Advanced ACEs: Building Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice Systems

In the absence of protective relationships, toxic stress in childhood impacts an individual’s health and well-being across the lifetime. This workshop provides an overview of the ACE Study, Trauma, Toxic Stress, PACEs, and the Impact on Health. Florida DJJ research, Resilience, and Building a Trauma-Informed Approach is also explored. By building the capacity of adults in our community to address this issue, we can nurture the social-emotional wellness of the next generation. And by shifting our perspective and recognizing that behaviors may be fueled by feelings a child may not be able to manage, we can build the foundation to help children impacted by adversity.

Participants will learn and be prepared to facilitate:

• About the ACE study, including the ACE Pyramid which provides the conceptual framework for the study;

• Outcome and Findings of the ACE study;

• Definition of Toxic Stress and its Impact on the Developing Brain throughout the Lifespan;

• Impact of Early Adversity on Lifelong Health – Emotional and Physical;

• About the ACEs and Resilience Surveys, including their own scores;

• How Resilience Trumps ACEs;

• The importance of creating trauma-informed and resilience-building practices based on the findings of the ACEs research;

• Role plays practicing effective communication strategies, including reflective statements;

• Shifting Thinking and Practice to become Trauma-Informed;

• What are positive and adverse childhood experiences;

• What is the difference between PCEs and ACEs; and

• Local Delinquency/Dependency research involving youth you may currently serve

Trainers from Center for Child Counseling