PRINTER'S NO. 737
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
115
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY KIRKLAND, ISAACSON, A. DAVIS, HILL-EVANS, KINSEY,
READSHAW, YOUNGBLOOD, MURT, ROEBUCK, McCLINTON, BULLOCK,
DAVIDSON, FITZGERALD, WHEATLEY AND WILLIAMS, MARCH 6, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, MARCH 6, 2019
A RESOLUTION
Declaring youth violence as a public health epidemic and
supporting the establishment of Statewide trauma-informed
education.
WHEREAS, Youths across this Commonwealth are committing acts
of violence against one another and throughout their
communities; and
WHEREAS, A national survey by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) found that United States adults reported
approximately 1.56 million incidents of victimization by
perpetrators estimated to be between 12 and 20 years of age; and
WHEREAS, According to the CDC, violence is a serious public
health problem in the United States and affects people in all
stages of life; and
WHEREAS, Each year, youth homicides and nonfatal physical
assault-related injuries result in more than $21 billion in
combined medical and lost productivity costs; and
WHEREAS, The CDC reports that many people survive violence
and are left with permanent physical and emotional scars; and
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WHEREAS, The CDC further reports that violence erodes
communities by reducing productivity, decreasing property values
and disrupting social services; and
WHEREAS, A national initiative lead by the CDC, Striving to
Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere, assists communities in
applying a public health perspective to preventing youth
violence; and
WHEREAS, In 1985, former United States Surgeon General C.
Everett Koop declared violence a public health issue and called
for the application of the science of public health to the
treatment and prevention of violence; and
WHEREAS, In 2000, former United States Surgeon General David
Satcher declared youth violence a public health epidemic; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Satcher released a report that deems youth
violence as a threat to public health and calls for Federal,
state, local and private entities to invest in research on youth
violence and gain knowledge to aid intervention programs; and
WHEREAS, The report states that the public health approach to
youth violence involves identifying risk and protective factors,
determining how they work, making the public aware of these
findings and designing programs to prevent or stop the violence;
and
WHEREAS, The 2000 public health report calls for national
resolve to confront the problem of youth violence
systematically, facilitate entry of youths into effective
intervention programs rather than incarceration, improve public
awareness of effective interventions, convene youths, families,
researchers and public and private organizations for a periodic
youth violence summit, develop new collaborative
multidisciplinary partnerships and hold periodic, highly visible
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national summits; and
WHEREAS, An individual's characteristics, experiences and
environmental conditions during childhood and adolescence are
indicators of future violent behavior; and
WHEREAS, The peak ages of offending are 15 through 19 years
of age, the years that students spend in high school; and
WHEREAS, There is concern about high school dropout rates,
academic performance and violence in schools across this
Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, According to the Yale School of Medicine Child Study
Center, the Comer School Development Program offers low-
achieving schools assistance in creating a conducive learning
environment while providing a solid foundation for students; and
WHEREAS, The mission of the Yale School of Medicine Child
Study Center is to improve the mental health of children and
families, advance understanding of their psychological and
developmental needs and treat and prevent childhood mental
illness through the integration of research, clinical practice
and professional training; and
WHEREAS, The Comer School Development Program is an operating
system comprised of three teams which include the School
Planning and Management Team, the Student and Staff Support Team
and the Parent Team, which work together to create a
Comprehensive School Plan; and
WHEREAS, The Comer School Development Program model is guided
by three principles: decision making by consensus, no-fault
problem solving and collaboration; and
WHEREAS, Due to the violence epidemic, youths suffer from
either primary or secondary trauma; and
WHEREAS, Primary trauma is trauma associated with the violent
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death of a loved one and secondary trauma results from exposure
to violence present within their community; and
WHEREAS, Exposure to violence in families and communities, as
well as exposure to homicidal death, can lead to youth-specific
post-traumatic stress disorder with complex effects and
homicidal grief; and
WHEREAS, Trauma is not easily visible within youths because
it requires proper assessment and, due to the amount of violence
youths are currently exposed to, measures should be taken to
properly assess the issue; and
WHEREAS, The experience of trauma impacts children of all
situations and conditions across this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, In August 2007, the CDC deemed schools as providing
"a critical opportunity for changing societal behavior because
nearly the entire population is engaged in this institution for
many years, starting at an early and formative period" and
"universal school-based violence prevention programs represent
an important means of reducing violent and aggressive behavior
in the United States"; and
WHEREAS, On March 25, 2013, House Resolution No. 191, which
declared youth violence a public health epidemic and supported
the establishment of Statewide trauma-informed education, was
introduced in the House of Representatives; and
WHEREAS, On April 22, 2013, House Resolution No. 191 received
consideration on the House floor and was adopted by the House
chamber by a vote of 187-9; and
WHEREAS, On September 19, 2016, in response to the call to
action outlined in House Resolution No. 191, a team of
stakeholders from the Pennsylvania Department of Education
joined 14 other states in attending a White House summit titled
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Trauma-Informed Approaches in Schools; and
WHEREAS, Following the Pennsylvania Department of Education's
participation at the White House summit titled Trauma-Informed
Approaches in Schools, the department has subsequently provided
Pennsylvania-based educators with critically important trauma
information and related resources on its publicly accessible
Internet website; and
WHEREAS, Although a great degree of progress has been made in
the way of effectively addressing youth violence and
establishing Statewide trauma-informed education, there still
exists a need to highlight that these two issues are
inextricably linked to one another and that it is in the best
interests of this Commonwealth and the Department of Education
to make these issues a priority during the 2019-2020 legislative
session and beyond; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives declare youth
violence as a public health epidemic and support the
establishment of Statewide trauma-informed education.
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