State officials are going all-in to reduce the trauma experienced by Oklahoma children.
A three-year task force and a Senate interim study will come up with ways to reduce the number of adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs. Those can include emotional, physical or sexual abuse; drug use by a family member; divorce; violence in the home; and neglect.
Researchers have tied ACEs to health problems like heart disease and diabetes once those traumatized kids become adults.
"Sometimes, depending on the ZIP Code where you live at and the level of ACEs, you could see almost 20 years decreased from your lifespan on average," said Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy CEO Joe Dorman.
The rate of Oklahoma kids experiencing several traumas is high.
"Oklahoma falls about 32 percent. So, nearly one-third of our kids have suffered multiple incidents of adverse childhood experiences," Dorman said.
Dorman said reducing childhood trauma could save the state money on incarceration and health care costs in the long run.
"These early incidents with ACEs, I am convinced, are what has caused Oklahoma to be No. 1 in the nation for opioid abuse and No. 1 in the world for incarceration of our adults," Dorman said.
There has not been a date set for the interim study on ACEs, requested by Sens. Kay Floyd and Greg McCortney.
