1Designating the month of April 2013 as "Child Abuse Prevention
2Month" in Pennsylvania.

3WHEREAS, Children bring happiness into our lives and hope to
4our future; and

5WHEREAS, Children are our greatest joy and our most important
6responsibility; and

7WHEREAS, It is our responsibility as parents, friends,
8neighbors, citizens and lawmakers to nurture and protect
9children, providing an atmosphere of love and respect in which
10they are able to grow into healthy, well-adjusted and productive
11adults; and

12WHEREAS, We, as a legislative body, have an ongoing

1commitment to protect the rights and needs of children; and

2WHEREAS, In December 1999 the Senate directed the Joint State
3Government Commission to study child abuse within this
4Commonwealth and make recommendations to the General Assembly;
5and

6WHEREAS, The General Assembly has defined child abuse as any
7"recent act or failure to act by a perpetrator which causes
8nonaccidental serious physical injury to a child under 18 years
9of age" or an "act or failure to act by a perpetrator which
10causes nonaccidental serious mental injury to or sexual abuse or
11sexual exploitation of a child under 18 years of age" and has
12made it illegal to engage in such activity; and

13WHEREAS, Child abuse crosses all racial, economic and
14geographic boundaries and has reached epidemic proportions
15across this nation and throughout this Commonwealth; and

16WHEREAS, There were 23,181 cases of possible child abuse or
17maltreatment referred for investigation in this Commonwealth in
182006; and

19WHEREAS, There were 4,152 substantiated cases of child abuse
20and neglect in this Commonwealth in 2006; and

21WHEREAS, Thousands of Pennsylvanians in schools, social
22service agencies, churches and neighborhood groups throughout
23this Commonwealth are working hard to nurture and support the
24victims of child abuse and prevent future abuse; and

25WHEREAS, In spite of the dedication and sacrifice of these
26individuals, much more still needs to be done to guarantee a
27childhood free of abuse and victimization to every child in this
28Commonwealth; and

29WHEREAS, As our knowledge about the prevention and treatment
30of child abuse grows, we must provide support, information and

1guidance to families in which child abuse may happen; therefore
2be it

3RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
4month of April 2013 as "Child Abuse Prevention Month" in
5Pennsylvania; and be it further

6RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives continue to do
7its part in creating a nurturing and supportive environment for
8all children in this Commonwealth so that they might grow up to
9be healthy and productive citizens; and be it further

10RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives commend the many
11individuals and community groups and organizations who work
12daily to treat and prevent child abuse in this Commonwealth and
13urge all Pennsylvanians to do their part in preventing the
14tragedy of child abuse.