aware in California is the flagship training program for the ACEs Aware initiative and is based on the foundational principle that toxic stress is amenable to treatment. This free, two-hour, online course covers ACEs, toxic stress, ACE screening, toxic stress risk assessment, and trauma-informed care, and provides health care teams evidence-based strategies to mitigate the toxic stress response.  

After completing this training, qualified Medi-Cal clinicians are certified to receive $29 for each eligible ACE screening they conduct. Continuing Education credit is also available.  

Visit the ACEs Aware Learning Center to take the training.  

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

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