II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4980 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health 

and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, to support research and programmatic 

efforts that will build on previous research on the effects of adverse 

childhood experiences. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 8, 2020 

Mr. KING introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through 

the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention, to support research and programmatic efforts that will build on previous research on the effects 

of adverse childhood experiences. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Improving Data Collection for Adverse Childhood Experi6 ences Act’’. 


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1 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

2 (1) Certain negative events, circumstances, or 

3 maltreatment to which children may be exposed, 

4 known as adverse childhood experiences, are associ5 ated with negative health outcomes. 

6 (2) Childhood psychological, physical, or sexual 

7 abuse; household challenges such as violence, sub8 stance use, mental illness, separation or divorce, or 

9 incarceration of a family member; and emotional or 

10 physical neglect have been shown to negatively im11 pact a person’s long-term health and well-being. 

12 (3) Adverse childhood experiences and associ13 ated conditions such as living in under-resourced or 

14 racially segregated neighborhoods, frequently mov15 ing, experiencing food insecurity, and other insta16 bility can cause toxic stress, a prolonged activation 

17 of the stress-response system. 

18 (4) Experiencing one or more adverse childhood 

19 experiences is associated with higher risks of some 

20 of the leading causes of death and disability in the 

21 United States. 

22 (5) More than half of all people in the United 

23 States have experienced one or more adverse child24 hood experiences. 


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1 (6) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre2 vention has recognized adverse childhood experiences 

3 as a major public health concern and made it a pri4 ority area for focus in the National Center for In5 jury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Dis6 ease Control and Prevention. 

7 (7) Further research is needed to better define 

8 adverse childhood experiences, understand the causal 

9 pathway between adverse childhood experiences and 

10 physical health outcomes, and identify protective fac11 tors against adverse childhood experiences and their 

12 effects, in order to inform and improve current pro13 grams and future efforts to promote public health. 

14 (8) Evidence-based prevention and mitigation 

15 strategies to address adverse childhood experiences 

16 have been identified, but efforts are needed to facili17 tate implementation in communities. 

18 SEC. 2. SUPPORTING RESEARCH ON ADVERSE CHILDHOOD 

19 EXPERIENCES. 

20 Part J of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

21 (42 U.S.C. 280b et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

22 section 393D (42 U.S.C. 280b–1f) the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 393E. SUPPORTING RESEARCH ON PREVENTING OR 

2 REMEDIATING ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPE3 RIENCES. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

5 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre6 vention, may, in cooperation with the States, collect and 

7 report data on adverse childhood experiences through the 

8 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the Youth 

9 Risk Behavior Surveillance System, or other relevant pub10 lic health surveys or questionnaires to contribute to a lon11 gitudinal study that— 

12 ‘‘(1) builds on previous literature, including the 

13 seminal CDC–Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood 

14 Experiences (ACE) Study, on the biology and neuro15 science of childhood adversity that establishes the 

16 links between adverse childhood experiences and neg17 ative outcomes; and 

18 ‘‘(2) focuses on elements not included in the 

19 study referred to in paragraph (1), including— 

20 ‘‘(A) the inclusion of a diverse nationally 

21 representative sample of participants; 

22 ‘‘(B) the strength of the relationship be23 tween individual, specific adverse childhood ex24 periences and negative health outcomes; 

25 ‘‘(C) the intensity and frequency of adverse 

26 childhood experiences; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the relative strength of particular 

2 risk and protective factors; and 

3 ‘‘(E) the effect of social, economic, and 

4 community conditions on health and well-being. 

5 ‘‘(b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may, 

6 directly or through awards of grants or contracts to public 

7 or nonprofit private entities, provide technical assistance 

8 with respect to the collection and reporting of data as de9 scribed in subsection (a). 

10 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

12 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2026.’’. 

Æ 


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