00                    HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 21                                                                   
01 Proclaiming April 2014 as Child Abuse Prevention Month.                                                                 
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03       WHEREAS, in fiscal year 2013, the Department of Health and Social Services,                                     
04 Office of Children's Services, received more than 40,000 reports of harm involving tens of                              
05 thousands of children; and                                                                                              
06       WHEREAS, of the 40,000 reports of harm received in 2013, 5,000 were substantiated                             
07 reports of child abuse or neglect equating to an average of 13 children a day who were abused                           
08 or neglected in the state in 2013; and                                                                                  
09       WHEREAS more than 2,000 children in the state reside in foster homes; and                                       
10       WHEREAS child abuse and neglect leave cross-generational damage resulting in                                    
11 approximately 30 percent of abused or neglected children who will grow up to abuse or                                   
12 neglect their children; and                                                                                             
13       WHEREAS 37 percent of all women in prison and 14 percent of all men in prison                                   
14 were abused or neglected as children; and                                                                               
15       WHEREAS the long-term effects of child abuse include improper brain formation, an                               
16 inability to trust, low self-esteem, and an increased vulnerability to post-traumatic stress                            
01 disorder, sexually transmitted diseases, heart disease, cancer, and depression; and                                     
02       WHEREAS every child deserves a loving family, a safe home, and the opportunity to                               
03 grow into an upstanding and responsible member of society; and                                                          
04       WHEREAS we must work together to support the efforts of all those who take                                      
05 children into their homes and hearts because the community as a whole suffers in every case                             
06 of child abuse and neglect;                                                                                             
07       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims April 2014 to be                                     
08 Child Abuse Prevention Month in the state; and be it                                                                    
09       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports and encourages                                      
10 the residents of the state to support child abuse prevention and education efforts.