CHOC has received $180,000 in grant funds from the Office of the California Surgeon General and the Department of Health Care Services to participate in the state’s ACEs Aware initiative.
The initiative seeks to change and save lives by helping Medi-Cal providers understand the importance of screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and training them to respond with trauma-informed care.
CHOC will use its grant funds to conduct supplemental training to promote the ACEs Aware initiative among the Medi-Cal provider community in Orange County. Through this training, providers will learn the importance of incorporating ACE screenings into their clinical practice, as well as how to administer screenings, use clinical protocols to determine evidence-based treatment plans, and provide trauma-informed care. Trainings will also include mental health providers and school professionals to encourage communication and coordination between important systems in children’s lives.
“At CHOC, trauma-informed care is embedded into our treatment and interactions with our patients and families,” said Dr. Heather Huszti, CHOC’s chief psychologist. “The COVID-19 emergency underscores the critical need of using trauma-informed care to treat the whole child. We are so grateful to have received this funding to help teach providers throughout Orange County about the importance and practice of trauma-informed care.”s
CHOC was among 100 organizations throughout the state to receive a total of $14.3 million to extend the reach and impact of the ACEs Aware initiative. These grants will provide funding to organizations to design and implement training, provider engagement, and education activities for providers and organizations that serve Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
“We are looking forward to working in partnership with this amazing group of community leaders to further our efforts to help health care providers become ACEs Aware,” said California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris. “This work is critical, now more than ever, given the stress so many Californians are experiencing as a result of COVID-19 and the role of racial injustice as a risk factor for toxic stress. A trauma-informed health care workforce is vital for helping our state heal.”
The grant funding will provide critical support to community organizations serving Medi-Cal providers and beneficiaries, which have been experiencing increased stress during the COVID-19 emergency. Grant activities will augment California’s efforts, underway since the summer of 2019, to develop provider training and engage providers, including the promotion of payments to Medi-Cal providers for screening their patients for ACEs.
Added Dr. Karen Mark, DHCS medical director: “DHCS is committed to preserving and improving the overall health and well-being of all Californians. The ACEs Aware initiative is a vital part of the Medi-Cal program’s response to the COVID-19 emergency. These grants will help us reach Medi-Cal providers who serve diverse and often at-risk populations throughout the state, and will help to ensure that Medi-Cal members receive the high-quality, integrated care that every Californian deserves.”
Funding for the ACEs Aware grants was previously authorized in the 2019-20 budget using Proposition 56 funds for provider training on how to conduct ACE screening in the Medi-Cal population. In light of the COVID-19 emergency, the grant funding will provide critical support to the community organizations serving Medi-Cal providers and beneficiaries.
View the full list of ACEs Aware grantees.
