Representative Edward H. Redd proposes the following substitute bill:


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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ENCOURAGING

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IDENTIFICATION AND SUPPORT OF TRAUMATIC

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CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES SURVIVORS

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2017 GENERAL SESSION

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STATE OF UTAH

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Chief Sponsor: Edward H. Redd

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Senate Sponsor: Todd Weiler

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9     LONG TITLE
10     General Description:
11          This concurrent resolution encourages state officers, agencies, and employees to
12     promote interventions and practices to identify and treat child and adult survivors of
13     severe emotional trauma and other adverse childhood experiences using interventions
14     proven to help and develop resiliency in these survivors.
15     Highlighted Provisions:
16          This resolution:
17          ▸     highlights recent advances in understanding the impact of adverse childhood
18     experiences on an individual's future outcomes;
19          ▸     encourages state officers, agencies, and employees to become informed regarding
20     well-documented detrimental short-term and long-term impacts to children and
21     adults from serious traumatic childhood experiences; and
22          ▸     encourages state officers, agencies, and employees to implement evidence-based
23     interventions and practices that are proven to be successful in developing resiliency
24     in children and adults currently suffering from trauma-related disorders.
25     Special Clauses:

26          None
27     

28     Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
29          WHEREAS, there have been recent significant advances in neuroscience with increased
30     understanding of how emotional neglect and exposure to serious trauma affect the way children
31     perceive and interact with their world both during childhood and into adulthood;
32          WHEREAS, post-traumatic stress disorder and other trauma-related disorders in
33     children and adults can be caused both by exposure to a single severe traumatic incident or by
34     exposure to a cumulative series of serious traumatic events;
35          WHEREAS, such traumatic incidents and events include emotional and physical abuse
36     and neglect, sexual abuse, separation from or loss of a parent, serious injury or death of a
37     parent, exposure to family discord, domestic violence, parental mental illness, substance abuse,
38     criminal activity in the home, and other traumatic and nonnurturing experiences and
39     environments;
40          WHEREAS, abuse, neglect, and traumatic events compose part of what has been
41     described in the medical literature as "adverse childhood experiences" or "ACEs," and the
42     cumulative potential impact to a child who has a significant history of exposure to neglect and
43     trauma can be calculated using what is called an ACE score;
44          WHEREAS, it is now understood that significant exposure to severe traumatic events
45     as outlined above can negatively affect the neurobiology and anatomy of a child's developing
46     brain and result in a substantially impaired ability to absorb new information, develop healthy
47     coping skills, and adapt to life's challenges as the child becomes locked into a
48     "fight-flight-or-freeze" mode that becomes the child's and future adult's default approach when
49     interacting with the world around them;
50          WHEREAS, children and adults whose brains have been negatively affected by
51     exposure to severe or repeated serious trauma, often experience persistent and sometimes
52     overwhelming dysfunctional emotions of fear, anxiety, depression, hopelessness, and anger,
53     and may exhibit socially inappropriate labile and aggressive behaviors, or may exhibit socially
54     inappropriate emotional detachment and avoidance behaviors;
55          WHEREAS, these negative coping behaviors and dysfunctional emotions limit a
56     person's capacity to form healthy stable relationships, foster social capital, learn from

