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. ASTHO works with state, territorial, and freely associated state health agency leadership, their staff, and cross-sector partners to strengthen jurisdiction-level infrastructure to elevate ACEs prevention. ASTHO also aims to increase knowledge and inspire ACEs programmatic, legislative, and leadership staff to establish policies upstream. Visit ASTHO's ACEs prevention web pages on policy, partnerships, and data to learn more.
The Suicide, Overdose, and Adverse Childhood Experiences Prevention Capacity Assessment Tool (SPACECAT) helps local, state, and territorial health agencies better understand their capacity to address suicide, overdose, and ACEs. This is crucial because prevention involves cross-sector collaboration targeting factors at the individual, relationship, community, and societal levels.
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ACECAT Roadmap
This roadmap provides concrete steps to complete the Adverse Childhood Experiences Capacity Assessment Tool (ACECAT) asynchronously.
Adverse Childhood Experiences Prevention Policy Tool
This resource identifies strategies for preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), the role of public health in ACEs across levels of government, and policy development strategies to inform ACEs prevention.
Improving the Built Environment Prevents ACEs and Creates Safer Communities
This blog post highlights how enhancing the built environment can prevent ACEs and foster safer communities by addressing factors like access to schools, health care, and green spaces.
Leveraging Policy and Funding to Prevent ACEs (YouTube)
This webinar focuses on the importance of policy and braiding and layering funding to address and prevent adverse childhood experiences.
State/Territorial Policy Considerations for Preventing ACEs
This policy playbook identifies a range of evidence-supported policies considered by state legislatures from 2019-2021 that could prevent adverse childhood experiences.
Braiding and Layering Funding for ACEs Prevention
This report discusses the process of braiding and layering funds and identifying opportunities to maximize adverse childhood experiences prevention resources and impact.
Latest ACEs Resources
Policies Supporting Young Families Can Reduce Adverse Childhood Experiences
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Improving the Built Environment Prevents ACEs and Creates Safer Communities
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Early Success Stories
Change can take time, but every success improves our capabilities to care for our communities. Explore four powerful, successful programs.
Learn MoreCollaborations
Through the ACEs Learning Community, ASTHO collaborates with state health agencies and other public health organizations to examine national trends in ACEs prevention priorities, strengths, and areas of improvement. ASTHO also closely coordinates with Safe States Alliance to support the ACEs Learning Community activities and products.
As a result of participating in the learning community, states have increased their capacity in the following ways:
- Mapping and surveying ACEs partners and sharing data with external ACEs partners.
- Fostering cross-sector dialogue and strengthening connections within the state.
- Deepening understanding of the existing knowledge, work, and capacity around ACEs within a state.
- Bolstering state health agencies as ACEs experts.
- Understanding the scope of relevant ACEs policies.
- Identifying strategies for coalition building and policy change.
- Finding braiding and layering opportunities within their agency.