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SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are
3traumatic experiences occurring during childhood that may have
4a profound effect on a child's developing brain and body and
5may result in poor health during the person's adulthood; ACEs
6can be physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, physical and
7emotional neglect, and household dysfunction, such as domestic
8violence, separation or divorce involving household members,
9and substance abuse, untreated mental illness, or
10incarceration of a household member; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Research over the last two decades in the evolving
12fields of neuroscience, molecular biology, public health,
13genomics, and epigenetics reveals that experiences in the first
14few years of life build changes into the biology of the human
15body that, in turn, influence the person's physical and mental
16health over the person's lifetime; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Strong, frequent, or prolonged stress in
18childhood caused by adverse childhood experiences can become
19toxic stress, affecting the development of a child's
20fundamental brain architecture and stress response systems;
21and
 
22    WHEREAS, Adverse childhood experience studies have also

 

 

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1found a strong correlation between the number of ACEs and a
2person's risk for disease and negative health behaviors,
3including suicide attempts, cancer, ischemic heart disease,
4diabetes, smoking, substance abuse, depression, obesity,
5unplanned pregnancies, workplace absenteeism, lower
6educational achievement, and lower wages; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Findings from the Illinois 2013 Behavioral Risk
8Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) Illinois ACEs Response
9Collaborative found that almost 60% of non-institutionalized
10adults in Illinois say they had at least one ACE; this number
11equates to almost 5 million Illinois residents; 14.2% of
12Illinois adults reported four or more ACEs; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The Illinois 2013 BRFSS also found that
14approximately one in seven women and one in eight men reported
15experiencing four or more ACEs; and
 
16    WHEREAS, BRFSS data also showed that approximately 20% of
17African American and Hispanic adults in Illinois reported four
18or more ACEs, compared to 13% of non-Hispanic whites; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Individuals with six or more ACEs were found, on
20average, to live 20 years less than those individuals with zero
21ACEs; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Among those who misuse opioids, the individuals
2most likely to experience problems with addiction are those who
3suffered ACEs; general population surveys have estimated that
475% of individuals with substance use disorders have
5experienced trauma at some point in their lives; rates are even
6higher among populations seeking treatment for opioid
7addiction; and
 
8    WHEREAS, ACEs appear to be a root cause of many of our most
9challenging health and social problems, including smoking,
10substance abuse, obesity, heart disease, low birth weight,
11unemployment, depression, and suicide; without adequate family
12intervention and support, ACEs appear to be transmitted from
13one generation to the next, further exacerbating this problem;
14and
 
15    WHEREAS, It is more effective and less costly to positively
16influence the architecture of a young child's developing brain
17than to attempt to correct poor learning, health, and behaviors
18later in life; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Trauma-informed care is an approach that can bring
20greater understanding and more effective ways to prevent,
21identify, and support and serve children, adults, families, and
22communities affected by ACEs, trauma, adversity, and toxic
23stress; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Trauma-informed care is not a therapy or an
2intervention, but a principle-based, culture-change process
3aimed at recognizing strengths and resiliency as well as
4helping people who have experienced trauma to overcome those
5issues in order to lead healthy and positive lives; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
7Administration and many other agencies and organizations
8provide substantial resources to better engage individuals and
9communities across the United States in order to implement
10trauma-informed care; and
 
11    WHEREAS, A trauma-informed Illinois enhances the ability
12of children and adults to adapt, cope and thrive despite
13difficult times, supporting the mental well-being of everyone
14in our state; therefore, be it
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
16ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that policy decisions
17enacted by the Illinois State Legislature should acknowledge
18and take into account the principles of early childhood brain
19development and should, whenever possible, consider the
20concepts of toxic stress, early adversity, and buffering
21relationships, and note the role of early intervention and
22investment in early childhood years as important strategies to

 

 

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1achieve a lasting foundation for a more prosperous and
2sustainable State through investing in human capital; and be it
3further
 
4    RESOLVED, That we declare May 15, 2019 as Trauma-Informed
5Awareness Day in Illinois to highlight the impact of trauma and
6the importance of prevention and community resilience through
7trauma-informed care; and be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That we encourage all officers, agencies and
9employees of the State of Illinois whose responsibilities
10impact children and adults, including the Office of the
11Governor, the State Board of Education, the Department of Human
12Services, the Department of Children and Family Services, the
13Department of Public Health, the Department of Juvenile Justice
14and Department of Corrections, to become informed regarding
15well-documented short-term, long-term and generational impacts
16of adverse childhood experiences, toxic stress and structural
17violence on children, adults and communities and to become
18aware of evidence-based and evidence-informed trauma-informed
19care practices, tools, and interventions that promote healing
20and resiliency in children, adults and communities so that
21people, systems and community, family and interpersonal
22relationships will be able to maximize their well-being; and be
23it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
2presented to Governor J.B. Pritzker, House Speaker Michael
3Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton, House Majority
4Leader Greg Harris, Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady, the
5Secretary of Human Services, the State Superintendent of
6Schools, and all directors of the above mentioned State
7departments.