ACEs low, Resilience HIGH
SWIM’s program to address ACEs and TSS is called ACEs Low, Resilience High. SWIM’s objective in combating these maladies is to prevent ACEs from occurring during childhood with particular concentration on not letting ACEs reach four or more. Our pilot programs will be conducted in counties within the circle of our service areas. Let’s discuss California at the macro level with regards to ACEs and TSS.
Governor Gavin Newsom announced the appointment of Burke Harris on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, describing her as a “pediatrician, entrepreneur, and nonprofit CEO” who has “dedicated her professional career to understanding the link between adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress in children, and the effect both have on future health outcomes.” As surgeon general, Burke Harris has urged policymakers at every level of government and leaders across the state to consider the social determinants of health, especially for children.
In 2018, Nadine Burke Harris, MD, MPH, published her first book, The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity. The book chronicles her journey from San Francisco pediatrician to pioneer in the field of research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). On February 11, 2019, Burke Harris took another momentous step on her career journey: She was sworn in as California’s first-ever surgeon general.
The SWIM team consists of medical and community professionals who know the needs of their communities and goes about developing programs to fulfil those needs.
When he was on the campaign trail, Gov. Newsom spoke often about the need to invest in early childhood education and health care, and he has worked quickly to propose early childhood investments in his initial acts as governor. During his inauguration speech he said, “California is our home. In our home, every child should be loved, fed, and safe. … We will support parents so they can give their kids the love and care they need, especially in those critical early years when so much development occurs.”
The ACEs Low Resilience High program is currently under development. The program components are as follows:
- Resiliency documentary screenings throughout our service communities. Please see Events tab for screening dates;
- Administer ACEs questionnaire at Resiliency screenings as well as on this page to determine ACEs score;
- Provide support services to communities for ACEs and TSS;
- Compile a library of ACEs and TSS resources that includes Ted Talks, articles, health studies, etc.;
- Sponsor community events such as backyard barbeques (see Events for more information).
- The ACEs Low, Resilience High program is expected to debut in late 2020.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Questionnaire
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Questionnaire We invite you to participate in completing the ACEs Questionnaire that follows. It will take you about 10 minutes to complete. Completing the Questionnaire will assist service providers in learning more about the prevalence of ACEs in our service communities and how to better address these issues. To assist us in interpreting your ACEs responses in combination with others’ in the community, we need to know about you and your family. Please take a few moments to respond to the questions below. This information will be kept confidential and will only be used in combination with other respondents. After completing these questions, please go on to complete the ACEs Questionnaire.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Questionnaire
The ACE questionnaire is a simple scoring system that attributes one point for each category of adverse childhood experience. The 10 questions below each cover a different domain of trauma, and refer to experiences that occurred prior to the age of 18. Higher scores indicate increased exposure to trauma, which have been associated with a greater risk of negative consequences.