On March 7th, Health & Medicine and our Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative hosted a Legislative Briefing in Springfield with Representatives Juliana Stratton (5th district) and Sara Wojcicki Jimenez (99th district).

The briefing provided an overview of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in Illinois and how state systems can promote trauma-informed approaches to delivering care.  Gene Griffin, JD, PhD gave an overview of ACEs, trauma, and resilience, which was followed by a discussion on how to integrate trauma informed practices in systems like education, health, and criminal justice.  Legislators from across the state joined us, including Representatives Butler, Bristow, Finnie, Lilly, Wallace, and Mussman, and discussed the need for trauma informed care in their districts.

We were joined by representatives of the Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative from United Way of Illinois, Lurie Children’s Hospital, The Illinois Collaboration on Youth, and the ChildLaw Policy Institute at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.