For more information about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and why trauma-informed approaches could be an important solution to ACES, click on the following links:

• The CDC ACES website provides access to some of the latest research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) involving the prevalence and impact of adverse childhood experiences.

• Dr. Nadine Burke Harris’ TED Talk: How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime. In her 15 minute talk from 2014, Dr. Burke Harris explains the science behind the impact of chronic stress and trauma on children and adults and makes a case for the importance of seeing ACES as a public health crisis.

For more information on trauma-informed approaches in schools, click on the following links:

• The Trauma Learning and Policy Initiative (TLPI) works to ensure that children exposed to family violence and other adverse childhood experiences succeed in school. To accomplish this mission, TLPI engages in a host of advocacy strategies including:
  • Helping schools create trauma-sensitive environments;
  • Advocating for laws, policies and funding streams that will enable schools to create trauma sensitive learning environments;
  • Engaging in a public education campaign to teach policymakers, educators, administrators, health and mental health providers and parents about the impact of trauma on learning and the need for trauma sensitive schools.

• The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)  was created by Congress in 2000 as part of the Children’s Health Act to raise the standard of care and increase access to services for children and families who experience or witness traumatic events. This unique network of frontline providers, family members, researchers, and national partners is committed to changing the course of children’s lives by improving their care and moving scientific gains quickly into practice across the U.S. Their website has an abundance resources to support teachers, parents and school mental health professionals.

• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA) has developed guidance for a Trauma-Informed approach that incorporates 4 key assumptions and 6 key principles to guide the work of organizations working to develop trauma-informed systems of care.