Resilience Empowerment Project

Arizona is in the midst of a trauma crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood trauma has now reached the level of a public health crisis. What’s more, Arizona ranks highest in the nation for victims who have experienced two or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). To make matters worse, certain population cohorts are two and three times more likely to have multiple ACEs in their background; this includes people who live on Native American reservations, women of color, people with disabilities, children in mixed immigration status families, and people who have had contact with the foster care system. In other words, data tells us that many Arizona communities – many Arizona children and families – are in crisis even as they go about their daily lives in our public schools, in our communities and in our healthcare systems.

The Arizona Adverse Childhood Experiences Consortium (AZACEs) is partnered with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health to deliver a unique professional development program designed for Maricopa County schools to equip educators and other school staff with tools to better address the unique needs of students, families and educators alike.

Arizona is in the midst of a trauma crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood trauma has now reached the level of a public health crisis. What’s more, Arizona ranks highest in the nation for victims who have experienced two or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). To make matters worse, certain population cohorts are two and three times more likely to have multiple ACEs in their background; this includes people who live on Native American reservations, women of color, people with disabilities, children in mixed immigration status families, and people who have had contact with the foster care system.1 In other words, data tells us that many Arizona communities – many Arizona children and families – are in crisis even as they go about their daily lives in our public schools, in our communities and in our healthcare systems.

The Arizona Adverse Childhood Experiences Consortium (AZACEs) is partnered with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health to deliver a unique professional development program designed for Maricopa County schools to equip educators and other school staff with tools to better address the unique needs of students, families and educators alike.

For 2022 and 2023, this training program is free of cost to participating schools, thanks to funding from the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. All participating school staff participating will be compensated at $30 per hour. This is meant to ensure precious school funds need not be spent while also encouraging schools to include as many of their teachers and staff as possible because our children interact with many different roles throughout their school day, from crossing guards to classroom aides to bus drivers – every adult has a role to play in ensuring the learning environment is safe, healthy and supportive. 

In order to facilitate continued growth among District and school staff, AZACEs is also establishing an Ambassador program where a designee from each site will receive additional support from AZACEs to maintain and develop their school’s expertise and practices, ensuring students for years to come are receiving the benefits of a trauma-sensitive environment. Ambassadors will remain in contact with AZACEs and utilize our resources to deepen their expertise in trauma-informed teaching practices to continue mentoring  colleagues. Ambassadors will be compensated with quarterly stipends totalling $2,000 per year.

The process for compensating training participants and designated ambassadors is simple so as to not burden school staff or administration. Funding for school staff compensation is made possible by the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.