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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 15
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION
BY REPRESENTATIVES TARR, Spohnholz, Zulkosky, Story
Introduced: 2/24/20
Referred: Health & Social Services
A RESOLUTION
1 Proclaiming 2020 as the Year of the Child; proclaiming April 2020 as Child Abuse
2 Prevention Month; and proclaiming April 3, 2020, as Go Blue Friday.
3 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
4 WHEREAS the state currently has one of the highest rates of child abuse in the
5 United States; and
6 WHEREAS, in 2019, the Department of Health and Social Services, Office of
7 Children's Services, received more than 23,000 allegations of harm involving tens of
8 thousands of children; and
9 WHEREAS, in 2019, more than 3,000 children in the state were removed from unsafe
10 homes and placed in foster care; and
11 WHEREAS child abuse and neglect leave cross-generational damage; and
12 WHEREAS, according to a 1999 report published by the United States Department of
13 Justice, 36 percent of all women in prison and 14 percent of all men in prison were abused as
14 children; and
15 WHEREAS children who experience child abuse or neglect are about nine times
16 more likely to become involved in criminal activity than children who do not experience child
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1 abuse or neglect; and
2 WHEREAS the long-term effects of child abuse include improper brain formation, an
3 inability to trust, low self-esteem, and an increased vulnerability to post-traumatic stress
4 disorder, sexually transmitted diseases, heart disease, cancer, and depression; and
5 WHEREAS every child deserves a loving family, a safe home, and the opportunity to
6 grow into an upstanding and responsible member of society; and
7 WHEREAS we must work together to support the efforts of all those who take
8 children into their homes and hearts because the community as a whole suffers in every case
9 of child abuse and neglect;
10 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims 2020 to be the Year
11 of the Child; and be it
12 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims April 2020 to
13 be Child Abuse Prevention Month; and be it
14 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims April 3, 2020,
15 to be Go Blue Friday, a day to wear blue, the official color of prevention, and to work to keep
16 the state's children safe and encourages all state employees and other residents of the state to
17 participate; and be it
18 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports and encourages
19 all state employees and other residents of the state to support child abuse prevention and
20 education efforts.
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