Alan Davidson’s Post

I have been fortunate enough to attend many academic conferences in the past decade; however, this conference (the National Research Conference for the Prevention of Firearm-Related Harms) has been the most impactful for my professional growth. The content and connections have been particularly salient as I am quickly nearing the end of my dissertation qualifying exam process and am looking toward formulating my dissertation proposal in January 2024. The topic, unsurprisingly, focuses on gun violence reduction programming. For now, I am grateful to continue disseminating the findings of our evaluation of Milwaukee’s community- and hospital-based violence intervention program, 414LIFE. Today’s poster presentation concerns the findings related to the community-facing services of the program. Here are some of the key takeaways: - 414LIFE was well implemented with fidelity according to Cure Violence’s 5 core model components. - There was citywide reach, although concentrations of activities and mediations appear to be greater in priority neighborhoods. - Future research is needed to evaluate the participant experience and impact on non-fatal shooting and homicide incident rates. Looking forward to #2024FirearmResearchConf

Chicago Civic Media has the safety of Chicago at the heart of its fundamental design, utilizing media for what it was SUPPOSED to be used for: to connect people with other people--young with old, advantaged with disadvantaged, anybody with anybody--in this case, to mitigate violence in the City of Chicago. This media-based approach has two key implementations: 2 Chairs and 4 Steps. Two Chairs is a televised, gamified approach that brings together pairs of key leaders of Chicago to compete to come up with the most positive and constructive approaches to defend the safety of Chicagoans. Four Steps is a realty TV program that showcases the youth of the city leading their peers and other citizens of Chicago by example, as they compete for the best ideas to solve the violence problem. Those individuals with the best solutions have the chance to implement their visions and have them aired on TV. For both programs, panels of experts serve as the judges of the best solutions. In summary, it is high time for our mainstream media to shift from sensationalizing negativity and individualism to placing greater emphasis on the sorts of positive and unifying approaches that Chicago Civic Media aims to reward to help reverse runaway violence in my home town.

The recently published book Behavior Safety and Clinical Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, edited by members of Melmark’s leadership team and senior staff, focuses on safety concerns among children, youth, and adults with IDD who are susceptible to accidents and personal injury, lack self-preservation skills to prevent and avoid risk exposure, demonstrate behavior that is harmful (e.g., abuse, aggression, and property destruction), and receive restrictive and potentially unsafe interventions.      View the research poster and learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eip9YC3T

The Minimum Practice Standards: Specialist and Community Support Services Responding to Child Sexual Abuse are now available. The 6 standards, underpinned by 3 overarching core values (victim and survivor centred, trauma‑informed and culturally safe), include: • promotion of safety and self-determination • accessible and inclusive services • holistic and integrated responses • experience, research and practice informed way of working • skilled and supported workforce • effective organisational governance. The standards are designed to guide service provision and can support or enhance work that is already occurring in the sector. Learn more and access the standards and implementation guide: https://lnkd.in/ggv8AQdp.

Good vision for all requires lenses of social justice addressing visual disparities isn't just about eyesight, it's about breaking barriers in education, employment and economic productivities. As eye health care practitioners we must must reframe the naratives to recognize vision as a global public health issues, advocating for policies that prioritise eye health and dismantling barriers to access. Together we can ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to reach thier highest potential.

The recently published book Behavior Safety and Clinical Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, edited by members of Melmark’s leadership team and senior staff, focuses on safety concerns among children, youth, and adults with IDD who are susceptible to accidents and personal injury, lack self-preservation skills to prevent and avoid risk exposure, demonstrate behavior that is harmful (e.g., abuse, aggression, and property destruction), and receive restrictive and potentially unsafe interventions.      View the research poster and learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eip9YC3T

#MyFeeedomDay What do you know about Human Trafficking and how it is a global issue (even in places where we believe it's not happening)? Could you recognize if your children/students were being coerced? What games are being used to target your children? Are there children in your neighborhood, schools, religious meeting places, etc., who are victims? Thank you to Veronica McDaniel who has been a leader in this effort not only at Atlanta International School, but globally. Her ability to let the students lead over the years went from a local spark to a CNN initiative. This is an example of how we all can facilitate our students TO DO. Today was such an impactful student lead day with a myriad of activities used to teach our students, staff, and parents. Special Thanks to all of the students of AISAHT (AIS Against Human Trafficking) and the staff volunteers who help them, Freest-Forming Responsive Engaged and Educated Students-an organization dedicated to engaging students in fighting against human trafficking, Camila Zolfaghari who led an amazing session for parents on how to protect our students from traffickers who are now targeting their emotional and developmental vulnerabilities through social media and gaming, as both a parent and a leader there was so much to unpack. Lynda Kinkade and all of the CNN crew who came and spent the day to capture our student leaders at work. This is one of the various examples of how we reinforce our mission to "Develop courageous leaders who shape their world for the better." Below are a few videos from the day #StopChildLabor #Safeguarding #EndChildTrafficking #EndHumanTrafficking https://lnkd.in/dfZKWTAe https://lnkd.in/d7PUntnG

How can a partnership with JT Consulting support your Title IX Office? This week's blog offers three examples of how a partnership with JTC can strengthen schools' responses to gender-based violence and support the sustainability and efficacy of Title IX teams.

Here is a new report from The Children's Partnership (TCP). --- With our partners at the Children Thrive Action Network and CA-Protecting Immigrant Families, we created this updated fact sheet in our “A Child is a Child” series featuring data and information on health care access and coverage, language access, digital equity, mental health, school climate and safety, economic well-being, and more. We also highlight the protective factors that help our culture-rich immigrant communities mitigate risks to health and support their children’s success. https://lnkd.in/g3mGJvbz

Professional practice in early childhood is always better when it's done as part of a community of practice. That's why we've made online community groups for early childhood practitioners and partners to connect and discuss the issues in their professions. You can find more information about these and the other supports we have available for practitioners here: https://loom.ly/rbJjum0