Anna’s Story Still Has to Be Told
Five years after the publication of Anna, Age Eight, the third grader’s story continues to inspire action.
Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD and Dominic Cappello
August 22, 2023
As our 100% New Mexico initiative participants know, Anna, Age Eight is the story of an eight-year-old girl who fell through the cracks. It’s also a story about every child in New Mexico and across the United States. Anna’s story still must be told because it will continue if we don’t keep telling it. Unfortunately, it’s not a fun story to hear about, and it’s not something fun to talk about.
Anna’s story about adverse childhood experiences, child welfare, her family’s inability to access vital services, and her community’s lack of capacity to ensure ten vital services for surviving and thriving has to be told because an eight-year-old cannot tell that story. Half a decade after the publication of Anna, Age Eight, Anna’s story still represents many children and students in New Mexico’s 33 counties. Our young people are enduring abuse, neglect, and many forms of social adversity and trauma. Our families struggle to do their best with limited resources. We know the barriers to services from our 100% New Mexico County Survey. We also know how to increase service access through 100% Family Centers and community schools.
Questions to reflect on:
- Why are the authors of Anna, Age Eight asking that we keep telling this story?
- Why might it be difficult to talk about childhood trauma, abuse and neglect, and the child fatalities that cross our social media feeds on a regular basis?
- Do you know of children who “fell through the cracks” or of families in your county who are at risk for enduring challenges in the home, school, and community?
- Amid a barrage of distracting messages streaming 24/7, how can we engage more community stakeholders in the local 100% New Mexico initiative to mobilize our communities, cities, and counties around one activity: generating activities focused on ensuring the ten vital services that increase the health, safety, education, and quality of life of all our children?
Anna, Age Eight by Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney and Dominic Cappello is free for all in New Mexico to download.
This article was adapted from A Child’s Right to Survive and Thrive, a self-guided course free to access for all New Mexicans.
Mission: The 100% New Mexico initiative is dedicated to ensuring that 100% of families can access ten vital services crucial for their overall health, resilience, and success. This university-sponsored endeavor necessitates the local implementation of evidence-based strategies encompassing both community and school-based service hubs, aiming to prevent the most pressing and costly public health and safety challenges, including adverse social determinants of health and adverse childhood experiences.
Dr. Katherine Ortega Courtney
Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD. is a changemaker, psychologist, author, and life coach. Her work in child welfare advocacy has instilled change in data-driven trauma prevention in states across the country. She has worked in policy and research and has led community initiatives through her work at the Santa Fe Community Foundation and the New Mexico Early Childhood Development Partnership. As a psychologist and life coach, she coaches individuals and organizations on interrupting the cycles of trauma, addressing the burnout rate in government jobs and child welfare, and providing the tools and skills to achieve the work-life balance that will trickle down to better outcomes in prevention. Her doctorate work at Texas Christian University was in experimental psychology focused on substance abuse treatment and prevention.
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Dominic Cappello
Cappello is a New York Times bestselling author and TEDx Conference curator with decades of experience advocating for health, safety and education. He has a Master of Arts in Liberal studies with an emphasis on Language and Communication from Regis University. He worked for the New Mexico Department of Health Epidemiology and Response Division and the New Mexico Child Protective Services Research, Assessment and Data Bureau, where he co-developed the Data Leader for Child Welfare program, which he implemented in New York City, Connecticut and New Mexico.
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The 100% New Mexico initiative is a program of the Anna, Age Eight Institute at New Mexico State University, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service. Contact: annaageeight@nmsu.edu or visit annaageeight.nmsu.edu to learn more.
