New Evaluation Finds that a Trauma-Informed Clinic is the Foundation for Successful Adoption of ACE Screening

A new paper confirms a central tenet of the ACEs Aware initiative – a trauma-informed environment of care is a crucial foundation for Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) screening.  

The paper, entitled Clinic Readiness for Trauma-Informed Health Care Is Associated with Uptake of Screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences, was published in The Permanente Journal in January 2024 and was conducted as part of the California ACEs Learning and Quality Improvement Collaborative (CALQIC).  

In the paper, the evaluation found that clinics that experienced larger increases in readiness for trauma-informed health care over the course of the 16-month CALQIC learning collaborative screened significantly more patients for ACEs, supporting the longstanding ethos that trauma inquiry, such as ACE screening, is best accomplished in trauma-informed environments of care. 

Read the Paper

Learn how First 5 San Mateo County is embedding trauma- and resiliency- informed policies and practices at every level of early childhood systems.

Headshot of Kitty Lopez

Kitty Lopez has served as the Executive Director of First 5 San Mateo County since 2012, focusing on policy, advocacy and communications development. Additionally, she is the Chair of First 5 Association of California. Kitty previously served as the Executive Director of Samaritan House, one of the leading safety-net nonprofit agencies serving low-income families and individuals in San Mateo County with food, shelter, clothing, health care, counseling, education classes, and holiday assistance from 2002 to 2012.

Kitty taught kindergarten, second grade, and high school in the Bay Area and in Santa Barbara, and was a consultant in schools with children who have autism and special needs. Additionally, Kitty worked in a residential substance abuse treatment center in San Francisco and psychiatric hospital in San Diego.

She attended University of California Santa Barbara earning a California Teaching Credential and B.A in Psychology. Kitty is active in her community serving on several community boards including HEART (Housing Endowment and Regional Trust of San Mateo County), STEP (Success Through Education Program), and Past President and Current Member of the San Mateo Rotary Club.