[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 309 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 309


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 16, 2000

Received and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and 
                               Nutrition

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Congress with regard to in-school personal 
                safety education programs for children.

Whereas there were more than 84,000 confirmed cases of sexual abuse in the 
        United States in 1997 and 90 percent of the victims under 12 years old 
        knew their offender;
Whereas 867,129 individuals were reported missing in 1999 and 85 to 90 percent 
        of these missing persons were children;
Whereas according to Department of Justice research, there are approximately 
        114,000 nonfamily abductions in any one-year period;
Whereas a central element of the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
        Children's (NCMEC) congressionally mandated mission is to prevent the 
        victimization of children;
Whereas NCMEC examined the state of child safety education in the United States, 
        focusing on what works and what does not;
Whereas nearly every primary and secondary school in the Nation conducts some 
        sort of child safety education program, but NCMEC concluded that most 
        such child safety programs were inadequate to promote personal safety 
        for children;
Whereas guidelines, such as those developed by NCMEC, will help ensure that 
        educators and child-serving organizations have the best possible tools 
        and information to make decisions regarding child safety curriculum 
        selection and development; and
Whereas child safety guidelines should be developed in collaboration with 
        leading educational, public policy, and child-serving organizations and 
        the NCMEC's guidelines have been endorsed and are supported by many such 
        organizations: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That--
            (1) it is the sense of the Congress that States should 
        encourage their primary and secondary schools to implement 
        quality child safety curricula so that each child receives 
        instruction that is positive, comprehensive, and effective; and
            (2) the Congress recognizes the National Center for Missing 
        and Exploited Children's ``Guidelines for Programs to Reduce 
        Child Victimization'' as one of the tools to guide the 
        selection of quality child safety programs when local schools 
        develop such programs.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 15, 2000.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.