Join the movement to screen, treat, and heal toxic stress.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress represent a public health crisis that has been, until recently, largely unrecognized by our state’s health care system and society. But there is hope. We can take action now to change and save lives. The impacts of ACEs and toxic stress are treatable. We can screen for ACEs, respond with evidence-based trauma-informed care, and significantly improve the health and well-being of individuals and families.

The effects of toxic stress are detectable as early as infancy. In babies, high doses of adversity are associated with failure to thrive, growth delay, sleep disruption, and developmental delay. Here at First 5 Contra Costa, we are committed to mitigating and preventing toxic stress through trauma-informed care, advocacy for policy change, as well as fostering resilience and healing.

No one organization, provider, or agency can do this work alone.  One of our goals are to connect providers to resources and each other so they can do their part to prevent, screen, treat, and/or heal ACEs in families and children.

Here are ways to get involved:

For Providers

  • Join the Contra Costa Network of Care, a community of care and service providers who work with families. As a network, we turn referrals into relationships, system ruptures into repair, and awareness of one another into a realization of community and collective work.
  • Find out more about the “Becoming ACEs Aware in California” Training. It’s a free, two-hour training to learn about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), toxic stress, screening, risk assessment, and evidence-based care to effectively intervene on toxic stress.

For Individuals, Parent/Caregiver, and Families