Maryland 2022 Regular Session

Maryland House Bill HB1377 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
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2	2
3	3	EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	hb1377
6	6
7	7	HOUSE BILL 1377
8	8	J1, O4 2lr1780
9	9	CF SB 764
10	10	By: Delegates Prettyman, Anderton, Bagnall, Barve, Boyce, C. Branch, Davis,
11	11	Foley, Forbes, Griffith, Healey, Henson, Hill, Hornberger, Johnson, Kerr,
12	12	Kipke, Landis, Lehman, Luedtke, McComas, McIntosh, McKay, Patterson,
13	13	Rosenberg, Smith, Thiam, Wells, Wilson, and P. Young
14	14	Introduced and read first time: February 11, 2022
15	15	Assigned to: Health and Government Operations
16	16
17	17	A BILL ENTITLED
18	18
19	19	AN ACT concerning 1
20	20
21	21	Childhood Exposure to Violence – Health and Social Impacts – Public 2
22	22	Awareness Campaign Workgroup 3
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24	24	FOR the purpose of establishing the Childhood Exposure to Violence Public Awareness 4
25	25	Campaign Workgroup to develop a public awareness and prevention campaign 5
26	26	relating to the health and social impacts of children exposed to violence; and 6
27	27	generally relating to the Childhood Exposure to Violence Public Awareness 7
28	28	Campaign Workgroup. 8
29	29
30	30	Preamble 9
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32	32	WHEREAS, Exposure to violence of any kind inflicts trauma on witnesses, especially 10
33	33	on children; and 11
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35	35	WHEREAS, A 2009 U.S. Department of Justice study showed that more than 60% 12
36	36	of the children surveyed were exposed to violence within the past year either directly or 13
37	37	indirectly; and 14
38	38
39	39	WHEREAS, Children’s exposure to violence, whether as victims or witnesses, is often 15
40	40	associated with long–term health and social impacts, including physical, psychological, and 16
41	41	emotional harm, and further, such exposure puts them at a higher risk of engaging in 17
42	42	criminal behavior later in life and becoming part of a cycle of violence; and 18
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44	44	WHEREAS, Childhood exposure to violent crimes costs American society $496 billion 19
45	45	a year; and 20
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47	47	WHEREAS, Early identification of children who have witnessed violence and early 21
48	48	response to those events are critical to decreasing poor health and social outcomes from 22 2 HOUSE BILL 1377
49	49
50	50
51	51	those experiences; and 1
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53	53	WHEREAS, Public education about the impact of witnessing violence and about 2
54	54	effective interventions and preventative measures is lacking because violence occurs 3
55	55	without warning in any setting and yet is often difficult to predict, thus putting children at 4
56	56	risk for witnessing it in any setting; and 5
57	57
58	58	WHEREAS, Maryland needs a coordinated and comprehensive campaign to educate 6
59	59	the public on the need to prevent situations that expose children to violence and on tools to 7
60	60	respond once violence has occurred in the presence of a child; now, therefore, 8
61	61
62	62	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 9
63	63	That: 10
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65	65	(a) There is a Childhood Exposure to Violence Public Awareness Campaign 11
66	66	Workgroup. 12
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68	68	(b) The Workgroup consists of: 13
69	69
70	70	(1) the following members, appointed by the Secretary of Health: 14
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72	72	(i) two individuals who witnessed violence as a child or have a 15
73	73	family member who witnessed violence as a child; 16
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75	75	(ii) two representatives of hospitals; 17
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77	77	(iii) one State–licensed emergency medicine physician; 18
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79	79	(iv) one State–licensed primary care physician; 19
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81	81	(v) one State–licensed pediatrician; 20
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83	83	(vi) one State–licensed mental health provider; 21
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85	85	(vii) one representative of a local health department; 22
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87	87	(viii) one representative from the Maryland Department of Health; 23
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89	89	(ix) two violence intervention community health workers; 24
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91	91	(x) one representative of a Boys and Girls Club in the State; and 25
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93	93	(xi) one individual with expertise in public communication; 26
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95	95	(2) the following members, appointed by the Secretary of Education: 27
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97	97	(i) one representative of the State Department of Education; and 28 HOUSE BILL 1377 3
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101	101	(ii) one teacher who works in the State; 1
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103	103	(3) one representative of the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, 2
104	104	and Victim Services, designated by the Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Crime 3
105	105	Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services; and 4
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107	107	(4) one representative of an accredited child advocacy center, designated 5
108	108	by the Maryland Children’s Alliance. 6
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110	110	(c) The Workgroup shall elect the chair of the Workgroup by a majority vote at 7
111	111	the first meeting. 8
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113	113	(d) The Maryland Department of Health shall provide staff for the Workgroup. 9
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115	115	(e) A member of the Workgroup: 10
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117	117	(1) may not receive compensation as a member of the Workgroup; but 11
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119	119	(2) is entitled to reimbursement for expenses under the Standard State 12
120	120	Travel Regulations, as provided in the State budget. 13
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122	122	(f) The Workgroup shall: 14
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124	124	(1) develop a public awareness and prevention campaign on child exposure 15
125	125	to violence that includes: 16
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127	127	(i) the types of violence that pose risks to children; 17
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129	129	(ii) the types of responses that children experience from being 18
130	130	exposed to violence; 19
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132	132	(iii) the health and social risks associated with children being 20
133	133	exposed to violence; 21
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135	135	(iv) the signs and symptoms of trauma and health and social impacts 22
136	136	associated with children being exposed to violence; and 23
137	137
138	138	(v) appropriate responses to learning that a child has been exposed 24
139	139	to violence; 25
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141	141	(2) identify, review, and evaluate resources that can be used to educate the 26
142	142	public on child exposure to violence; and 27
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144	144	(3) identify cost–effective methods for the Maryland Department of Health 28
145	145	to disseminate information to the public about the health and social impacts of children 29
146	146	being exposed to violence and actions to take to address the occurrence of such events. 30 4 HOUSE BILL 1377
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150	150	(g) On or before December 1, 2022, the Workgroup shall report on its findings and 1
151	151	recommendations for the public awareness and prevention campaign to the Senate Finance 2
152	152	Committee and the House Health and Government Operations Committee, in accordance 3
153	153	with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article. 4
154	154
155	155	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect June 5
156	156	1, 2022. It shall remain effective for a period of 1 year and 1 month and, at the end of June 6
157	157	30, 2023, this Act, with no further action required by the General Assembly, shall be 7
158	158	abrogated and of no further force and effect. 8