On July 9, 2014, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted a Brown Bag "Toxic Stress Among Men and Boys of Color." This Brown Bag featured Dr. David Pate, Jr. an Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of…

The Brookings Institution released a policy brief that states that well-targeted interventions at various child life stages could decrease the gap between more- and less-advantaged youths by over 70 percent.

Early childhood trauma, such as physical abuse or witnessing violence, can last a lifetime and manifest in physical and mental health problems throughout one’s life. The National Collaborative on Adversity and Resilience (NCAR) is a national…

The Office of Family Assistance, through its Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) efforts, hosted a live Expert Panel webcast that explored the effects of toxic stress in childhood. This moderated discussion brought…

This issue of Future of Children focuses on two-generation approaches to improving children’s development. A child’s home environment can impact stress, education, health, income, employment, and more throughout his or her life. Two-generation…

This study examines county-level data on income inequality and rates of child maltreatment. Researchers assessed data on substantiated reports of child abuse and neglect from 2005 to 2009 and poverty data from the American Community Survey.…

This paper, from the Crittenton Women’s Union (CWU), discusses how executive functioning skills are important to move out of poverty. Executive functioning includes skills like impulse control, working memory, and mental…

This brief fact sheet from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) gives an overview of the key ideas that drive a trauma-informed practice. For example, a trauma-informed organization is physically and psychologically…

This resource from the Center for the Developing Child at Harvard University provides links to numerous articles, all related to toxic stress. A variety of articles are provided, all related to reducing toxic stress in children. Links to related…

This video and companion brief from Harvard University's Center on the Developing Child provide an overview of what executive function is and how it affects one’s life-long capacity to learn. It explains how these skills develop…