A healthy childhood sets the stage for lifelong opportunity. If children have their essential needs met, bond with caring adults, and grow up in a safe, supportive community, they are more likely to thrive physically and mentally – not just in childhood, but as adults as well.
On the other hand, certain childhood experiences can have devastating impacts on long-term health and opportunity. Witnessing violence. Being abused or neglected. Experiencing homelessness. These kinds of traumatic events, and several others, have a name – Adverse Childhood Experiences or, more commonly, ACEs.
Addressing Adversity with a Two-Generation Approach
Studies have shown that ACEs create toxic stress that can fundamentally affect a child’s development and contribute to a number of chronic health conditions later in life. They can also have negative effects on a child’s rapidly developing brain, creating challenges with learning, attention and decision-making. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, past exposure to ACEs can make it more challenging for adults to form healthy relationships, find steady work and have stable finances. The more ACEs experienced, the higher the risk for poor outcomes.
Unfortunately, 1 in 5 Maine children have experienced two or more ACEs.
But the negative impacts of ACEs are not inevitable and can be mitigated. Steps can be taken to help children and families build resiliency against the effects of ACEs, prevent these adverse events from happening in the first place and stop the intergenerational cycles of trauma that harm whole families. Providing access to mental health services, opportunities for positive social connection and support systems for children and families in need are all things our communities can do to address ACEs.
Some of the most effective strategies take a two-generation approach that serves children and their parents/caregivers simultaneously. Practiced across the country, this approach recognizes that a child’s well-being is inextricably linked to that of their parents, families and caregivers. The John T. Gorman Foundation supports several two-generation initiatives across Maine, working with partners to improve outcomes for children by strengthening the families around them.
One two-generation initiative designed to prevent ACEs and promote early health is the Supporting Families Growing Together program at MaineHealth.
Supporting Families Growing Together
Serving young children (0-5) at higher risk of ACEs, Supporting Families Growing Together uses pediatric visits as a launchpad for helping families support their children’s healthy development and address issues that could have adverse effects.
“Ultimately, the intended outcome of this model is to increase family connections to each other, decrease family stress, and support parents to be the best they can be for their children,” said Dr. Stephen DiGiovanni, a practicing pediatrician and Medical Director for the Maine Medical Center Outpatient Clinics, “so that, in this rapid phase of development, children can flourish and be set on a pathway for good health.”
Essentially, the program turns a child’s pediatric visit into a well-visit for the whole family. While focusing on a child’s health and development, these visits open the door to asking important questions about the family’s well-being. For instance, are parents feeling overwhelmed? Does the family have stable housing? What obstacles are keeping children from receiving the services they need?
A key position in the program is the Early Childhood Support Specialist (ECSS), who helps medical providers identify these needs – then works with families to address them. The ECSS offers support in many forms. It could include talking through parenting challenges, helping families apply for assistance programs, or providing essentials like diapers. Many parents come to rely on these relationships for ongoing support and education as the ECSS works with them to set parenting goals and work toward achieving them.
“It’s really been a great overall experience,” one participating parent said. “I’m not sure that I would have been able to be a successful parent otherwise.”
Piloted at pediatric clinics in Portland and Rockland, the program has served more than 500 families so far. Positive outcomes to date have included increased lead and developmental screening rates for children, improved family access to basic necessities, and more children receiving the follow-up services they need. Medical providers have also reported that the ECSS has allowed them to build better relationships with families and spend more time during visits assessing health and developmental needs.
The program closely monitors these kinds of results to see how its model can be strengthened and improved – or even adopted by other providers. There is much to learn from this innovative approach to supporting the early health of children facing adversity so they can thrive now and in the future.
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