ACEs Prevention Strategies

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially stressful or traumatic incidents that harm social, cognitive, and emotional functioning and undermine the safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments children need to thrive. ACEs can be emotional or physical, and exposure to ACEs increases a person’s risk of experiencing chronic disease, behavioral health issues, and intimate partner violence as an adult. Health agencies can work to prevent ACEs by strengthening economic supports to families, promoting social norms that protect against violence and adversity, ensuring a strong start for children, connecting youth to caring adults and activities, teaching skills (e.g., social and emotional learning, parenting skills and family relationship approaches), and intervening to lessen immediate and long-term harms. Using the Suicide, Overdose, and Adverse Childhood Experiences Prevention Capacity Assessment Tool (SPACECAT) can assist agencies in determining the state’s level of capacity to implement ACEs prevention strategies. Below is a list of beginner, intermediate, and advanced actions your organization can take based on your SPACECAT results.

Beginner Action Ideas

• Conduct a scan and list current state policies that strengthen economic supports to families through financial security and family-friendly work (e.g., paid family leave, subsidized childcare, assisted housing mobility). Keep track of policies not currently legislated in your state.
• Identify state programs that promote social norms that protect against violence and adversity (e.g., public education campaigns, bystander approaches, men and boys as allies). Keep track of policies not currently legislated in your state. Ascertain state programs that ensure a strong start for children (e.g., early childhood home visitation, high-quality childcare, preschool enrichment with family engagement).
• Research the benefits of protective factors, such as connectedness, for children's physical and mental health. Compile a list of programs in your state that connect youth to caring adults and activities (e.g., mentoring programs, after-school programs).
• Create a list of state programs that teach skills (e.g., social-emotional learning, healthy relationship skill programs, parenting skills, family relationship approaches).
• Research examples of interventions that lessen immediate and long-term harms (e.g., family-centered treatment, treatment to prevent problem behavior). Determine what interventions your state has in place.

Intermediate Action Ideas

• Research the benefits of policies that strengthen economic supports to families through financial security and family-friendly work (e.g., paid family leave, subsidized childcare, assisted housing mobility) that are not currently legislated in your state. Find examples of policy language used in other states.
• Review research on the importance of promoting social norms that protect against violence and adversity and the programs that support positive social norms (e.g., public education campaigns, bystander approaches, men and boys as allies).
• Collaborate with partner organizations leading programs that ensure a strong start for children (e.g., early childhood home visitation, high-quality childcare, preschool enrichment with family engagement). Identify ways to support their efforts.
• Create factsheets or infographics that convey the importance of connectedness (e.g., mentoring programs, after-school programs) as a protective factor for children's physical and mental health.
• Build relationships with state programs that teach skills (e.g., social-emotional learning, healthy relationship skill programs, parenting skills, family relationship approaches).
• Look into long-term health implications and return on investment for interventions that lessen immediate and long-term harms (e.g., family-centered treatment, treatment to prevent problem behavior).

Advanced Action Ideas

• Reach out to state legislators with information about the benefits of policies that strengthen economic supports to families through financial security and family-friendly work (e.g., paid family leave, subsidized childcare, assisted housing mobility) that are not currently legislated in your state. Create factsheets or infographics to support your case.
• Launch public education campaigns that convey the importance of promoting social norms that protect against violence and adversity and fight stigma about getting help.
• Identify funding sources that can be used to create and/or supplement programs that ensure a strong start for children (e.g., early childhood home visitation, high-quality childcare, preschool enrichment with family engagement).
• Promote the importance of connectedness (e.g., mentoring programs, after-school programs) as a protective factor for children's physical and mental health to leadership in your state. Emphasize concrete data points on health outcomes and return on investment.
• Develop communication and social media marketing strategies that stress the importance of programs that teach skills (e.g., social-emotional learning, healthy relationship skill programs, parenting skills, family relationship approaches) and connect community members to local organizations with these programs.
• Produce content, including factsheets and blogs, which stress the importance of interventions that lessen immediate and long-term harms (e.g., family-centered treatment, treatment to prevent problem behavior) on long-term health outcomes for children.

Resources

• Adverse Childhood Experiences: Primary Prevention | ASTHO
• Home Visiting: Improving Outcomes for Children | NCSL
• Medical Provider Letter Disparities | Michigan
• Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Leveraging the Best Available Evidence | CDC
• Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences Framework | ASTHO
• Significant Home Visiting Enacted Legislation in States (2008-2018) | NCSL
• Strengthening Social Programs to Promote Economic Stability During Childhood | SRCD
• Understanding Social Norms and Violence in Childhood: Theoretical Underpinnings and Strategies for Intervention | PHM
• Violence Prevention | ACEs | CDC
• Virginia Parent Education Coalition Tool Kit | VSPEC

Health Equity Questions to Consider

• Does your organization align your ACEs strategies with your overall strategic plan?
  
  • Learn more about shared planning and strategic plans.
  • Review New Jersey’s ACEs Statewide Action Plan.
• Which of your agency's existing ACEs prevention strategies addresses inequities within your jurisdiction? 
  • Review Ohio's strategic approach to prevent ACEs.
• Does your agency collect ACEs data to tailor strategies and engage in an equitable approach to prevention?
  
  • Learn about preventing adverse childhood experiences: data to action.
• Do the current agency programs that address ACEs prevention have gaps in reaching certain populations or communities or even hinder communities from receiving equitable care?
  
  • Review the blog post, “To Improve Health Equity, Treat Disparities in Adverse Childhood Experiences.”
• Review the document, “State/Territorial Policy Considerations for Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences.” How is your agency working with partners to share and coordinate data that represents all populations within your communities?
  
  • Learn about community information exchanges.
• How does your agency create awareness of the role of intergenerational trauma in ACEs for populations most disproportionately affected in your state?
  
  • Learn more about the impact of intergenerational trauma.