The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, as “stressful or traumatic events, including abuse and neglect.” New national data reveals that more than 46 percent of U.S. children—34 million under age 18—have experienced at least one traumatic event. More than 20 percent have experienced two or more.

In September 2016, Child Care Resource Center, the resource and referral agency serving the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, began implementing the Child Care Aware® of America’s Resiliency Hub pilot project. The goal of this project is to “increase the capacity of child care resource and referral agencies to serve as resilience hubs in their communities in the event of emergencies or natural disasters.”

It seems that every time our nation experiences a major disaster, we learn more about the gaps in our emergency response system. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma were no exception, and one gap the storms revealed is in how we assist people with disabilities, including young children, in the event of an emergency.

The Problem:

The average 4- to 5-year-old child consumes 17 teaspoons of added sugar each day, or 65 pounds per year! The majority of that sugar comes from fruit drinks, high-fat desserts, soft drinks, and candy.

Spotlight:

Patricia Crosby, Owner, Patricia’s Day Care, Baltimore, MD

Now more than ever, the need to protect the health of the most vulnerable among us is paramount. Children are our most valuable resource—they represent the very future of our nation. Yet over the past few decades children have faced increasing rates of chronic illness and developmental issues linked to environmental exposures and our changing climate: