HR0826 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0826 LRB098 20109 OMW 55387 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Research-based prevention and wellness promotion efforts that strengthen positive parenting practices and enhance a child's resilience in the face of adversity have been shown to have a significant impact on the child's mental and physical health and their educational outcomes; and

WHEREAS, The Center for Disease Control defines positive parenting skills as good communication, appropriate discipline, and responding to children's physical and emotional needs; and

WHEREAS, Studies in the last decade point to the wisdom and efficacy of prevention and early intervention; well-designed programs created to promote healthy cognitive, emotional, and social development can improve the prospects and the quality of life of many children; and

WHEREAS, Evidence-based parenting programs have been shown to provide critical information on child development and safety, promote positive parenting behaviors, teach effective discipline strategies, alter negative family patterns, and reduce levels of child abuse and neglect; and

WHEREAS, Positive parenting practices are directly linked to adaptive behaviors in children and can buffer negative outcomes, even among at-risk families; and

WHEREAS, While positive parenting strategies can promote adjustment and achievement, child abuse and neglect can interrupt healthy development in children and lead to maladaptive functioning; and

WHEREAS, Child abuse and neglect is a serious public health problem that costs the United States $103 billion annually; these costs include $33 billion in direct costs for foster care services, hospitalization, mental health treatment, and law enforcement and $70 billion for indirect costs, such as loss of productivity, chronic health problems, and special education; and

WHEREAS, Research shows an association between child maltreatment and a broad range of social problems, including substance abuse, violence, criminal behavior, teenage pregnancy, anxiety, sexually transmitted diseases, smoking, obesity, and diabetes; and

WHEREAS, Nobel prize-winning economist James J. Heckman and others have shown that for every dollar devoted to the nurturing of young children, we can mitigate the need for far greater government spending on remedial education, teenage pregnancy, and prison incarceration; and

WHEREAS, By almost any statistical measure, children in the United States today are losing ground compared to the recent past; the educational performance of American children is lower and does not compare well with many other developed nations; the general health of American children has grown worse, as shown in the incidence and increased prevalence of obesity, juvenile diabetes, and other disorders and diseases; more American children as exhibiting troubling and violent behavior, resulting in increases in children being expelled from pre-school, elementary school, and high school, and approximately 40% of children are dropping out of high school; children and youth homicide rates are also on the rise throughout the nation; and

WHEREAS, Researchers have found that, left untreated, the effects of child abuse and neglect can profoundly influence victims' physical and mental health, their ability to control emotions and impulses, their achievement in school, and the relationships they form as children and as adults; and

WHEREAS, In the first major study of child abuse and neglect in 20 years, researchers with the National Academy of Sciences reported that the damaging consequences of abuse can reshape a child's brain, resulting in consequences that last throughout their lives; abuse and neglect can influence the amygdala, the part of the brain that regulates emotions, particularly fear and anxiety; abuse also has been shown to change the functioning of the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for thinking, planning, reasoning, and decision making, which can lead to behavioral and academic problems; and

WHEREAS, The effects of abuse on a child's brain and behavioral development are not static and can be reduced with high-quality, sustained intervention; the negative changes present in a child's brain can be countered by positive brain changes that take place when the abuse ends and the child is given the support he or she requires; parenting education is an important way to address mental illness before it results in negative outcomes for children and families; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we state our belief that human services, healthcare, education and justice authorities on the federal, State, and local levels must include parenting education and early childhood education funding in their budgets in order to combat this growing menace; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we state our belief that access to universal, high-quality, and research-based parenting education will equip parents with skills that can help them to do the most important job they will ever have: raising confident, well-adjusted, and productive members of society; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the State Board of Education to identify potential federal grants for states that can be used for parenting programs and early care and education programs; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the State Board of Education to require early care and education programs and to require elementary, middle, and high schools to have family engagement policies and procedures in place that welcome and involve families in meaningful partnerships focused on children's learning; programs should seek to include a high-quality parenting education component, as well as to reduce barriers to family engagement and offer diverse opportunities and pathways for families to be involved in programs that enable them to be successful partners in their child's education; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the State Board of Education to consider the potential benefits of requiring a course in parenting education as a prerequisite for high school graduation; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the State Board of Education.