00                   HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 3                                                                    
01 Proclaiming April 2017 as Child Abuse Prevention Month; and proclaiming April 7,                                        
02 2017, as Go Blue Friday.                                                                                                
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS the state currently has one of the five highest rates of child abuse in the                             
05 United States; and                                                                                                      
06       WHEREAS, in fiscal year 2015, the Department of Health and Social Services,                                     
07 Office of Children's Services, received more than 40,000 allegations of harm involving tens of                          
08 thousands of children; and                                                                                              
09       WHEREAS, for every 1,000 children in the state, 42 are victims of abuse; and                                    
10       WHEREAS more than 2,000 children in the state have been removed from unsafe                                     
11 homes and placed in foster care; and                                                                                    
12       WHEREAS child abuse and neglect leave cross-generational damage resulting in                                    
13 approximately 30 percent of abused or neglected children who will grow up to abuse or                                   
14 neglect their children; and                                                                                             
15       WHEREAS 36 percent of all women in prison and 14 percent of all men in prison                                   
16 were abused or neglected as children; and                                                                               

01       WHEREAS children who experience child abuse or neglect are about nine times                                     
02 more likely to become involved in criminal activity than children who do not experience child                           
03 abuse or neglect; and                                                                                                   
04       WHEREAS the long-term effects of child abuse include improper brain formation, an                               
05 inability to trust, low self-esteem, and an increased vulnerability to post-traumatic stress                            
06 disorder, sexually transmitted diseases, heart disease, cancer, and depression; and                                     
07       WHEREAS every child deserves a loving family, a safe home, and the opportunity to                               
08 grow into an upstanding and responsible member of society; and                                                          
09       WHEREAS we must work together to support the efforts of all those who take                                      
10 children into their homes and hearts because the community as a whole suffers in every case                             
11 of child abuse and neglect;                                                                                             
12 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims April 2017 to be                                           
13 Child Abuse Prevention Month in the state; and be it                                                                    
14 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims April 7, 2017,                                           
15 as Go Blue Friday, a day to wear blue, the official color of prevention, and to work to keep                            
16 the state's children safe and encourages all state employees and other residents of the state to                        
17 participate; and be it                                                                                                  
18 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports and encourages                                            
19 all state employees and other residents of the state to support child abuse prevention and                              
20 education efforts.