The Collaborative will host at least two Community Resilience Conversations to focus on the most important issues related to ACEs in the Collaborative’s community. Participants will collectively decide where to go next. MCCC will work with the Collaborative Coordinator and their local Community Resilience Planning Team to advise and assist (e.g., plan, facilitate, coach, etc.) with these first two conversations. The conversations will allow time for community members, parents, and practitioners to discuss ways to develop resilience, guided by community data. Each community is unique, so the design of the conversations may vary, driven by community needs, strengths, and data. These inclusive conversations will help gather stories and statistics to inform the development of Community Resilience Plans. 

• NEAR Science – Neurobiology, Epigenetics, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Resilience
• Qualitative data gathered from a diversity of community voices - including populations most affected by ACEs and people representing multiple sectors of the community, such as local schools, public health, law enforcement, mental health, congregations, community groups, and agencies
• Quantitative data related to risk and protective factors for children, youth and families
  • Data may be gathered from a variety of local and state sources, such as out of home placement data, disparity data, Minnesota Student Survey (MSS) data, Search Institute data, census data, child protection reports, early childhood data, health care data, Children’s Mental Health GAPS Analysis, Kids Count data, and Annual Collaborative Reports

Community Resilience Conversations will create Community Resilience Plans that reflect the actions the Collaborative and partners commit to take to decrease ACEs and increase protective factors in their community. These plans will help the Collaborative identify community goals and priorities for concentrating efforts that will put awareness into action to create self-healing communities. The plans will incorporate leadership expansion, community collaboration, shared learning, and results-based decision making.  The goals of the plan include:

1. Enhance community collaboration and capacity
2. Implement strategies to enhance protective/resilience factors and reduce ACEs

• Development of innovative initiatives, programs, and services
• Community capacity, health equity, and system change strategies
• Ways to leverage local and other resources
• Strategies to promote trauma- and resilience-informed policies and practices
• Priority data points to evaluate and track related to outcomes for children, youth and families

These plans may contain a pilot project or program to propose later as a Community Resilience Initiative. DHS hopes to offer opportunities to support these initiatives as part of the fourth phase of this project.