The National Health Collaborative on Violence and Abuse (NHCVA) hosted a Capitol Hill briefing on Wednesday on the Impact of Exposure to Violence and Abuse on Children and Youth : Implications for Health and Education Policy.
Dr Robert Block, University of Oklahoma and the American Academy of Pediatrics, focused on the ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) tool. Dr Block spoke at length to the fact that all people experience some level of stress, and that when it becomes more challenging it becomes tolerable stress and that for most people they are equipped with a support system or life experience that help them cope. When individuals particularly children face unrelenting stress without the needed support that stress can become toxic stress.
Dr Block also indicated that there is now an on-line resource ACEs: Best Practices: Adverse Childhood Experiences: Informing Best Practices a collaboration between the Academy on Violence and Abuse and NHCVA to be a resource to health care professionals who are attempting to integrate ACEs into their practices. The website is also designed to be a living document for input by readers. Part of his message was to urge Congress to extend some current important programs including home visiting, the CHIP program and he called on Congress to expand the Family and Medical Leave law.
The National Health Collaborative on Violence and Abuse (NHCVA) is comprised of more than 30 national professional health associations, dedicated to reducing and addressing the health consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV) and abuse.
