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Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative

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For more information about this program please contact:

Mayra Diaz
Policy Analyst, Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative mdiaz@hmprg.org


Hannah Shevrin
Training and Capacity Building Manager, Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative hshevrin@hmprg.org


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Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative

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Overview

The Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative (the Collaborative) is a broad range of multi-sectoral stakeholders committed to expanding the understanding of trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their impact on the health and well-being of Illinois children, families, communities, and systems. Our mission is to catalyze a cross-sector movement to prevent trauma and promote thriving across lifespan and to place the impact of childhood experience on wellbeing at the forefront of the equity agenda in Illinois. Our vision is a thriving and equitable Illinois in which individuals, families, communities, and all systems and sectors work together to prevent trauma, heal, and flourish.

Informed by the collective impact model, the Collaborative takes a root causes approach to addressing trauma and ACEs to build resilience, promote healing, and advance equity.  We develop education, policies, and responses to assist those who have experienced a high level of adversity, while simultaneously developing strategies to reduce the frequency, impact, and intergenerational transmission of ACEs.

The Collaborative’s work is intended to amplify impact and advance systems change; it is not intended to replace the efforts of the many other communities or direct-service providers working towards similar goals. Instead, we strive to bring groups together to promote communication, share work, and avoid duplication to catalyze change in our state.

The Collaborative offers training on ACEs 101, Burnout, and Historical Trauma. Learn more here.

Read the Action Plan to Address Childhood Adversity in Illinois! See more publications and resources in the ACEs resource library.

Click here to join our mailing list.

News

  • Trainings on Trauma-Informed Policy & Practice for a Thriving and Equitable Illinois

    January 20, 2023

    Trainings on Trauma-Informed Policy & Practice More than 61% of adults in Illinois have experienced at least one Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), a potentially traumatic event such as abuse, witnessing violence, and experiencing discrimination, linked to poor health and social outcomes later in life. Community experiences such as gun violence, lack of educational or economic […]

  • Health & Medicine’s Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative Invites You to Kickstart Your Trauma-Informed Transformation

    November 18, 2021

    Preventing childhood adversity, building resilience, and promoting healing from trauma throughout life have always been critical to Illinois’ future, and these issues have taken on new urgency as the state addresses the immediate and long-term impacts of COVID-19 and confronts the historical and contemporary oppressions of racism and discrimination. Whether you are a healthcare professional, […]

  • New Research Points to Opportunities for Preventing and Mitigating the Harmful Impacts of Childhood Adversity Among CPS High School Students

    October 5, 2021

    The Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative (The Collaborative), a program of Health & Medicine Policy Research Group, released a brief today on recently published research relying on an existing youth survey to raise awareness about the connection between childhood experiences and health and well-being among Chicago Public Schools (CPS) high school students. Childhood experiences, both positive […]

  • Health & Medicine Invites Constituents Across the State to Help Build a More Trauma-Informed Illinois

    May 24, 2021

    The Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative (The Collaborative), a program of Health & Medicine Policy Research Group, invited both the public and the press to join its virtual event, Building a More Resilient and Just Illinois. Held in conjunction with the third annual Trauma-Informed Awareness Day in Illinois, the event highlighted leaders in Illinois who champion […]

  • Observing Illinois’s Second Trauma-Informed Awareness Day

    May 6, 2020

    May 15th is Illinois’s second annual Trauma-Informed Awareness Day. Established by Illinois House and Senate resolutions in 2019, Trauma-Informed Awareness Day recognizes the impact of childhood adversity and highlights the importance of prevention, community resilience, and trauma-informed care. In addition to establishing Trauma-Informed Awareness Day, the resolutions promote two other important strategies: 1) that policy […]

  • Observing Illinois’ First Trauma-Informed Awareness Day

    May 15, 2019

    Health & Medicine and the Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative are proud to join with others across the state in observing Illinois’ first Trauma-Informed Awareness Day. Today, our ACEs staff and partners are in Springfield meeting with legislators and speaking about this important legislation. This is a great milestone for building the trauma-informed movement in Illinois […]

  • Health & Medicine Prepares for Illinois’ First Trauma-Informed Awareness Day on May 15

    May 8, 2019

    The State of Illinois has declared May 15, 2019 as Trauma-Informed Awareness Day to highlight the impact of trauma and the importance of prevention and community resilience. Senate Resolution 99, sponsored by State Senators Julie A. Morrison, Laura Ellman, Elgie R. Sims, Jr., and Laura M. Murphy, establishes this important day and promotes two other […]

  • IL ACEs Response Collaborative Informs Senate Resolution

    March 5, 2019

    Illinois State Senators Sen. Morrison and Sen. Ellman recently introduced SR99, Trauma-Informed Awareness Day, citing the Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative’s report on the 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. The Collaborative and Health & Medicine are excited to inform Sen. Morrison and Ellman’s resolution as part of our ongoing work to put the issues of trauma and resilience on the forefront of the equity agenda in Illinois.

  • #FamiliesBelongTogether: Health & Medicine and the Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative Releases Statement on Child Separation

    June 22, 2018

    Health & Medicine Policy Research Group and the Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative strongly condemn the forcible separation of children from their parents and caregivers who have crossed into the U.S. without authorization. As a Collaborative committed to expanding the understanding of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and trauma, we know that the loss of a parent is an ACE that results in prolonged exposure to toxic stress and impacts health and wellbeing across the lifespan. To promote healing and build resilience, children must be reunited with their parents and caregivers immediately, as research shows that these relationships are the most important factor in mitigating the impacts of ACEs and toxic stress.

  • Health & Medicine Meets with IL Legislators to Promote ACE-Informed Policies

    March 26, 2018

    On March 7th, Health & Medicine and our Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative hosted a Legislative Briefing in Springfield with Representatives Juliana Stratton (5th district) and Sara Wojcicki Jimenez (99th district). The briefing provided an overview of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in Illinois and how state systems can promote trauma-informed approaches to delivering care.

  • IL ACEs Response Collaborative Releases Environmental Scan

    November 14, 2017

    As recognition of the widespread impact of trauma increases, the desire to provide trauma-informed care is at the forefront of a movement to build resilience and prevent and mitigate the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Given the growing momentum for change and the need to bolster awareness of promising practices in trauma-informed care, the Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative at Health & Medicine researched over 300 programs to develop this Environmental Scan Report.

Events

Publications