Effective Prevention in New Jersey

NEW JERSEY’S ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES STATEWIDE ACTION PLAN

“Estimates of the prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences range from 61-67 percent. In 2016, over 40 percent of children in New Jersey — more than 782,000 — were estimated to have experienced at least one ACE, and 18 percent were estimated to have experienced multiple ACEs. Among the state’s youngest children (under five years old), 33 percent experienced one or more ACEs. Consistent with national findings, rates of exposure to adverse experiences are higher in New Jersey for children and families of color and for children living in poverty than for their non- Hispanic white and more financially secure counterparts.” xiii The landmark ACE study, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Kaiser Permanente, focused on the 10 categories of ACEs listed below. xiv

In 2019, the New Jersey ACEs Collaborative, an alliance of DCF and three New Jersey philanthropic organizations, the Burke Foundation, The Nicholson Foundation, and the Turrell Fund, released Adverse Childhood Experiences: Opportunities to Prevent, Protect Against, and Heal from the Effects of ACEs in New Jersey . In response to the comprehensive report, the Office of Resilience was created in June of 2020 and is housed within the New Jersey Department of Children and Families. The purpose of the office is to host, coordinate, and facilitate statewide initiatives related to raising the awareness and creating opportunities to eradicate Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) through grassroots and community-led efforts, technical assistance, and strategic support for organizations already pursuing this work. In February 2021, the Office of Resilience released the NJ ACEs Statewide Action Plan . The plan outlines the following Five Core Strategies to address ACEs in New Jersey:

ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES ARE COMMON

5

Household Dysfunction Substance Abuse

27% 23% 17% 13%

Achieve Trauma-Informed & Healing- Centered State Designation

5 core strategies TO ADDRESS ACES IN NJ

Parental Separation/Divorce

10 total aces

Mental Illness Battered Mothers Criminal Behavior

6%

2 3

Neglect

Conduct an ACEs Public Awareness & Mobilization Campaign

Emotional Physcial

15% 10%

Abuse

Emotional Physical

11% 28% 21%

Maintain Community-Driven Policy & Funding Priorities

Sexual

Promote Trauma- Informed/ Healing-Centered Services & Supports

Provide Cross-Sector ACEs Training

SOURCE: ADOPTED FROM ACE INTERFACE, 2015

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