​You care about supporting those you serve and those you are connected to in your life. You want to make a difference in your community, but struggle to know how to respond.  

  • Individuals you work with have many needs​
  • There is never enough time or resources
  • You are stuck in a system that holds problems in place
  • The need in our community is too great
  • You want to speak up but don't know where to start
  • Trauma is too complex to know what to do
Iowa ACEs 360 provides research, tools, and a network to empower you—and our entire state—to take informed actions that help all individuals heal from trauma and thrive for generations to come. Working as a coalition, we research the problem, test new solutions, identify best practices, and advocate for system changes to address incredibly complex challenges related to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). 
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Together we can create compassionate communities that support all Iowans in life-long healthy development.
I think a challenging mindset from the past is that kids’ behavior just needs to be punished, and if you do that, it will stop. The problem is, it might stop it in the moment, but we haven’t addressed the cause of the behavior.
- Jan Powers, doctoral student and researcher, University of Iowa

Become an informed champion

We provide the backbone support for partners in government, nonprofit, philanthropy, education, health care, faith, business, community, and more. Everyone is invited to get involved. 
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Read research about ACEs, brain science, and how to respond. 
Build understanding and find solutions in your area of work. 
Join the coalition to learn and network together. 
Share your experience in healing from trauma and using strategies. 
The youth that we serve have significant trauma, and we weren’t equipped. We knew that if we were going to continue this work, and want to do this work well, that we’d better start equipping ourselves well.
- Christine Her, Executive Director, ArtForce Iowa

Our Success
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New approaches
are addressing secondary traumatic stress and integrating healing-centered engagement into systems.
30,000+
Iowans are trained on ACEs and trauma-informed responses each year.
2018
A law passed requiring educators to receive annual training in ACEs and toxic stress. 
11 sectors
are weaving together research, strategies, and advocacy to respond to trauma. 

The Spark in Iowa

Our movement started when an engaged group of stakeholders heard about The ACE Study for the first time. Since 2012, the Iowa ACEs 360 Coalition has brought diverse partners together to identify and seize opportunities for responding to the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. Watch the video below for the history on the movement. 

Stay Connected