[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 442 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 442

  Designating November 2019 as ``National Runaway Prevention Month''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 21, 2019

 Ms. Duckworth (for herself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Sullivan, Mrs. Feinstein, 
  Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Ms. Cantwell, Ms. Murkowski, and Mrs. 
 Murray) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Designating November 2019 as ``National Runaway Prevention Month''.

Whereas results from the Voices of Youth Count national survey, as published by 
        Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago in ``Missed Opportunities: 
        Youth Homelessness in America'', indicates that an estimated 4,200,000 
        youth and young adults between 13 and 24 years of age experienced 
        homelessness during a 12-month period ending in 2017, including--

    (1) an estimated 700,000 children between 13 and 17 years of age who 
experienced unaccompanied homelessness; and

    (2) an estimated 3,500,000 young adults between 18 and 24 years of age;

Whereas the rates of youth experiencing homelessness are similar in rural and 
        nonrural areas;
Whereas runaway youth often 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 individuals without a high school degree or general educational 
        development certificate are nearly 4 times more likely to report 
        homelessness than their peers, making lack of education a leading risk 
        factor for homelessness;
Whereas youth of color and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) 
        youth experience higher rates of homelessness than their straight and 
        White peers;
Whereas pregnant youth, parents who are 25 years of age or younger, and their 
        children experience higher rates of homelessness than youth and young 
        adults without children;
Whereas runaway and homeless youth are at an increased risk for exploitation and 
        becoming victims of sex and labor trafficking, and between 19 percent 
        and 49 percent of young people who experience homelessness will become 
        victims of trafficking;
Whereas youth who run away from home or from foster care are more likely to be 
        coerced into participating in criminal activity, joining a gang, or 
        using illegal drugs, which 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 Runaway Safeline and the National Network for Youth are 
        leading the promotion of National Runaway Prevention Month in November 
        2019--

    (1) to raise awareness of the runaway and homeless youth crisis and the 
issues these young people face; and

    (2) to educate the public about solutions and the role they can play in 
ending youth homelessness: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates November 2019 as ``National Runaway 
        Prevention Month''; and
            (2) recognizes and supports the goals and ideals of 
        National Runaway Prevention Month.
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