Franklin County addressing the effects of trauma on children

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The Health Policy Institute of Ohio (HPIO) and Franklin County Public Health (FCPH) are working with other local partners to prevent traumatic childhood experiences from affecting long-term health.

Those who work in the space refer to those experiences as ACEs, adverse childhood experiences. They can include violence, abuse, losing a loved one, and a variety of socioeconomic-related challenges, according to Joe Mazzola, health commissioner with Franklin County Public Health.

"Some things that a lot of our families have had to go through, and so those experiences, and there's a lot of research over the last 10 to 15 years, those experiences really have an impact on long-term health for an individual and their families," he said.

With grant funding from the county, FCPH brought HPIO in. HPIO examines health-related challenges and solutions. It discussed some of those at a conference on Monday.

"We’re trying to bring as many partners together to work together and so we’re not working in silos in Franklin County but we’re working together, we can make better use of our resources, more collaboration and just trying to get better outcomes for our children and families," said Becky Carroll, director of policy research and analysis with HPIO.

Other community groups, agencies, and organizations were also in attendance, talking about what is working and what holes they said needed to be filled.

"In our work, we want to highlight ways to reduce risk factors for ACEs but also highlight ways to support parents and to build up more of those protective factors among our kids," Carrol said.