II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 981

To provide training to professionals who work with children affected by

violence, to provide for violence prevention, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 6, 1999

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

the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To provide training to professionals who work with children

affected by violence, to provide for violence prevention,

and for other purposes.

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.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Violence Prevention

5 Training for Early Childhood Educators Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

7 The purpose of this Act is to provide grants to insti8 tutions that carry out early childhood education training

9 programs to enable the institutions to include violence pre10 vention training as part of the preparation of individuals
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1 pursuing careers in early childhood development and edu2 cation.

3 SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

4 Congress makes the following findings:

5 (1) Aggressive behavior in early childhood is the

6 single best predictor of aggression in later life.

7 (2) Aggressive and defiant behavior predictive

8 of later delinquency is increasing among our Na9 tion’s youngest children. Without prevention efforts,

10 higher percentages of juveniles are likely to become

11 violent juvenile offenders.

12 (3) Research has demonstrated that aggression

13 is primarily a learned behavior that develops through

14 observation, imitation, and direct experience. There15 fore, children who experience violence as victims or

16 as witnesses are at increased risk of becoming vio17 lent themselves.

18 (4) In a study at a Boston city hospital, 1 out

19 of every 10 children seen in the primary care clinic

20 had witnessed a shooting or a stabbing before the

21 age of 6, with 50 percent of the children witnessing

22 in the home and 50 percent of the children wit23 nessing in the streets.

24 (5) A study in New York found that children

25 who had been victims of violence within their fami-
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1 lies were 24 percent more likely to report violent be2 havior as adolescents, and adolescents who had

3 grown up in families where partner violence occurred

4 were 21 percent more likely to report violent delin5 quency than individuals not exposed to violence.

6 (6) Aggression can become well-learned and dif7 ficult to change by the time a child reaches adoles8 cence. Early childhood offers a critical period for

9 overcoming risk for violent behavior and providing

10 support for prosocial behavior.

11 (7) Violence prevention programs for very

12 young children yield economic benefits. By providing

13 health and stability to the individual child and the

14 child’s family, the programs may reduce expendi15 tures for medical care, special education, and in16 volvement with the judicial system.

17 (8) Primary prevention can be effective. When

18 preschool teachers teach young children inter19 personal problem-solving skills and other forms of

20 conflict resolution, children are less likely to dem21 onstrate problem behaviors.

22 (9) There is evidence that family support pro23 grams in families with children from birth through

24 5 years of age are effective in preventing delin25 quency.
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1 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

2 (a) AT-RISK CHILD.—The term ‘‘at-risk child’’

3 means a child who has been affected by violence through

4 direct exposure to child abuse, other domestic violence, or

5 violence in the community.

6 (b) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION TRAINING PRO7 GRAM.—The term ‘‘early childhood education training pro8 gram’’ means a program that—

9 (1)(A) trains individuals to work with young

10 children in early child development programs or ele11 mentary schools; or

12 (B) provides professional development to indi13 viduals working in early child development programs

14 or elementary schools;

15 (2) provides training to become an early child16 hood education teacher, an elementary school teach17 er, a school counselor, or a child care provider; and

18 (3) leads to a bachelor’s degree or an associ19 ate’s degree, a certificate for working with young

20 children (such as a Child Development Associate’s

21 degree or an equivalent credential), or, in the case

22 of an individual with such a degree, certificate, or

23 credential, provides professional development.

24 (c) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elementary

25 school’’ has the meaning given the term in section 14101
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1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

2 (20 U.S.C. 8801).

3 (d) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the

4 Secretary of Education.

5 (e) VIOLENCE PREVENTION.—The term ‘‘violence

6 prevention’’ means—

7 (1) preventing violent behavior in children;

8 (2) identifying and preventing violent behavior

9 in at-risk children; or

10 (3) identifying and ameliorating violent behav11 ior in children who act out violently.

12 SEC. 5. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

13 (a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is author14 ized to award grants to institutions that carry out early

15 childhood education training programs and have applica16 tions approved under section 6 to enable the institutions

17 to provide violence prevention training as part of the early

18 childhood education training program.

19 (b) AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall award a grant

20 under this Act in an amount that is not less than

21 $500,000 and not more than $1,000,000.

22 (c) DURATION.—The Secretary shall award a grant

23 under this Act for a period of not less than 3 years and

24 not more than 5 years.
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1 SEC. 6. APPLICATION.

2 (a) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—Each institution de3 siring a grant under this Act shall submit to the Secretary

4 an application at such time, in such manner, and accom5 panied by such information as the Secretary may require.

6 (b) CONTENTS.—Each application shall—

7 (1) describe the violence prevention training ac8 tivities and services for which assistance is sought;

9 (2) contain a comprehensive plan for the activi10 ties and services, including a description of—

11 (A) the goals of the violence prevention

12 training program;

13 (B) the curriculum and training that will

14 prepare students for careers which are de15 scribed in the plan;

16 (C) the recruitment, retention, and train17 ing of students;

18 (D) the methods used to help students find

19 employment in their fields;

20 (E) the methods for assessing the success

21 of the violence prevention training program;

22 and

23 (F) the sources of financial aid for quali24 fied students;

25 (3) contain an assurance that the institution

26 has the capacity to implement the plan; and
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1 (4) contain an assurance that the plan was de2 veloped in consultation with agencies and organiza3 tions that will assist the institution in carrying out

4 the plan.

5 SEC. 7. SELECTION PRIORITIES.

6 The Secretary shall give priority to awarding grants

7 to institutions carrying out violence prevention programs

8 that include 1 or more of the following components:

9 (1) Preparation to engage in family support

10 (such as parent education, service referral, and lit11 eracy training).

12 (2) Preparation to engage in community out13 reach or collaboration with other services in the com14 munity.

15 (3) Preparation to use conflict resolution train16 ing with children.

17 (4) Preparation to work in economically dis18 advantaged communities.

19 (5) Recruitment of economically disadvantaged

20 students.

21 (6) Carrying out programs of demonstrated ef22 fectiveness in the type of training for which assist23 ance is sought, including programs funded under

24 section 596 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as

25 such section was in effect prior to October 7, 1998).
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1 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

3 this Act $35,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2000

4 through 2004.

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