Resilient Youth of Somerset

Who started Resilient Youth of Somerset County?

We are a group of advocates from all sectors of the community, working on behalf of children within Somerset County, NJ.

We are a sub-committee of Friends of Somerset County Youth, and our members include representatives from Children’s Hope Initiative, Richard Hall Community Mental Health Center (RHCMHC), Somerville Public Schools, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Middle Earth, Somerset County Office of Youth Services and Family Support Organization (FSO).

What is our mission?

Our goal is to bring trauma informed care to Somerset County through education and outreach. We plan to educate youth stakeholders throughout our community on the effects of ACEs and the success of trauma informed care. Our goal is to provide TIC training to members of every Somerset County youth service organization by December 2020.

We recognize that there are thousands of youth stakeholders in Somerset County and that we can’t individually educate everyone. We are hoping to educate as many people as we can, and through our outreach, be the catalyst to make Somerset County, NJ trauma informed.

Why is trauma informed care important?

Adverse Childhood Experiences impact a person’s mental health, physical health and behavior by creating a heightened sense of awareness or a constant state of fight or flight.

Trauma Informed Care is an organizational structure, community mindfulness and treatment framework that understands, recognizes, and responds to the effects of all types of trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences. Trauma Informed Care emphasizes physical, psychological and emotional safety, and helps survivors rebuild a sense of control and empowerment. (http://www.traumainformedcareproject.org)

How can you help?

Educate yourself on the effects of adverse childhood experiences and the success of trauma informed care. Our links are a great place to start! Help us spread the word about our important work, and bring trauma informed care into your daily interactions — lead with empathy!

SEE OUR FOUR-PART VIDEO PARENTING PROGRAM AT https://www.youtube.com/@casashaw3959

Make sure to join our mailing list to stay informed of our progress!

Support Resilient Youth of Somerset with a donation today! To earmark your donation for RYS programming, just add your wish as a note on the donation page. Thank you!

For more detailed information, follow our links:

ACE study and its findings: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/index.html

Health implications of toxic stress: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4928741/

Impact of ACEs on the Justice System: https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/childhood-adversities-linked-contact-justice-system

Financial costs of ignored ACEs: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/experimentations/201909/how-adverse-childhood-experiences-cost-133-trillion-year

Trauma informed care defined: https://www.traumainformedcare.chcs.org/what-is-trauma-informed-care/

Training resources: https://www.acesaware.org/learn-about-screening/training/

Informational resources: https://www.acesaware.org/resources/

Legislative status: NJ, https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/562021/20210204a.shtml

Federal, https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/3291?s=1&r=53

Successful examples of trauma informed care: https://www.communitypsychology.com/what-is-trauma-informed-care-an-example/

https://www.ethndis.org/edonline/index.php/ethndis/article/view/959/1339

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207204/

  • Services for children who have suffered abuse/neglect
  • Studies on Child Abuse and Neglect
  • Child Abuse Statistics

Services for children who have suffered abuse/neglect

Studies on Child Abuse and Neglect

Child Abuse Statistics

Children who experience abuse and neglect are 11 times more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 2.7 times more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 3.1 times more likely to commit a violent crime. (1)

About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse. (1)

Five children die every day as a result of child abuse in America. (2)

A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds. (3)

4,154 New Jersey children were in out-of-home placements and not in their own homes in October 2020 (4)

NOTES:

(1) https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/statistics/can/can-stats/

(2) http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11599.pdf (at page 1)

(3) http://www.childhelp.org

(4) https://www.nj.gov/dcf/childdata/continuous/Commissioners.Monthly.Report_10.20.pdf

US Government Statistics on Child Abuse & Neglect
Using information collected through various monitoring and reporting systems, the Children’s Bureau analyzes and reports data on a variety of topics, including adoption, foster care, child abuse, and neglect.
https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/statistics/

New Jersey Child Abuse & Neglect Statistics
Here you will find helpful information about the types of children involved with the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, DCP&P (formerly the Division of Youth and Family Services), including kids who are served in the homes of their birth parents and those who had to be removed into an out-of-home placement. You will also find up-to-date information about efforts to recruit new foster and adoptive families.
http://www.state.nj.us/dcf/ (look at “Data” tab)