All children in North Carolina thrive in safe, stable, and nurturing environments.
Why Is This Important?
Numerous studies have found a consistently strong relationship between an increasing number of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and poor health outcomes in adults. While the National Survey of Children’s Health does not capture the timing of ACEs or the onset of poor health outcomes, a similar dose-response relationship is found between ACEs and health outcomes in children. In 2017-2018, the percentage of children with complex or poor physical and social-emotional health increased as the number of parent-reported ACEs increased. For example, 14.3% of children with no ACEs had special health care needs, increasing to 43.5% among children with four or more ACEs. The same pattern was found between the number of ACEs and poorly rated physical health, difficulty making and keeping friends, behavior or conduct problems, anxiety, and depression. 2022 NC SHIP, pg. 44.
Story Behind the Curve
“Childhood adversity changes our biological systems – those with higher ACE scores have greater health risks over the course of a lifetime.”
Research consistently shows that ACEs are common.
“Historical and ongoing traumas due to systemic racism and discrimination or the impacts of multigenerational poverty resulting from limited educational and economic opportunities intersect and exacerbate the experience of other ACEs, leading to disproportionate effects in certain populations (Nurious, Logan-Greene, and Green, 2012, as cited in CDC, 2020).” 2022 NC SHIP, pg. 46
Partners
Center for Child & Family Health |
https://www.ccfhnc.org/ |
Kellin Foundation |
https://www.kellinfoundation.org/ |
NCCJ |
https://www.nccjtriad.org/programs/ |
NC DHHS Division of Child Development and Early Education |
https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/ |
North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians |
https://www.ncafp.com/ |
North Carolina Child Treatment Program |
https://www.ncchildtreatmentprogram.org/ |
North Carolina Homeless Education Program |
https://hepnc.uncg.edu/ |
North Carolina Infant and Young Child Mental Health Association (NCIMHA) |
https://www.ncimha.org/ |
North Carolina Judicial Branch- Chief Justice’s Task Force on ACEs |
https://www.nccourts.gov/commissions/chief-justices-task-force-on-aces-informed-courts |
North Carolina Area Health Education Centers (NC AHEC) |
https://www.ncahec.net/ |
North Carolina Pediatric Society |
https://www.ncpeds.org/ |
North Carolina Psychological Foundation |
https://www.ncpsychology.org/ |
Our Children’s Place of Coastal Horizons Center |
https://coastalhorizons.org/ |
Parenting Inside Out |
http://www.parentinginsideout.org/ |
The Impact of Racism on Child and Adolescent Health |
https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/144/2/e20191765/38466/The-Impact-of-Racism-on-Child-and-Adolescent?autologincheck=redirected |
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)- Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS) |
https://www.nctsn.org/interventions/structured-psychotherapy-adolescents-responding-chronic-stress |
The North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc.- Smart Start |
https://www.smartstart.org/ |
Together for Resilient Youth (T.R.Y.) |
https://try4resilience.org/ |
Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) |
https://www.wellnessrecoveryactionplan.com/wrap-can-help/youth-children/ |
Winer Family Foundation |
https://www.wffcharlotte.org/ |
What Works
- Expand community and domestic violence prevention initiatives
- Increase access to behavioral health treatment
- Increase access to evidence-based parenting, early intervention, and home visiting programs
- Increase minimum wage and employment opportunities
- Increase opportunities for traumainformed parenting support
Description of Indicator Data
Children’s National Health Survey
Additional Data Needed at Local Level
DHHS, in partnership with a diverse set of stakeholders, developed a standardized set of SDOH screening questions to address and acquire data on the following:
- Food insecurity
- Housing instability
- Lack of transportation
- Interpersonal violence
https://www.ncdhhs.gov/about/department-initiatives/healthy-opportunities/screening-questions
Measures
Clear Impact Suite is an easy-to-use, web-based software platform that helps your staff collaborate with external stakeholders and community partners by utilizing the combination of data collection, performance reporting, and program planning.