Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can affect children from any background, but those in foster care are especially vulnerable. There are ten main types of ACEs that have been identified—ranging from abuse to neglect to household dysfunction. All of them have the potential to negatively impact future outcomes for a child.

Our latest guest, Angela Paganelli, is a former foster youth who experienced all ten ACEs. After the tragic loss of her mother at the age of 13, Angela spent her teenage years in foster care and institutional settings. These formative experiences shaped her passion for supporting children in care, leading her to start her own foster care ministry.

Together with her husband, Rick, Angela has raised three biological children, fostered over 20 children, and adopted four. As a TBRI practitioner, Angela leverages her experience to advocate for trauma-informed care in the foster care system.

In this episode, Angela shares explains what ACEs are and what their long-term impacts can look like, why it’s crucial to help children in the foster care system feel seen, the power “do-overs” can have in one’s healing process, and much more.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/angela-paganelli-262/