Call to Action

Palm Beach County is well positioned for action. As mentioned in the methodology, the Community Readiness Assessment indicates Palm Beach County is in a preparation stage for action. Funders, collaboratives, and the broader community are positioned to consider a plan to specifically address ACEs and trauma

What does that mean?

Community members have basic knowledge about the causes, consequences, signs, and symptoms of ACEs There are some resources identified that could be used for further efforts to address the issue.

Community members or leaders are actively working to secure these resources

Palm Beach County's community readiness is at stage 5 This means the community has the foundation to confidently move forward with developing a public health framework as well as ideas for levers of change and innovation

There are already quality, research-based efforts targeting people of all ages in Palm Beach County. The community has broadly addressed trauma and specifically funded evidence-based approaches to prevent and mitigate the effects of adversity and trauma However, a focused, coordinated, strategic effort targeting the earliest years (when the largest return on investment is available) is not maximized across sectors in the county

It is our hope that by shedding light on the effectiveness of early interventions that a paradigm shift will occur and that prevention will be prioritized without reducing efforts currently underway

We need an upstream imperative for cross-sector Infant and Early Childhood Action Plan for Fighting ACEs. The next steps of this white paper are to encourage a prioritization of efforts based on resources, collaborative efforts, structure, and momentum currently available in Palm Beach County

The Fighting ACEs initiative recommends a Public Health Approach for Palm Beach County, building on the Birth to 22, Youth Master Plan for Palm Beach County, the needs identified from the Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network's Needs Assessment, the Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County's prevention approach, and the Fighting ACEs initiative's Community Readiness assessment results, and the Think Tank recommendations