PRINTER'S NO. 3466
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
228
Session of
2022
INTRODUCED BY DeLISSIO, DELOZIER, HANBIDGE, KINSEY, FREEMAN,
HOHENSTEIN, MADDEN, SANCHEZ, FITZGERALD, SCHLEGEL CULVER,
SOLOMON, SCHLOSSBERG AND BRADFORD, SEPTEMBER 14, 2022
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH, SEPTEMBER 14, 2022
A RESOLUTION
Directing the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a
comprehensive study of statutes and regulations promulgated
under Titles 23 and 67 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes and the Human Services Code in the past five years
currently in effect in this Commonwealth that have
exacerbated trauma in children and families and make
recommendations of methods to draft statutes and regulations
in a trauma-informed manner to mitigate trauma.
WHEREAS, Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are stressful
or traumatic events that occur in childhood from birth to 17
years of age that negatively impact a child's health,
development and long-term well-being; and
WHEREAS, The greater number of ACEs a child experiences the
more profound the effect on a child's developing brain and body;
and
WHEREAS, ACEs may cause poor health and emotional, cognitive
and social impairments and are linked to chronic mental illness
and substance use problems in adulthood, negatively impacting
education, job opportunities and earning potential and leading
to somatic and mental difficulties during the individual's
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
adulthood that may even cause death; and
WHEREAS, An adverse childhood experience may include
physical, emotional or sexual abuse, physical or emotional
neglect or household dysfunction, including substance abuse, an
untreated mental illness, incarceration of a household member,
domestic violence or separation or divorce involving a household
member; and
WHEREAS, The statistics are startling, indicating that 50% of
substance use, 78% of intravenous drug use, 65% of alcoholism,
52% of domestic violence, 62% of sexual assaults, 58% of
attempted suicides and 50% of depression diagnoses can be linked
to ACEs; and
WHEREAS, Individuals with six or more ACEs have a life
expectancy of 20 years less than someone with no ACEs; and
WHEREAS, In late 2019, the Department of Health released a
report on ACEs in this Commonwealth, and the research
highlighted the challenges this Commonwealth faced even prior to
the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, The study found that half of all Pennsylvanians had
at least one adverse childhood experience, more than 19% have
experienced three or more ACEs and 38% of all Pennsylvanians
have experienced either physical or emotional abuse as a child;
and
WHEREAS, Approximately 8 to 10 children in every Pennsylvania
school return home to face some kind of abuse; and
WHEREAS, The most significant levels of trauma occur in waves
not only for children, but for their entire family system; and
WHEREAS, The discussion should not only be about issues
related to a child's safety and well-being, but should include
the discussion of the role of a child's family and community;
20220HR0228PN3466 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
and
WHEREAS, Since those who enter the child welfare system are
disproportionately poor and children of color, those children
often carry the weight of community trauma even before they
become part of the system; and
WHEREAS, For this Commonwealth to have a prosperous and
healthy populace, a thriving economy and a reduction in social
services and health care costs, the most important actions to
take are to prevent ACEs and to heal children and parents from
ACEs they have experienced; and
WHEREAS, ACEs can be prevented and mitigated; and
WHEREAS, To prevent and mitigate ACEs, our Commonwealth's
statutes and regulations should ideally help to ameliorate ACEs
and not exacerbate ACEs; and
WHEREAS, Unfortunately, some statutes and regulations in
effect in the Commonwealth may have inadvertently exacerbated
trauma; and
WHEREAS, Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) and trauma-informed
policy should apply to all health-and-human-service-related
statutes and regulations in this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, TIC is an approach in the human services field that
assumes that an individual is more likely than not to have a
history of trauma, recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms
and acknowledges the role trauma may play in an individual's
life; and
WHEREAS, If the Commonwealth is truly committed to developing
a trauma-informed system, the Commonwealth must demonstrate a
relentless commitment to strengthening families as the primary
caregivers of children, support the communities in which
families live and offer our fellow citizens the power of hope,
20220HR0228PN3466 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
healing, redemption and recovery; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives direct the Joint
State Government Commission to establish an advisory committee
consisting of the following members within 90 days of the
adoption of this resolution:
(1) The Secretary of Human Services or a designee.
(2) The Secretary of Health or a designee.
(3) The Secretary of Education or a designee.
(4) The Attorney General or a designee.
(5) The chair of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime
and Delinquency or a designee.
(6) A representative from the National Association of
Social Workers-Pennsylvania Chapter.
(7) A representative from the Office of Child
Development and Early Learning of the Department of
Education.
(8) A representative from the Pennsylvania Association
of School Nurses and Practitioners.
(9) A representative from the Pennsylvania Chapter of
the American Academy of Pediatrics.
(10) A representative from the Pennsylvania Parent
Teacher Association.
(11) A representative from the Pennsylvania
Psychological Association.
(12) A representative from the Pennsylvania School
Counselors Association.
(13) A representative from the Children's Advocacy
Centers of Pennsylvania.
(14) The Child Advocate of the Governor's Office of
Advocacy and Reform or designee.
20220HR0228PN3466 - 4 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(15) A representative from the Pennsylvania Court
Appointed Special Advocates Association.
(16) Representatives from other departments, agencies or
entities that the Joint State Government Commission deems
appropriate in conducting the study;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission, in
collaboration with the advisory committee, conduct a
comprehensive study of statutes and regulations promulgated
under Titles 23 and 67 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes
and the Human Services Code in the past five years currently in
effect in this Commonwealth that have exacerbated trauma in
children and families; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission make
recommendations of methods to draft statutes and regulations in
a trauma-informed manner to mitigate trauma; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission, in
collaboration with the advisory committee, submit a report of
the findings along with statutory or regulatory recommendations
to the following within one year of the adoption of this
resolution:
(1) The President pro tempore of the Senate.
(2) The Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the
Senate.
(3) The Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(4) The Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the House
of Representatives.
(5) The chair and minority chair of the Aging and Youth
Committee of the Senate.
(6) The chair and minority chair of the Children and
20220HR0228PN3466 - 5 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Youth Committee of the House of Representatives.
20220HR0228PN3466 - 6 -
1