HEARTS Initiative
Preventing Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Consequences
The HEARTS initiative is an innovative model to replicate nationally, as well as internationally, to make children’s lives healthier and happier.
HEARTS: Healthy Environments And Relationships That Support
The HEARTS Initiative will prevent and address childhood trauma in the New York State Capital Region and surrounding counties – Warren, Washington, Columbia, and Saratoga. The HEARTS initiative is an innovative model to replicate nationally, as well as internationally, to make children’s lives healthier and happier.
HEARTS are healthy environments and relationships that support people who have experienced trauma. HEARTS also prevent the trauma and consequences of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Our partner agencies have each developed programs to mitigate the effects of ACEs and have joined the HEARTS Initiative cross-sector coalition for a powerful ACE Response impact in the community.
Restorative Integral Support (RIS) is a flexible model that facilitates the integration of a variety of programs carrying out prevention and intervention activities within the context of intentionally developed HEARTS.
The HEARTS initiative works together to improve practices and outcomes in human service delivery as well as in families and communities.
Tools and Resources for Policy Advocacy
We hope to bring people together across sectors.
Changing Legislation to Unite Brain Science and Policy
A video recording of a presentation given by Clare Anderson, former Deputy Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, at the 2013 national Alliance for Children and Families conference. In the video, Anderson reveals how ACE data can be used to influence lasting policy change and reminds us to always “start with the data.”
Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice
Child Traumatic Stress: What Every Policymaker Should Know
A thorough and easy-to-read guide developed by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) to educate policymakers on childhood trauma, which is rightly introduced as a “critical policy issue.” The guide reviews some effective trauma-informed practices, describes various ways in which policymakers can help build solutions, and lists additional resources to explore.
Trauma-Informed Social Policy: A Conceptual Framework for Policy Analysis and Advocacy
Elizabeth A. Bowen, PhD, and Nadine Shaanta Murshid, PhD, from the University at Buffalo School of Social Work, propose a trauma-informed framework for social policy in this peer-reviewed article. Key principles of trauma-informed social policy laid out in the framework could prove helpful in guiding practitioners, researchers, and policymakers engaging in policy-level ACE response work.
