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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Research-based prevention and wellness promotion
3efforts that strengthen positive parenting practices and
4enhance a child's resilience in the face of adversity have been
5shown to have a significant impact on the child's mental and
6physical health and their educational outcomes; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The Center for Disease Control defines positive
8parenting skills as good communication, appropriate
9discipline, and responding to children's physical and
10emotional needs; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Studies in the last decade point to the wisdom and
12efficacy of prevention and early intervention; well-designed
13programs created to promote healthy cognitive, emotional, and
14social development can improve the prospects and the quality of
15life of many children; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Evidence-based parenting programs have been shown
17to provide critical information on child development and
18safety, promote positive parenting behaviors, teach effective
19discipline strategies, alter negative family patterns, and
20reduce levels of child abuse and neglect; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Positive parenting practices are directly linked

 

 

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1to adaptive behaviors in children and can buffer negative
2outcomes, even among at-risk families; and
 
3    WHEREAS, While positive parenting strategies can promote
4adjustment and achievement, child abuse and neglect can
5interrupt healthy development in children and lead to
6maladaptive functioning; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Child abuse and neglect is a serious public health
8problem that costs the United States $103 billion annually;
9these costs include $33 billion in direct costs for foster care
10services, hospitalization, mental health treatment, and law
11enforcement and $70 billion for indirect costs, such as loss of
12productivity, chronic health problems, and special education;
13and
 
14    WHEREAS, Research shows an association between child
15maltreatment and a broad range of social problems, including
16substance abuse, violence, criminal behavior, teenage
17pregnancy, anxiety, sexually transmitted diseases, smoking,
18obesity, and diabetes; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Nobel prize-winning economist James J. Heckman
20and others have shown that for every dollar devoted to the
21nurturing of young children, we can mitigate the need for far
22greater government spending on remedial education, teenage

 

 

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1pregnancy, and prison incarceration; and
 
2    WHEREAS, By almost any statistical measure, children in the
3United States today are losing ground compared to the recent
4past; the educational performance of American children is lower
5and does not compare well with many other developed nations;
6the general health of American children has grown worse, as
7shown in the incidence and increased prevalence of obesity,
8juvenile diabetes, and other disorders and diseases; more
9American children as exhibiting troubling and violent
10behavior, resulting in increases in children being expelled
11from pre-school, elementary school, and high school, and
12approximately 40% of children are dropping out of high school;
13children and youth homicide rates are also on the rise
14throughout the nation; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Researchers have found that, left untreated, the
16effects of child abuse and neglect can profoundly influence
17victims' physical and mental health, their ability to control
18emotions and impulses, their achievement in school, and the
19relationships they form as children and as adults; and
 
20    WHEREAS, In the first major study of child abuse and
21neglect in 20 years, researchers with the National Academy of
22Sciences reported that the damaging consequences of abuse can
23reshape a child's brain, resulting in consequences that last

 

 

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1throughout their lives; abuse and neglect can influence the
2amygdala, the part of the brain that regulates emotions,
3particularly fear and anxiety; abuse also has been shown to
4change the functioning of the prefrontal cortex, the part of
5the brain responsible for thinking, planning, reasoning, and
6decision making, which can lead to behavioral and academic
7problems; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The effects of abuse on a child's brain and
9behavioral development are not static and can be reduced with
10high-quality, sustained intervention; the negative changes
11present in a child's brain can be countered by positive brain
12changes that take place when the abuse ends and the child is
13given the support he or she requires; parenting education is an
14important way to address mental illness before it results in
15negative outcomes for children and families; therefore, be it
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
17NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18we state our belief that human services, healthcare, education
19and justice authorities on the federal, State, and local levels
20must include parenting education and early childhood education
21funding in their budgets in order to combat this growing
22menace; and be it further
 
23    RESOLVED, That we state our belief that access to

 

 

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1universal, high-quality, and research-based parenting
2education will equip parents with skills that can help them to
3do the most important job they will ever have: raising
4confident, well-adjusted, and productive members of society;
5and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That we urge the State Board of Education to
7identify potential federal grants for states that can be used
8for parenting programs and early care and education programs;
9and be it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That we urge the State Board of Education to
11require early care and education programs and to require
12elementary, middle, and high schools to have family engagement
13policies and procedures in place that welcome and involve
14families in meaningful partnerships focused on children's
15learning; programs should seek to include a high-quality
16parenting education component, as well as to reduce barriers to
17family engagement and offer diverse opportunities and pathways
18for families to be involved in programs that enable them to be
19successful partners in their child's education; and be it
20further
 
21     RESOLVED, That we urge the State Board of Education to
22consider the potential benefits of requiring a course in
23parenting education as a prerequisite for high school

 

 

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1graduation; and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
3delivered to the State Board of Education.