CHOC, Partners Receive State Funding to Support Trauma-Informed Care in Region

A $1 million state grant will allow CHOC and a host of Orange County-based organizations to continue efforts to make trauma-informed care and screening of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) a standard of care in primary care settings throughout the region.

CHOC and its partners are one of 25 teams statewide to receive funding provided by the Preventing and Responding to ACE-Associated Health Conditions and Toxic Stress in Clinics through Community Engagement – or PRACTICE – award.

This grant marks the latest round in a series of funding through the state’s ACES Aware Initiative that has allowed CHOC and its partners to conduct supplemental trainings to promote the initiative among Medi-Cal providers in Orange County and establish the ACEs Aware Trauma Informed Network of Care (TINoC).

Now with this third round of funding, the team will refine those successes by creating a well-coordinated and sustainable system for ACEs screenings and referrals throughout the county, bolstering their successes achieved previously.

“We are honored to receive this additional funding to continue building upon this important work,” said Dr. Michael Weiss, CHOC’s vice president of population health. “Through previous rounds of funding, we joined our partners in strengthening community links and training our providers. Now, we look forward to an enhanced focus that will help further embed trauma-informed care into primary medical care provided throughout the region.”

The goal of PRACTICE is to increase the workforce and services needed for primary care clinics in California to expand and sustain screening and response to ACEs and toxic stress in local communities.

The funding is awarded to teams that will be led by clinics and includes community-based organizations and Medi-Cal managed care plans. Teams will identify gaps in their communities in care and services and, through a statewide learning collaborative, leverage existing and new sources of state funding to build sustainable capacity to fill these gaps.

CHOC is joined in the PRACTICE grant by a cross-sector collaborative of partner organizations. They include CalOptima; Mind OC and sub-organizations who partake in the TINoC; the American Academy of Pediatrics – Orange County Chapter; First 5 Orange County; the Coalition of Orange County Community Health Centers; and the Orange County Department of Education.