Care Strategies

PREVENTING ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AND SUPPORTING POSITIVE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES IN NEW JERSEY

NJ ACES PREVENTION PROJECT: LEVERAGING A STATEWIDE COMMITMENT TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR NJ CHILDREN AND FAMILIES - THE CENTER FOR HEALTH CARE STRATEGIES (CHCS) IS PROPOSING TO LEAD A MULTI-PRONGED, MULTI-STAKEHOLDER EFFORT TO ENHANCE NJ’S CAPACITY TO MONITOR, REDUCE, AND PREVENT ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES (ACES). THE PROJECT WOULD ADVANCE CORE PREVENTION STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE SOCIAL NORMS CHANGE THAT PROTECT AGAINST VIOLENCE AND ADVERSITY AND ENSURE A STRONG START FOR CHILDREN. CHCS HAS ENGAGED A RANGE OF STATE AGENCIES AND OTHER DATA LEADERS WITHIN THE STATE THAT – WHEN BROUGHT TOGETHER – WILL ENABLE NJ TO ENHANCE ITS CURRENT ACE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM – CURRENTLY LIMITED TO THE STATEWIDE NJ STUDENT SURVEY (YRBS) AND THE BRFSS. THIS WILL ENABLE US TO IDENTIFY COMMUNITIES AT HIGH RISK FOR ACES, AND THEREFORE POSITION US TO INTERVENE MORE EFFECTIVELY TO PREVENT THEM. ULTIMATELY, THESE EXISTING DATA SOURCES WILL BE AUGMENTED THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERAL CROSS-SECTOR, INTEGRATED DATA SOURCES FOR WHICH CONCEPTUAL DISCUSSIONS AND EARLY PLANNING ARE UNDERWAY. THE PROJECT HAS AN EXPLICIT FOCUS ON IDENTIFYING ADOLESCENTS AT HIGH RISK OF ACES AND LEVERAGES PROGRAMS AND POLICIES RELATED TO PRENATAL, EARLY CHILDHOOD, SCHOOL-AGE POPULATIONS, AND DELIVERS ACE TRAINING AND EDUCATION AND WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE FIRST LADY AND A NEWLY FORMED NJ ACE INTERAGENCY TEAM, COMPRISED OF SENIOR LEVEL OFFICIALS ACROSS STATE GOVERNMENT. THIS BUILDS ON THE ONGOING NJ ACES ACTION PLAN EFFORT - WHICH CHCS IS LEADING, ON BEHALF OF THE NJ DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AND THE NJ FUNDERS ACE COLLABORATIVE (COLLECTIVELY, REFERRED TO AS THE NJ ACE COLLABORATIVE). WE WOULD TIME THE FORMAL RELEASE OF ACTION PLAN TO COINCIDE WITH THE ENGAGEMENT OF DATA AND PROGRAMMATIC PARTNERS TO LAUNCH THE WORK. THE FIVE CORE STRATEGIES OF THE ACTION PLAN REFLECT SEVERAL OF THE CDCS ESSENTIALS OF CHILDHOOD GOALS AND WERE DRAFTED EARLIER THIS YEAR BASED ON THE INPUT OF FAMILIES AND STAKEHOLDERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN A SERIES OF FOCUS GROUPS AND LEARNING LABS ACROSS T HE STATE, REFLECTING OUR COMMITMENT TO CENTER THE VOICES OF NJ FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES. IN COLLABORATION WITH THE PARTNERS LISTED, CHCS PROPOSES TO ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING OUTCOMES DURING THE 3-YEAR PROJECT PERIOD: INCREASES IN (1) CAPACITY TO COLLECT, REPORT AND USE ACE DATA; (2) SYSTEM AND PROGRAM PARTNERS’ UNDERSTANDING OF THE DISPARATE BURDEN ON VARIOUS POPULATIONS TO TARGET ACE PREVENTION EFFORTS; (3) PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING ABOUT ACES; THE NUMBERS OF PROFESSIONALS, COMMUNITY LEADERS, AND FAMILY MEMBERS TRAINED/EDUCATED ABOUT ACES; (4) UNDERSTANDING ABOUT POSITIVE PARENTING TECHNIQUES AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO CORPORAL PUNISHMENT; (5) NUMBERS OF FATHERS PARTICIPATING IN FATHERHOOD ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS; AND (6) THE NUMBER OF STATE AGENCIES ADOPTING TRAUMA-INFORMED POLICIES, AND INCORPORATING ACE PREVENTION STRATEGIES INTO THEIR PROGRAMS AND PRACTICES. OUR GOALS WOULD BE ACHIEVED BY (1) DEVELOPING A CROSS-AGENCY SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM FOR IDENTIFYING REGIONS OF THE STATE – AND SPECIFIC FAMILIES WITHIN THOSE COMMUNITIES – AT GREATEST RISK FOR ACES AND CONNECTING THEM TO ACE PREVENTION STRATEGIES; (2) LEVERAGING THE PLANNED ACE PUBLIC AWARENESS AND MOBILIZATION CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT A ROBUST ACE EDUCATION AND TRAINING EFFORT ACROSS THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS AIMED TO CHANGE SOCIAL NORMS AND INCREASE RESILIENCE; (3) DEVELOPING A NJ ACE PREVENTION COALITION FOR THE STATEWIDE COORDINATION OF THE MYRIAD ACE PREVENTION, REDUCTION AND RESILIENCE EFFORTS, AND SHARING INFORMATION DEVELOPED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ACE SURVEILLANCE INFRASTRUCTURE; AND (4) COLLABORATING MEANINGFULLY WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED OFFICE OF RESILIENCE – THE FIRST IN THE COUNTRY – CHARGED WITH BRINGING A FOCUS ON RESILIENCE TO NJ’S HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE AGENCIES. IF SUCCESSFUL, THIS APPLICATION WILL ENABLE THE STATE TO TARGET ACE PREVENTION RESOURCES MORE EFFECTIVELY; INCREASE