[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 339 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 339

  Designating November 2017 as ``National Runaway Prevention Month''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 16, 2017

 Ms. Duckworth (for herself, Mr. Hatch, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Collins, Mr. 
  Leahy, and Mr. Reed) submitted the following resolution; which was 
                        considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Designating November 2017 as ``National Runaway Prevention Month''.

Whereas the prevalence of runaway youth and homelessness among youth is 
        staggering, with studies suggesting that every year, between 1,600,000 
        and 2,800,000 youth live on the streets of the United States;
Whereas runaway youth most often are youth who have been expelled from their 
        homes by their families, have experienced abuse and trauma, are involved 
        in the foster care system, are too poor to secure their own basic needs, 
        and may be ineligible or unable to access medical or mental health 
        resources;
Whereas youth who run away are at an increased risk for exploitation and 
        exposure to criminal networks, such as domestic sex trafficking;
Whereas youth who run away are more likely to be recruited or coerced into 
        participating in criminal acts, such as gangs and illegal substance 
        abuse, that lead to a higher likelihood of involvement in the criminal 
        justice system;
Whereas preventing youth from running away from home or from foster care and 
        supporting youth in high-risk situations is a family, community, and 
        national responsibility;
Whereas the future well-being of the Nation is dependent on the value placed on 
        youth and the opportunities provided for youth to acquire the knowledge, 
        skills, and abilities necessary to help youth successfully develop into 
        safe, healthy, and productive adults;
Whereas effective programs supporting runaway youth and assisting youth and 
        their families in providing safe and stable homes succeed because of 
        partnerships created among families, youth-based advocacy organizations, 
        community-based human service agencies, law enforcement, schools, faith-
        based organizations, and businesses; and
Whereas the National Network for Youth and National Runaway Safeline are 
        cosponsoring National Runaway Prevention Month in November to increase 
        public awareness of the issues facing runaway and homeless youth and to 
        educate the public about solutions and the role the public can play in 
        ending youth homelessness: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates November 2017 as ``National Runaway 
        Prevention Month''; and
            (2) recognizes and supports the goals and ideals of 
        National Runaway Prevention Month.
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