III 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 190 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that foreign assistance for child welfare 

should adhere to the goals of the United States Government Action 

Plan on Children in Adversity. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 27, 2013 

Mr. INHOFE (for himself and Ms. LANDRIEU) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that foreign assistance 

for child welfare should adhere to the goals of the United 

States Government Action Plan on Children in Adversity. 

Whereas, as of 2013, there are at least 153,000,000 children 

in the world who have lost at least 1 parent, and of those 

children, approximately 17,800,000 have lost both parents; 

Whereas more than 400,000,000 children in developing countries are living in extreme poverty; 

Whereas more than 115,000,000 children are engaged in hazardous work and more than 5,500,000 children are in situations of forced labor; 

Whereas 36 percent of girls and 29 percent of boys around 

the world have been sexually abused; 


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•SRES 190 IS 

Whereas at least 2,000,000, and probably many more, children are raised in institutional care; 

Whereas millions of children throughout the world live under 

conditions of serious deprivation or danger, and children 

who experience violence or are exploited, abandoned, 

abused, or severely neglected also face significant threats 

to their survival and well-being, as well as profound risks 

that have an impact on their human, social, and economic development; 

Whereas children in the most dire circumstances, including 

children without protective family care, or who are living 

in abusive households, on the streets, or in institutions, 

trafficked, participating in armed groups, or exploited for 

their labor, face a multitude of risks posed by extreme 

poverty, disease, disability, conflict, and disaster; 

Whereas family reunification, kinship care, and domestic and 

intercountry adoption promote permanency and stability 

to a far greater degree than long-term institutionalization; 

Whereas permanent family care, transitioning children from 

institutions into protective family care, and preventing violence within households and in schools are associated 

with reduced infant and child mortality, decreased grade 

repetition, decreased future criminal activity, decreased 

drug use and abuse, fewer teen pregnancies, and higher 

economic earning potential; 

Whereas past efforts by the United States to assist vulnerable children in low- and middle-income countries have 

not always been coordinated among the Federal agencies 

responsible for foreign assistance, and that lack of coordination has sometimes resulted in a fragmented response; 


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•SRES 190 IS 

Whereas, with the increasing number of children in need, limitations on Federal funding, and multiple Federal agencies involved in efforts to assist children in need, it is 

more important than ever to improve the coordination 

and coherence of those efforts in order to maximize the 

effect on children; 

Whereas the Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable 

Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005 (Public 

Law 109–95; 119 Stat. 2111), which passed the House 

of Representatives by a vote of 415 to 9 and passed the 

Senate by unanimous consent, called for a comprehensive, 

coordinated, and effective response on the part of the 

Government of the United States to assist the most vulnerable children in the world; 

Whereas the Special Advisor for Assistance for Orphans and 

Vulnerable Children appointed under section 135(e) of 

the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152f(e)), 

in coordination with 7 Federal agencies, released the 

United States Government Action Plan on Children in 

Adversity as the first-ever whole-of-government strategic 

guidance for foreign assistance for children provided by 

the United States; and 

Whereas the United States Government Action Plan on Children in Adversity seeks to ensure that all activities of the 

Government of the United States are coordinated among 

appropriate Federal agencies and integrated into relevant 

foreign policy initiatives of the United States, with the 

goal of promoting permanent family care and integrating 

evidence-based practices that are in the best interest of 

children: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 


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•SRES 190 IS 

1 (1) a comprehensive action plan for addressing 

2 the needs of children living in adversity should be 

3 sanctioned by the highest level of the Government of 

4 the United States; 

5 (2) Federal funding that currently goes toward 

6 projects and research benefitting children in low7 and middle-income countries should be coordinated 

8 among the Federal agencies that receive it with the 

9 goals of— 

10 (A) promoting permanent family care for 

11 the most vulnerable children in the world; 

12 (B) reducing the number of children who 

13 experience violence, exploitation, or abuse; and 

14 (C) eliminating unnecessary duplication 

15 and contradictory approaches within the Gov16 ernment of the United States; and 

17 (3) the United States Government Action Plan 

18 on Children in Adversity has the potential to realize 

19 those goals and create a more effective and efficient 

20 response by the Government of the United States to 

21 assisting the most vulnerable children in the world. 

Æ 


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