About the Course

We live in a rich nation with all the resources, expertise, and technology to ensure the safety, health, and education of 100% of our children. Yet we have failed to. This course, part of the 100% New Mexico initiative, exists because our children are in peril.

Epidemic rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) diminish all of our children’s lives, both directly and indirectly. We allow children to grow up in households where they experience physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, as well as physical and emotional neglect. Children and teens are currently enduring the trauma that can result from living in households where parents are separated, family members are incarcerated, adults misuse substances, have untreated mental health challenges, and engage in domestic violence. Outside their homes, our children and youth confront social adversity in the form of barriers to vital services that include woefully underfunded health and education systems. Since children can’t mobilize to ensure their health, safety, and education, advocates for children must.

Every adult in each county in the nation has, for decades, had at their fingertips public health and public education data detailing the historic problems facing children and their families. This data includes substance-use disorder illness, injury and fatality, depression and mental health challenges, hunger and food insecurity, housing insecurity, and lack of school engagement, achievement and job readiness. The local data has not served as a catalyst to address the vulnerability of our children… until now.

This course is guided by decades of research focused on the social determinants of health, which are the ten vital local services shown to determine a child’s health, education, job readiness, and overall quality of life. The social determinants may be adverse, meaning that vital services are not accessible, with home, school, and community environments under-resourced.

Our focus is on ensuring the positive social determinants of health through the use of a variety of frameworks and research focused on the social-ecological model, health equity, racial justice, and collective impact and will provide participants with the resources to finally address, on the local level, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), historical trauma, and historical disparities and injustice. The learning experience provided within these ten sessions can strengthen the capacity-building work of local 100% New Mexico initiative participants, as well as their community partners. A Child’s Right to Survive and Thrive empowers local change agents as they build communities where 100% of children and families can survive and thrive.

Our hope is that with the videos, resources, and connection to initiative members provided in the web-based course, participants will feel even more empowered to change “business as usual” to unite with other change agents. This is a course that is as geared to posing questions as discovering answers. We hope you will enjoy the experience ahead and we look forward to collaborating with you in our groundbreaking 100% New Mexico initiative.

Katherine and Dom
Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello
Co-Directors of the Anna, Age Eight Institute at New Mexico State University

A Child's Right to Survive and Thrive

A self-guided course for 100% New Mexico initiative participants & partners. See "How do I enroll."

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