HLS 23RS-1427 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 83
BY REPRESENTATIVE LYONS
SPECIAL DAY/WEEK/MONTH: Recognizes April 27, 2023, as Child Advocacy Center
Day in Louisiana
1 A RESOLUTION
2To recognize Thursday, April 27, 2023, as Child Advocacy Center (CAC) Day in Louisiana.
3 WHEREAS, Louisiana's CACs have made valuable contributions to the state and
4have helped to make the state a better place for children and families; and
5 WHEREAS, with the establishment of the Jefferson Children's Advocacy Center in
6Gretna, Louisiana, in 1991, the year 2023 marks thirty-two years of existence of CACs in
7Louisiana; and
8 WHEREAS, April is recognized as National Child Abuse Prevention Month; and
9 WHEREAS, one in ten children will experience sexual abuse before the age of
10eighteen; Louisiana’s CACs provide services to more than six thousand children each year
11in Louisiana's sixty-four parishes for cases involving physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse,
12human trafficking, and children who have witnessed domestic violence and homicide; and
13 WHEREAS, CACs in Louisiana provide education and promote awareness for the
14prevention, identification, and reporting of child abuse; in 2022, these efforts reached over
15fifty-four thousand professionals and community members; and
16 WHEREAS, the mission of Louisiana's CACs is to provide every child victim
17referred to a CAC a comfortable, child-friendly environment for forensic interviewing,
18victim advocacy, mental health care, and other services to reduce further trauma to the child
19and to promote healing; and
20 WHEREAS, CACs work with multidisciplinary teams of child abuse professionals
21to coordinate child abuse investigation and intervention, including district attorneys,
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HR NO. 83
1Department of Children and Family Services employees, various law enforcement agencies,
2medical and mental health providers, and victim advocates; and
3 WHEREAS, these CACs use evidence-based practices to support child well-being,
4and that research has demonstrated these programs improve outcomes for children, reduce
5trauma for families, and save taxpayer money; and
6 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Alliance of Children's Advocacy Centers is the state
7chapter established for the empowerment, collaboration, and advocacy of Louisiana's CACs
8and provides a wide range of critical services to local member centers, including training,
9technical assistance, data collection, and advocacy; and
10 WHEREAS, with ten CACs that are fully accredited members in good standing with
11the National Children's Alliance, and more centers on the path to national accreditation,
12Louisiana's CACs are part of a network of over nine hundred centers across the nation which
13serve more than three hundred fifty thousand children annually.
14 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
15Legislature of Louisiana does hereby designate Thursday, April 27, 2023, as Child Advocacy
16Center (CAC) Day in Louisiana and does hereby commend the dedication and excellent
17work of CACs on behalf of the citizens of Louisiana.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 83 Original 2023 Regular Session Lyons
Recognizes April 27, 2023, as Child Advocacy Center Day in La.
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