57     experiences and mistakes, set and achieve short and long-term goals, and succeed in
58     educational and vocational pursuits;
59          WHEREAS, in addition to the above negative outcomes, children and adults are more
60     likely to attempt to self medicate trauma-related "fight-flight-or-freeze" anxiety and emotional
61     dysfunction by using available substances such as tobacco, alcohol, prescription medications,
62     and street drugs, including heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and cannabis;
63          WHEREAS, because of the cumulative adverse effects of the above negative outcomes
64     on their physical health and emotional and cognitive capabilities, children and adults affected
65     by severe traumatic events, despite their sincere and best efforts to succeed in life, are more
66     likely to:
67          1. perform poorly in school and other academic pursuits;
68          2. struggle with work performance and sustainable employment;
69          3. become chronically unemployed as adults, resulting in financial stress, reduced
70     quality of life, and increased risk of experiencing long-term disability, homelessness, and other
71     personal and family traumatic experiences;
72          4. become dependent on and addicted to tobacco, alcohol, prescription medications,
73     illicit drugs, and other substances;
74          5. become directly engaged with law enforcement and the criminal justice system;
75          6. suffer from significant mental illness including depression, psychosis, and severe
76     anxiety leading to suicides and attempted suicides that otherwise would not have occurred;
77          7. suffer from serious physical health problems with poor long-term outcomes that
78     otherwise would not have occurred;
79          8. engage in high-risk sexual behaviors as adolescents and adults, including onset of
80     sexual activity at an early age and multiple sexual partners, resulting in increased risks of
81     adolescent pregnancy and paternity, other unintended pregnancies, and sexually transmitted
82     diseases;
83          9. experience significant problems and failures in marriage and other intimate partner
84     relationships;
85          10. become victims or perpetrators of intimate partner violence as adults;
86          11. struggle, despite their sincere efforts, to provide a stable and nurturing environment
87     for their current and future children, resulting in increased likelihood of intergenerational

88     trauma and intergenerational poverty; and
89          12. face a life expectancy shortened by as many as 20 years when compared to average
90     life expectancy for adults who did not experience severe trauma as children;
91          WHEREAS, with an increase in understanding about the impacts of trauma has come
92     the development of evidence-based questionnaires that identify behaviors and health-related
93     disorders in children and adults that can be indicative of possible trauma-related exposures;
94          WHEREAS, using these questionnaires can provide the opportunity to identify and
95     refer a child or adult for appropriate additional evaluation and treatment;
96          WHEREAS, the mental health profession can effectively diagnose and treat
97     trauma-related disorders following evidence-based approaches that have been proven to be
98     successful;
99          WHEREAS, one example of a well-studied, highly effective and widely available
100     therapy is trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy;
101          WHEREAS, early childhood offers an important window of elevated opportunity to
102     prevent, treat, and heal the impacts of adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress on a
103     child's brain and body;
104          WHEREAS, a critical factor in buffering a child from the negative effects of toxic
105     stress and adverse childhood experiences is the existence of at least one stable, supportive
106     relationship between the child and a nurturing adult;
107          WHEREAS, with the increase in scientific understanding and ability to identify,
108     prevent, and treat trauma-related disorders, there is great hope for thousands of Utah children
109     and adults to begin healing from the negative effects of adverse childhood experiences, develop
110     resiliency, and have brighter, more productive futures than was previously possible; and
111          WHEREAS, in order to maximize the potential for positive outcomes of
112     evidence-based interventions in the treatment of severe trauma, it is imperative that employees
113     of the state of Utah and other people who interface directly with vulnerable children and adults
114     become informed regarding the effects of trauma on the human brain and available screening
115     and assessment tools and treatment interventions that lead to increased resiliency in children
116     and adults who struggle in life as the result of trauma-related disorders:
117          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
118     Governor concurring therein, encourages all officers, agencies, and employees of the state of

119     Utah whose responsibilities include working with vulnerable children and adults, such as the
120     Utah State Board of Education, the Utah Department of Human Services, the Department of
121     Workforce Services, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the Utah Department of
122     Corrections, to:
123          1. become informed regarding well-documented detrimental short-term and long-term
124     impacts to children and adults from serious traumatic childhood experiences as outlined above;
125     and
126          2. implement evidence-based interventions and practices that are proven to be
127     successful in developing resiliency in children and adults currently suffering from
128     trauma-related disorders to help them recover from their trauma and function at their full
129     capacity and potential in school, the workplace, and community, family, and interpersonal
130     relationships.
131          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Utah Board
132     of Education, the Utah Department of Human Services, the Department of Workforce Services,
133     the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Utah Department of Corrections, and all political
134     subdivisions of the state of Utah.
135          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to all nonprofit
136     agencies and other entities that contract with the state of Utah to provide services to vulnerable
137     children and adults.