ACES 360
  • ACEs in Iowa
    • 2020 Iowa ACEs Report
    • What are ACEs
    • What contributes to ACEs
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Resources for Individuals and Families

Maximizing everyone's potential helps our communities thrive. When we work as a team to build the well-being of children and adults together, the resulting structure is stronger for both generations. 

Even if you have experienced adversity in your life, supportive relationships and access to resources and opportunities in your community can help build well-being and buffer against future stress. This page shares ideas and resources for you to address toxic stress and build resiliency in your own life. It also offers training and resources for individuals who work with families to promote safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments for adults and children. 
Learn about ACEs in Iowa

Opportunities to Respond

Here are ways you can respond to ACEs in your life or with the families you work with. 
  • Learn about brain science and how well-being is constructed. 
  • Help build protective factors in families that buffer against stress and strengthen parents' ability to care for their children. 
  • Build families' connections to services and support in the community. 
Watch this video for how to prevent ACEs
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If you or someone you know have experienced trauma and are seeking support, please connect with 211 for local services and resources in your area. 
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Here are handouts for understanding child stress and how you can respond. 
Kids and Stress
File Size: 1101 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Kids and Feelings
File Size: 766 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Developed by Dr. Amy Shriver
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​The Iowa Alliance for Healthy Kids, coordinated by Iowa ACEs 360, has teamed up with Sesame Street in Communities to give caregivers, providers, and leaders in Iowa the messages and tools to improve the social-emotional well-being of young kids and to promote nurturing relationships within families. Iowa is one of just a handful of communities partnering with Sesame Street in Communities across the nation. ​
Find resources
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Training for Family Support 

​Lemonade for Life trains professionals working with parents and caregivers on use of the ACEs Questionnaire. The goal of the Lemonade for Life program is to help prevent future exposure to ACEs while promoting resiliency and hope.
Learn More


​Resources

Personal Wellness
This section may be helpful to individuals who want to learn more about how to take care of their own mental well-being.  These resources focus on the importance of our personal mental well-being through self-awareness, recognition of compassion fatigue, and other resources and reflections.


  • 211 information and referral service
  • Practicing Resilience for Self-Care and Healing community
  • 45 simple self-care practices for a healthy mind, body, and soul
  • Self-care after trauma
  • Secondary Traumatic Stress
    • Trauma-Informed Supervision in Iowa
  • ​Compassion fatigue awareness project
  • WHO psychological first aid: Guide for field workers
  • Self-care for trauma psychotherapists and caregivers: individual, social, and organizational interventions

Resiliency
The development and strengthening of resiliency can prevent adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and mitigate the impact of traumatic stress. These resources describe resilience, discuss promotion of resilience, and provide valuable resources for individuals and communities interested in improving their resiliency.


  • Resilience - Center on the Developing Child
  • Reaching IN... Reaching OUT: Promoting resilience in adults and children
  • Protective Factors Survey
  • ​Sanctuary model
  • Dr. Nadine Burke Harris on resiliency
  • Positive Discipline​
  • Community Resiliency Cookbook
For Families
The links in this section are meant to help families foster safe, stable and nurturing relationships. Many of these resources may also be helpful for professionals who work or interact with families.

​
  • 211 information and referral service
  • Parenting Resources – Prevent Child Abuse Iowa
    • ​Imperfect Parent Club
  • Amazing Brain by Linda Chamberlain
  • Circle of Security
  • Institute for Safe Families
  • “Every parent has what it takes to be a brain builder"
  • Positive Discipline
  • Tips to Promote social-emotional health of young children from the American Academy of Pediatrics
  • National Child Traumatic Stress Network resources for parents and caregivers
  • Child Witness to Violence Project
  • Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parent Association Trauma Informed Care
  • Birth parents with trauma histories and the child welfare system: A guide for parents
For Family Support Professionals
This section is relevant for family support professionals and other professionals who work with families, particularly families with young children.
  • Iowa Family Support Network
  • Lemonade for Life
  • Adopting ACEs Screening and Assessment in Child Serving Systems, Working Paper
  • Circle of Security
  • Positive Discipline
  • Family Resource Information, Education and Network Development Services (FRIENDS)
  • CDC’s Essentials for Childhood Framework: Steps to Create Safe, Stable, and Nurturing Relationships and Environments for all Children
Connect with us
Quick Links
Iowa ACEs Report

Media 
About us

Iowa ACEs 360
P.O. Box 8301
​Des Moines, IA 50301 ​
  • ACEs in Iowa
    • 2020 Iowa ACEs Report
    • What are ACEs
    • What contributes to ACEs
    • Outcomes from ACEs
    • Opportunities to Respond
    • Research and resources
    • Change the Outcome
  • Advocacy
  • How to respond
    • ACEs Training >
      • Lemonade for Life
    • Lived Expertise
    • Education
    • Health Care
    • Prenatal Care
    • Faith
    • Individuals and Families
    • Pandemic Response
    • Additional Resources
    • Technical Assistance
  • Connect
    • Join the Coalition
    • Iowans Thrive Blog
    • Iowa Alliance for Healthy Kids
    • Upcoming Events
  • About Us
    • Our approach
    • Our story
    • Our Team
    • Media
    • Contact us
  • Donate