[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 196 (Friday, December 1, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S7719]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 346--RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE AND EFFECTIVENESS OF 
                          TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE

  Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Ms. Heitkamp, Mr. Boozman, and Ms. Baldwin) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 346

       Whereas traumatic experiences affect millions of 
     individuals in the United States and can affect the mental, 
     emotional, physical, spiritual, economic, and social well-
     being of an individual;
       Whereas adverse childhood experiences (in this preamble 
     referred to as ``ACEs'') can be traumatizing and, if not 
     recognized, can affect health across the lifespan of an 
     individual and, in some cases, result in a shortened 
     lifespan;
       Whereas ACEs are recognized as a proxy for toxic stress, 
     which can affect brain development and can cause a lifetime 
     of physical, mental, and social challenges;
       Whereas ACEs and trauma are determinants of public health 
     problems in the United States such as obesity, addiction, and 
     serious mental illness;
       Whereas trauma-informed care is an approach that can bring 
     greater understanding and more effective ways to support and 
     serve children, adults, families, and communities affected by 
     trauma;
       Whereas trauma-informed care is not a therapy or an 
     intervention, but a principle-based, culture-change process 
     aimed at recognizing strengths and resiliency as well as 
     helping people who have experienced trauma to overcome those 
     issues in order to lead healthy and positive lives;
       Whereas adopting trauma-informed approaches in workplaces, 
     communities, and government programs can aid in preventing 
     mental, emotional, physical, and social issues for people 
     impacted by toxic stress or trauma;
       Whereas trauma-informed care has been promoted and 
     established in communities across the United States, 
     including many different uses of trauma-informed care being 
     utilized by various types of entities, such as--
       (1) the State of Wisconsin, which established Fostering 
     Futures, a statewide initiative--
       (A) under which the State partnered with Indian tribes, 
     State agencies, county governments, and nonprofit 
     organizations to make Wisconsin the first trauma-informed 
     State; and
       (B) the goal of which is to reduce toxic stress and improve 
     life-long health and well-being for all Wisconsinites;
       (2) the Menominee Tribe in Wisconsin, which improved 
     educational and public health outcomes by increasing 
     understanding of historical trauma and childhood adversity 
     and by developing culturally relevant, trauma-informed 
     practices;
       (3) schools of medicine that provide critical trauma-
     informed care in Chicago, Illinois, including--
       (A) the University of Illinois at Chicago Comprehensive 
     Assessment and Response Training System, which improves the 
     quality of psychiatric services provided to youth in foster 
     care; and
       (B) the University of Chicago Recovery and Empowerment 
     After Community Trauma Program, which helps residents who are 
     coping with community violence;
       (4) service providers, academics, and local artists in 
     Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that use art to engage 
     communities to educate and involve citizens in trauma-
     informed care activities;
       (5) the Department of Public Health of San Francisco, 
     California, which aligned its workforce to create a trauma-
     informed system;
       (6) schools in Kansas City, Missouri, that--
       (A) worked to become trauma-informed by encouraging 
     teachers and children to create self-care plans to manage 
     stress; and
       (B) have implemented broad community-wide, trauma-informed 
     culture changes;
       (7) the city of Tarpon Springs, Florida, which crafted a 
     community effort to gather city officials, professionals, and 
     residents to coordinate multiple trauma-informed activities, 
     including a community education day;
       (8) community members in Worcester, Massachusetts, who 
     worked with the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health to 
     create a venue with peer-to-peer support to better engage 
     individuals dealing with trauma and extreme emotional 
     distress;
       (9) the city of Walla Walla, Washington, which, together 
     with community members, launched the Children's Resilience 
     Initiative to mobilize neighborhoods and Washington State 
     agencies to tackle ACEs;
       (10) the State of Oregon, which passed the first State law 
     in the United States to promote--
       (A) trauma-informed approaches in order to decrease rates 
     of school absenteeism and increase understanding of ACEs and 
     trauma; and
       (B) best practices to leverage community resources to 
     support youth;
       (11) the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which passed a law 
     to promote whole-school efforts to implement trauma-informed 
     care approaches to support the social, emotional, and 
     academic well-being of all students, including both 
     preventive and intensive services and support depending on 
     the needs of students; and
       (12) the State of Washington, which implemented the ACEs 
     Public-Private Initiative, a collaboration among private, 
     public, and community organizations to research and inform 
     policies to prevent childhood trauma and reduce the negative 
     emotional, social, and health effects of childhood trauma;
       Whereas the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
     Administration provides substantial resources to better 
     engage individuals and communities across the United States 
     to implement trauma-informed care;
       Whereas numerous Federal agencies have integrated trauma-
     informed approaches into programs and grants that those 
     agencies administer, and those agencies could benefit from 
     closer collaboration; and
       Whereas national recognition through a trauma-focused 
     awareness month would help to deepen the understanding of the 
     nature and impact of trauma, the importance of prevention, 
     the impact that ACEs can have on brain development, and the 
     benefits of trauma-informed care: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the importance, effectiveness, and need for 
     trauma-informed care among existing programs and agencies at 
     the Federal level;
       (2) encourages the use and practice of trauma-informed care 
     within the Federal Government, including within the executive 
     branch agencies and Congress; and
       (3) supports the designation of May 2018 as ``National 
     Trauma Awareness Month'' and May 22, 2018, as ``National 
     Trauma-Informed Awareness Day'' in order to highlight 
     community resilience through trauma-informed change.

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