Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) in Minnesota
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Identify Strategies Shown to Improve ACEs
These strategy sheets, developed in collaboration with Wilder Research, are meant to help Minnesota communities identify strategies to promote resilience and well-being, prevent ACEs, and support youth and individuals who have experienced ACEs. Accordingly, these briefs focus on strategies that can be implemented at the local level, such as in schools, school districts, communities, and counties. They do not focus on broader strategies that are meant to be implemented at the state, federal, or systems level, and they do not include policy or legislative strategies.
There are many different ways to address PACEs concerns, and they are deeply interconnected. Accordingly, many of these strategies address multiple PACEs-related indicators. These briefs do not contain an exhaustive list of all the strategies that could be used to promote resilience and well-being, prevent ACEs, and support youth and individuals who have experienced ACEs.
View these strategy sheets to address specific ACEs in your community
- Academic Engagement and Teacher/School Staff Relationships (PDF)
- Caregiver Incarceration (PDF)
- Connecting Youth to Caring Adults (PDF)
- Community Connections, Belonging and Safety (PDF)
- Community Inequality and Connection to Basic Needs (PDF)
- Family Relationships, Abuse, and Violence in the Home (PDF)
- Foster Care System and Out of Home Placement (PDF)
- Juvenile Justice System Involvement (PDF)
- Mental Wellbeing (PDF)
- Peer Violence, Bullying, Harassment and School Safety (PDF)
- Sexual Violence, Abuse, or Exploitation (PDF)
- Substance Use and Mental Illness in the Household (PDF)
Best practices for any initiative
In addition to the strategies outlined in these briefs, there are several best practices that are important for any type of program or initiative, including ensuring the programs, services, or resources are:
- Culturally specific or culturally responsive.
- Adequately resourced.
- Adequately implemented according to their design
- Supported by key parties, key parties have buy-in, and key partners are willing to collaborate.
- Evidence-based.
- Regularly evaluated to assess impact and identify areas for improvement.
- Trauma-informed or trauma-sensitive.
Additionally, there are several strategies communities can implement to further their PACEs work, including:
- Creating and strengthening pathways for identifying ACEs as early as possible, as early identification is critical to intervening and mitigating the negative impacts of ACEs exposure (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). Efforts to improve identification and timely intervention often involve integrating ACEs screenings into health care settings and training professionals who work with youth (Dube et al., 2023; Rariden et al., 2021).
- Raising awareness of ACEs, their impact, and the importance of PACEs work.
- Focusing on promoting resiliency and well-being regardless of someone’s ACEs history.
- Collaborating across sectors to align PACEs efforts and avoid duplication.