{"id":248502,"date":"2026-04-02T14:16:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T14:16:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/248502\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T14:16:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T14:16:43","slug":"kern-county-advocates-warn-childhood-trauma-can-disrupt-learning-and-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/248502\/","title":{"rendered":"Kern County advocates warn childhood trauma can disrupt learning and development"},"content":{"rendered":"

BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 Children who experience violence, the loss of a parent, or other serious challenges at home can face lasting effects that disrupt their emotional well-being and development, according to Kern County child and family services facilitator Yadira Vargas.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Man captured on homicide, domestic violence, and child abuse charges after woman dies<\/a><\/p>\n

\"BPD<\/p>\n

BPD investigating homicide on College Avenue (KBAK\/KBFX)<\/p>\n

Vargas, with the Kern County Network for Children<\/a>, said children can be left coping with trauma that doesn\u2019t simply fade with time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can have active, prolonged stress that can interfere with their emotional regulation, learning and development,\u201d Vargas said.<\/p>\n

The California Department of Public Health<\/a> identifies exposure to violence, the loss of a parent, or household challenges as adverse childhood experiences, often referred to as ACEs. Data shows thousands of children across California are impacted by these types of trauma.<\/p>\n

Vargas said one of the first steps after a child has been exposed to a traumatic incident is connecting them to help early, with the goal of preventing long-term effects.<\/p>\n

\"Psychiatrist<\/p>\n

Psychiatrist or professional psychologist counseling or therapy session to male patients suffering from mental health problems. due to economic failure after the COVID-19 pandemic. PTSD Mental health.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to be assessed to see that their mental health is being supported, whether it\u2019s through therapy or crisis intervention,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said the response often depends on which agencies are already involved, including law enforcement or child protective services, which can help connect families to appropriate programs and resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes law enforcement is already involved, and then child protective services may become involved,\u201d Vargas said.<\/p>\n

Vargas said support can come from child protective services, schools and mental health providers.<\/p>\n

\"pediatrician-ap-042114_606.jpg\"<\/p>\n

pediatrician-ap-042114_606.jpg<\/p>\n

She added that schools can also play a key role in supporting children after traumatic events.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe schools have support such as school site social workers, counselors that can give a little bit of guidance,\u201d Vargas said.<\/p>\n

But she said gaps still exist even when efforts are made to connect children with resources.<\/p>\n

Some children may not want to seek help outside their safety net. In other cases, barriers such as transportation or language can make it harder to access services.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes there may be a delay in getting them connected to the service,\u201d Vargas said.<\/p>\n

Even so, early intervention and community support can make a lasting difference, Vargas said, emphasizing the importance of stable relationships as children recover.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake sure that the child has that safe, stable, and nurturing relationship with a consistent and caring adult,\u201d Vargas said.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The woman appears cheerful, possibly praising the child during a block building exercise beneficial for motor skills development and aligned with speech therapy or psychologist strategies<\/p>\n

She said each child responds to trauma differently, and support systems should take that into account.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach child processes things in a different way,\u201d Vargas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cChildren can heal, they can build resilience and they can move forward with hope,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 Children who experience violence, the loss of a parent, or other serious challenges at home…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248503,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":["post-248502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}