House Resolution No. 4894 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE FRANKS JR. 5181H.01I D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk
WHEREAS, youth across this state are committing acts of violence against one another 2 and throughout their communities; and 3 4 WHEREAS, a national survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 5 found that United States adults reported approximately 1.56 million incidents of victimization 6 by perpetrators estimated to be between 12 and 20 years of age; and 7 8 WHEREAS, the CDC states, “Violence is a serious public health problem in the United 9 States. From infants to the elderly, it affects people in all stages of life. In 2007, more than 10 18,000 people were victims of homicide and more than 34,000 took their own life.”; and 11 12 WHEREAS, the CDC reports that many people survive violence and are left with 13 permanent physical and emotional scars, and that violence erodes communities by reducing 14 productivity, decreasing property values, and disrupting social services; and 15 16 WHEREAS, a national initiative lead by the CDC, Striving to Reduce Youth Violence 17 Everywhere (STRYVE), assists communities in applying a public health perspective to 18 preventing youth violence; and 19 20 WHEREAS, in 1985, former United States Surgeon General C. Everett Koop declared 21 violence as a public health issue and called for the application of the science of public health to 22 the treatment and prevention of violence; and 23 24 WHEREAS, in 2000, former United States Surgeon General David Satcher declared 25 youth violence as a public health epidemic; and 26 27 WHEREAS, Dr. Satcher released a report that deems youth violence as a threat to public 28 health and calls for federal, state, local, and private entities to invest in research on youth 29 violence and for the use of the knowledge gained to inform intervention programs; and HR 4894 2
30 WHEREAS, the report states that the public health approach to youth violence involves 31 identifying risk and protective factors, determining how they work, making the public aware of 32 these findings, and designing programs to prevent or stop the violence; and 33 34 WHEREAS, the 2000 public health report calls for national resolve to confront the 35 problem of youth violence systematically; to facilitate entry of youth into effective intervention 36 programs rather than incarceration; to improve public awareness of effective interventions; to 37 convene youth, families, researchers, and public and private organizations for a periodic youth 38 violence summit; to develop new collaborative multidisciplinary partnerships; and to hold 39 periodic, highly visible national summits; and 40 41 WHEREAS, an individual’s characteristics, experiences, and environmental conditions 42 during childhood and adolescence are an indicator of future violent behavior; and 43 44 WHEREAS, ages 15 through 18, the ages that students spend in high school, are the 45 peak years of offending; and 46 47 WHEREAS, there is concern about high school dropout rates, academic performance, 48 and violence in schools across this state; and 49 50 WHEREAS, according to the Yale School of Medicine Child Study Center, the Comer 51 School Development Program offers low-achieving schools assistance in creating a conducive 52 learning environment while providing a solid foundation for students; and 53 54 WHEREAS, the work of the Yale School of Medicine Child Study Center has 55 demonstrated that, “When teachers, administrators, parents, and mature adults interact with 56 students in a supportive school environment and culture, and provide adequate instruction in a 57 way that mediates physical, social-interactive, psycho-emotional, moral-ethical, linguistic and 58 cognitive-intellectual development, acceptable academic achievement will take place.”; and 59 60 WHEREAS, the Comer School Development Program is an operating system comprised 61 of three teams: the School Planning and Management Team, the Student and Staff Support 62 Team, and the Parent Team, which work together to create a comprehensive school plan; and 63 64 WHEREAS, the Comer School Development Program model is guided by three 65 principles: decision-making by consensus, no-fault problem solving, and collaboration; and HR 4894 3
66 WHEREAS, due to the violence epidemic, youth suffer from either primary or secondary 67 trauma. Primary trauma is trauma associated with the violent death of a loved one. Secondary 68 trauma results from exposure to violence present within their community; and 69 70 WHEREAS, exposure to violence in families and communities, as well as exposure to 71 homicidal death, can lead to youth-specific post-traumatic stress disorder with complex effects 72 as well as homicidal grief; and 73 74 WHEREAS, trauma is not easily visible within youth because it requires proper 75 assessment and, due to the amount of violence youth are currently exposed to, measures should 76 be taken to properly assess the issue; and 77 78 WHEREAS, the experience of trauma impacts children of all situations and conditions 79 across this state; and 80 81 WHEREAS, in August 2007, the CDC deemed schools as providing “a critical 82 opportunity for changing societal behavior because almost the entire population is engaged in 83 this institution for many years, starting at an early and formative period” and “Universal school- 84 based violence prevention programs represent an important means of reducing violent and 85 aggressive behavior in the United States.”: 86 87 NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the members of the Missouri House 88 of Representatives, Ninety-ninth General Assembly, declare youth violence as a public health 89 epidemic and support the establishment of statewide trauma-informed education. T