California Essentials for Childhood (EfC): Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences through Data to Action - The California Department of Public Health, Injury and Violence Prevention Branch (CDPH/IVPB), proposes to implement activities intended to prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and ensure safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for all children in California (CA). To achieve this overarching aim, CDPH/IVPB will address the required three goals of this funding opportunity: 1) enhance a state-level surveillance infrastructure that ensures the capacity to collect, analyze, and use ACEs and Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) data to inform prevention strategy implementation (e.g., work with partners and stakeholders to develop standard ACE and PCE indicators and take steps to strengthen recurring collection of ACE and PCE data, including youth-reported data); 2) implement data-driven, comprehensive, evidence-based ACEs primary prevention strategies (i.e., strategies to connect youth to caring adults and promote social norms that protect against violence and adversity), with a specific intent to reach groups that have been economically or socially marginalized/disadvantaged, and/or under-resourced communities; and 3) conduct data-to-action activities on an ongoing basis to inform changes or adaptations to existing prevention strategies and/or selection and implementation of additional prevention strategies (e.g., CA will strategically disseminate data via a variety of products and methods to advance policy, systems, and environmental change). Additionally, CA has selected to work on the enhanced strategy focused on collection of ACEs data using syndromic surveillance approaches, which will allow CA to leverage existing efforts to bolster syndromic surveillance and use these data for violence prevention purposes [e.g., syndromic surveillance being done as part of CDPH/IVPB’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded Comprehensive Suicide Prevention award]. CDPH/IVPB’s strategic approach will leverage existing multi-sector partnerships and resources to improve ACEs and PCEs surveillance infrastructure and the coordination and implementation of ACEs prevention strategies across CA. CA is also knowledgeable and familiar with the CDC’s Preventing ACEs: Leveraging the Best Available Evidence, the public health approach to preventing ACEs, and is engaged in existing efforts to prevent or mitigate the harms of ACEs at the local and state level. Based on CDPH/IVPB’s prior experience as an Essentials for Childhood CDC-awardee, CDPH/IVPB has a strong knowledge of the current state of ACEs, existing ACEs prevention strategies, statewide violence prevention plans, as well as connection to a vast group of Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences (PACEs) partners and stakeholders. CA’s knowledge and partnerships, coupled with continued receipt of funding and support from the CDC, will enable CA to continue to increase state capacity to develop and sustain a surveillance system that collects, uses, and disseminates data on ACEs and PCEs, including data used to identify and address health inequities. Our ultimate goal will be to use data to guide implementation and reach of tailored ACE prevention strategies that bolster PCEs and help to promote safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments where children live, learn, and play.
