The Santa Barbara County Network of Care, a partnership of the Pediatric Resiliency Collaborative (PeRC) and Resilient Santa Barbara County (RSBC), has awarded more than $800,000 in buffering services grants to 19 community organizations addressing toxic stress in children and youth.
Children who experience toxic stress, or high levels of adversity, have been shown to experience disruptions in their health and development.
Cottage Health, on behalf of PeRC and Resilient Santa Barbara County, received a grant from the state’s ACEs Aware initiative to support the Santa Barbara County Network of Care. The ACEs Aware initiative is a first-in-the nation effort led by the California Department of Health Care Services and the Office of the California Surgeon General. ACEs Aware seeks to screen patients for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in an effort to prevent and address the impact of ACEs and toxic stress. ACEs refers to traumatic events, such as abuse, neglect or household challenges, that are experienced before the age of 18.
Through PeRC, Resilient Santa Barbara County, and the Network of Care, ACEs screenings and referral services are being implemented in pediatric clinics across Santa Barbara County. The Network of Care is an important component of this effort and coordinates community organizations providing resources to families affected by ACEs. Twenty buffering services are being offered across 19 organizations in response to referrals from pediatric clinics screening for ACEs.
Grants were awarded for January 1 through June 30, 2022. To learn about the organizations and projects that were selected to provide interventions that prevent, treat, and heal the harmful consequences of toxic stress, please see the full article on the Resilient Santa Barbara County blog:
—Isabella Clark
