Title: A resolution recognizing the importance and effectiveness of trauma-informed care.
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Recognizes the importance, effectiveness, and need for trauma-informed care among existing federal programs and agencies. (Trauma-informed care takes into account a patient's history of trauma in the design of the patient's treatment.) Encourages the use of trauma-informed care within the federal government.
Expresses support for the designation of May 2018 as National Trauma Awareness Month, and May 22, 2018, as National Trauma-Informed Awareness Day.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 346 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 346

 Recognizing the importance and effectiveness of trauma-informed care.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 1, 2017

 Mr. Johnson (for himself, