Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences: Data to Action

Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences: Data to Action (CDC-RFA-CE20-2006)  will address state-specific needs related to the prevention of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The purpose of this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is to build a state-level surveillance infrastructure that ensures the capacity to collect, analyze, and use ACEs data to inform ACEs prevention activities, support implementation of ACEs primary prevention strategies, and provide technical support to states in these efforts. As a result, states will increase their capacity to develop and sustain a surveillance system that includes ACEs-related data and increase the implementation and reach of ACEs prevention strategies that help to promote safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments where children live, learn and play.

Childhood experiences, both positive and negative, have a tremendous impact on future violence victimization and perpetration and lifelong health and opportunity. ACEs are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years). ACEs include:

• experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect
• witnessing violence
• having a family member attempt or die by suicide

Also included are aspects of the child’s environment that can undermine their sense of safety, stability, and bonding such as growing up in a household with:

• substance misuse
• mental health problems
• instability due to parental separation or household members being in jail or prison.

ACEs are linked to chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance misuse in adulthood.  Preventing ACEs can promote lifelong physical and mental health and well-being, improve education and job potential, and stop ACEs from being passed from one generation to the next. Therefore, preventing ACEs is critical to improve health and socioeconomic outcomes throughout people’s lives.

CDC’s public health approach to preventing ACEs will help develop sustainable ACEs surveillance and implement ACEs prevention activities. This approach includes the development of a strategic action plan with the following components:

• Enhancing or building infrastructure for state-level collection, analysis, and application of ACEs-related surveillance data that can be used to inform and tailor ACEs prevention activities
• Implementing strategies based on the best available evidence to prevent ACEs from CDC’s Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Leveraging the Best Available Evidence
• Coordinating data-to-action activities to leverage statewide surveillance data for continuous data monitoring and promoting sustained benefits of ACEs primary prevention efforts
• Evaluating the overall approach and implemented data-to-action activities

Pending available funding, CDC’s Injury Center intends to commit approximately $500,000 per year for three years to support up to four cooperative agreement recipients.