CDPH, CDSS Issue ACEs Data Report

This week, the Essentials for Childhood Initiative (EfC), a project of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and California Department of Social Services (CDSS), published a report on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in California that provides an overview of data from 2011-2017 collected through the California Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).

The report presents ACEs data from the 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017 California BRFSS and finds that more than 60 percent of adult respondents that they had experienced at least one category of ACEs before age 18 and about 40 percent reported two or more categories of ACEs. Over a quarter of respondents reported facing three or more categories of ACEs, and about 16 percent experienced four or more categories of ACEs. The most commonly reported ACEs were emotional abuse (30.4 percent) and living with someone who abused substances (28.2 percent). The least common ACE reported was living with someone who was incarcerated (7.5 percent).

In California, 27 out of 58 counties (46.6 percent) were above the state average prevalence of four or more ACEs, and Humboldt, Trinity, Kings, and San Benito counties had the highest reported prevalence of ACEs between 2011 and 2017. Differences in the prevalence of ACEs among racial and ethnic groups were present with respondents who identified as multiracial, Hispanic, or Black reported the highest overall exposure to ACEs compared to White and “other” racial and ethnic groups. The data report additionally details ACEs by educational attainment, income, and healthcare coverage.

The full CDPH and CDSS report is available here.