Important Bills Addressing Child Trauma
Legislation that addresses childhood trauma, and prioritizes prevention
Two bills have been introduced that address child trauma and secure important funding for important prevention and community intervention. FUTURES chairs the Child Trauma and ACEs (CTAP) Policy Working Group and we are pleased to share that momentum is definitely building for addressing child trauma.
RISE From Trauma Bill
Senators Durbin (D-IL) and Capito (R-WV) introduced the Resilience Investment, Support, and Expansion from Trauma Act or the RISE from Trauma Bill this week in the Senate. This is bipartisan legislation that would authorize more than $4 billion over 8 years to fund coordinated programming in communities, training for teachers and other educators on trauma-informed practices, workforce development programs to bring more public health staff into schools and communities hit hard by violence, the Children Exposed to Violence and Substance Abuse Program at OJJDP, and a new training center for law enforcement on addressing children and youth’s trauma in ways that de-escalate conflict and connect children and youth to appropriate services. A summary of the bill can be found here.
Nationally, nearly 35 million children have had at least one traumatic experience.
It is URGENT we invest in our own communities and the needs of the most vulnerable children, youth, and families, helping them heal from trauma and investing in our futures. This act does that, tell your Senator to cosponsor TODAY.
Take action here.
STRONG Support for Children Act
Rep. Ayanna Presley (D-MA) also just introduced her Services and Trauma-informed Research of Outcomes in Neighborhoods Grants for Support for Children Act or the STRONG Support for Children Act, which would establish two new grant programs to support local public health departments to address child trauma. They would focus on care coordination that is truly community focused and utilizing public health data to target resources to those most in need. It would also ensure that programming is conveniently located and accessible to all children and families regardless of immigration status, ability to pay, and prior involvement in the criminal legal system. The legislation would prohibit grant recipients from using funds to increase surveillance and policing of vulnerable communities. A bill summary and other resources can be found here.
