Gov. Phil Murphy hosted a virtual press conference on Feb. 4 to announce the plan. Top row: Murphy, Office of Resilience Executive Director Dave Ellis, and NJDCR Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer. Bottom row: First Lady Tammy Murphy and Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver.

Governor launches adverse childhood experiences action plan

February 28, 2021 • News • 2 minutes to read

February 28, 2021 News 2 minutes to read

Aim is to prevent and reduce childhood trauma and adversity

Gov. Phil Murphy, Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, First Lady Tammy Murphy, and New Jersey Department of Children and Families Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer launched New Jersey’s first Adverse Childhood Experiences Action Plan, a comprehensive statewide strategy to prevent and reduce childhood trauma and adversity. The action plan outlines several initiatives to identify, coordinate, and advance programs and services across state government to reduce and prevent adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that have a negative impact on the developing brain and lead to lifelong social, physical, emotional, and economic challenges.

“Building a stronger and fairer New Jersey for our families has been a top priority of my administration,” said Murphy. “This statewide strategy creates groundbreaking solutions to deal with issues that plague our children, such as the compounded effects of adverse childhood experiences.”

“The socio-economic fallout of this pandemic is tremendous and will mean more adverse conditions for children that can sometimes lead to homelessness and ensuing trauma,” said Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver. “As commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, we will be a partner in this Action Plan to help ensure that children and families live in good conditions with the supportive services they need—whether it be housing, health care or behavioral.”

“The toxic stress of adverse childhood experiences is inextricably linked to New Jersey’s maternal and infant health crisis,” said First Lady Tammy Murphy. “Soon-to-be mothers who have suffered from adverse childhood experiences are at greater risk of having children with reduced birth weight, shorter gestational age, developmental challenges, and socioemotional problems. Further, the adversities that lead to these health outcomes disproportionately impact people of color.”

“To prevent and reduce child abuse, neglect and other maltreatment, we first need to disrupt the cycle of trauma and help children and adults to heal from adversity,” said New Jersey Department of Children and Families Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer.

“This Action Plan lays out a path of hard work and heart-work,” said Dave Ellis, Executive Director of the Office of Resilience. “We are more than our collective traumas; we are our potential for resilience and our capacity for strength.”

The New Jersey ACEs Action Plan’s goals are to:

Help children and families in New Jersey reach their full potential by growing and developing in relationships that are safe, healthy, and protective.
Reduce ACE scores in future generations.
Continually develop resource programs and services based on the research, rather than focusing on rigid metrics of success or failure.
Look at solutions based on community input that address root causes rather than symptoms.
The key elements to implementing New Jersey’s ACEs Action Plan include:
Gathering information about current efforts to address ACEs in the state.
Meeting with nongovernmental organizations to let them lead and contribute to the work.
Expanding leadership to include communities directly impacted by ACEs into the design process.
Collecting data on the project so people can engage with it.
Letting individuals affected by ACEs know that an online community is available for them to share their own thoughts, contributions, and opinions on the ongoing work.

While the Office of Resilience is leading the statewide implementation of the Action Plan, partners from all sectors—public, private, and philanthropic—are needed to bring it to fruition.