| 1 | 1 | | By: Castro H.R. No. 1340 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 5 | | WHEREAS, All children need love, guidance, and safety and |
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| 6 | 6 | | deserve to grow up in an environment free of violence and physical |
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| 7 | 7 | | harm; and |
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| 8 | 8 | | WHEREAS, Child abuse and neglect are a serious and widespread |
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| 9 | 9 | | problem in the State of Texas; and |
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| 10 | 10 | | WHEREAS, In 2007 alone, the Texas Department of Family and |
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| 11 | 11 | | Protective Services received more than 240,000 reports of child |
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| 12 | 12 | | abuse and neglect, and 223 Texas children died as a result of abuse |
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| 13 | 13 | | or neglect; most of the victims were infants or preschool children; |
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| 14 | 14 | | and |
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| 15 | 15 | | WHEREAS, The direct costs of child abuse and neglect include |
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| 16 | 16 | | the costs of judicial, law enforcement, and health system responses |
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| 17 | 17 | | to child maltreatment; in Texas, the costs associated with |
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| 18 | 18 | | investigation, care, placement, and treatment of child abuse and |
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| 19 | 19 | | neglect cases approach $900 million per year; and |
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| 20 | 20 | | WHEREAS, The enormous costs of child abuse and neglect can be |
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| 21 | 21 | | reduced by well-funded and robust child abuse prevention and early |
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| 22 | 22 | | intervention programs that break the cycle of violence; and |
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| 23 | 23 | | WHEREAS, There are a number of effective programs that |
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| 24 | 24 | | prevent child abuse and neglect, including early childhood |
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| 25 | 25 | | education and health care, substance abuse treatment programs, home |
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| 26 | 26 | | visitation programs, and parenting programs; and |
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| 27 | 27 | | WHEREAS, Thousands of child protection workers, medical and |
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| 28 | 28 | | legal professionals, clergy members, social workers, school |
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| 29 | 29 | | teachers, and other adults devote themselves to preventing, |
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| 30 | 30 | | detecting, and addressing the effects of child abuse and neglect; |
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| 31 | 31 | | and |
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| 32 | 32 | | WHEREAS, Thousands of Texans serve as foster parents each |
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| 33 | 33 | | year, opening their homes and hearts to children who have suffered |
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| 34 | 34 | | abuse and neglect and protecting them from further harm; and |
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| 35 | 35 | | WHEREAS, Thousands of children are adopted by loving parents |
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| 36 | 36 | | each year in Texas, providing them with a new start in life after |
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| 37 | 37 | | they have experienced maltreatment; and |
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| 38 | 38 | | WHEREAS, It is possible to fight child abuse and neglect with |
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| 39 | 39 | | community-based programs that reflect the diversity, strengths, |
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| 40 | 40 | | and resources of the many communities in this great state, and it is |
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| 41 | 41 | | a worthy goal for all citizens to seek to break the cycle of child |
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| 42 | 42 | | abuse and neglect in our country and to give victimized children |
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| 43 | 43 | | hope for the future; now, therefore, be it |
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| 44 | 44 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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| 45 | 45 | | Legislature hereby recognize April 2009 as Child Abuse Prevention |
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| 46 | 46 | | Month and commend all Texans who work in behalf of the abused and |
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| 47 | 47 | | neglected children of our state. |
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