ACERT: Getting help for traumatized kids


To connect children with the counseling and other services they need to heal from traumatic experiences, the Adverse Childhood Experience Response team trains police and others to spot problems early and make prompt referrals. Laconia's ACERT program has started small, with 14 interventions in its first nine months, but it's patterned on Manchester's program, which in less than four years has helped 1,200 children and families. By refining its approaches to families, the program convinces most to permit interventions. Early help for trauma can spare children long-term, serious health and emotional problems.

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