Community Initiatives
What is ACEs?
ACEs are events that happen during childhood that are potentially traumatic to those who experience them.
What Is Trauma?
Trauma is a person's experience of emotional distress due to an event or experience in their life.
Types of ACEs?
Abuse- emotional, physical, sexual
Neglect- Emotional, Physical
Household Challenges- Substance use, mental illness (including attempted suicide), divorce or separation, incarceration, intimate partner or domestic violence.
Other Adversity- bullying, community violence, natural disasters, refugee or wartime experiences, witnessing or experiencing acts of terrorism
What impact do ACEs have?
People who have experienced significant Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are at greater risk for:
- Developing physical and mental health conditions.
- Having learning challenges that result in lack of education and job potential.-
- Difficulty forming stable and healthy relationships.
Does everyone experience ACEs?
About 64% of adults have experienced at least one type of ACE.
These are some groups more likely to have experienced ACEs:
-People with less than a High School Diploma
- People that make less than $15,000 per year
-People unemployed or unable to work
-Lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people
What can caregivers do to Help?
After you recognize the effect of ACEs in your family members lives, it can be hard to know what to do next. Here are some great ways to get started:
Talk to someone: Find a counselor or social worker to help guide your loved one through healing and to teach skills for healthy coping.
Set up Routines: Predictable morning and evening habits can help to reduce stress and anxiety for the whole family!
Connect with your child: Show that you care with your time, your actions, and your words.
Get help working through your own ACEs, if needed: You can break the cycle and model the importance of healing.
The Integrated Referral and Intake System (IRIS) is a web-based tool to help organizations connect the families they serve to the right resources in their community. Referrals can be handled by any staff making referrals, including practitioners and reception staff. IRIS follows the referral through three stages: sent, accepted/rejected, & completed. Referrals are HIPPA compliant, encrypted, and secure, keeping your clients data safe.
IRS is an initiative of the Kankakee County Health Department, funded by the Kankakee County Board. IRIS was developed and designed by the University of Kansas and has a nationwide presence.
IRIS stands for Integrated Referral Intake System. Its mission is to close the loop of a referral and make communication between service providers easy and safe. IRIS is a web-based provider facing referral communication tool that can connect your practice to direct referrals in other sectors and realms of care. IRIS can be handled by any staff making referrals, including practitioners and front desk/intake staff. IRIS follows the referral through three stages: sent, accepted/rejected, and completed. All referral outcomes are reported and parties involved will be notified of any updates via mail. The referrals sent in IRIS are HIPPA compliant, encrypted, and secure. No personally identifying information is sent in IRIS and referral data stays between the two organizations involved. IRIS launched in Kankakee County on February 5th , 2024. There are forty-four other counties involved in an IRIS network in Illinois. Almost 65,000 referrals have been made in Illinois, and 110,000 referrals have been made across five states using IRIS. Contact: Kailee Zito Email: kzito@kankakeehealth.org Phone: 815-802-9442
Partnership for a Healthy Community
The Partnership for a Healthy Community consists of local agencies and organizations, as well as community members that work collaboratively to identify health priorities and strategies to address these priority issues. In 2017, the third cycle of the MAPP (Mobilizing for Action for Planning and Partnership) was initiated by the Partnership for a Healthy Community Steering Committee. The MAPP cycle is used to conduct the Community Health Needs Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan.
Based on extensive analysis of the Community Health Needs Assessment, the following were identified as the three priority issues for Kankakee County for 2019-2021:
- Access to Health
- Behavioral Health
- Education and Employment
To learn more and get involved with this project, visit https://www.kankakeehealth.org/about/community-health-needs-assessment-and-improvement-plan/
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