A study conducted by the Childhood and Adolescent Health Initiative says almost half of the youth in Delaware have experienced an Adverse Childhood Experience or an ACE.
ACEs can include traumatic events ranging from witnessing or being a victim of violence, experiencing the incarceration or death of a parent, or living with someone who has a drug problem.
Delaware’s 48.3 percent of children experiencing at least one ACE is only slightly above the national average.
Martha Davis is the Senior Program Officer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and her work focuses on the root causes of child abuse and intimate partner violence. She says traumatic events can undermine a child’s health and development.
“A loving home, a good school, a safe neighborhood: these are the essential foundations of a long and happy life, and yet what we’re seeing in these data is too many people don’t have them. We know that ACEs can last a lifetime--they don’t have to,” said Davis.
Davis advocates for healthcare policy changes to reduce ACE occurrences in children.
“We know policies like paid family leave; home visiting can ensure parents and caregivers have the time, the knowledge and resources they need. We know improving the access to and the quality of healthcare and childcare--kids spend a lot of time in these early childhood setting we want them to have access to that,” said Davis.
Davis also suggests pursuing policies at the community level that would lead to more safe affordable housing, violence prevention and access to healthy food.
The study’s statistics come from an online and mail survey of more than 50 thousand parents reporting on ACE events in their children.
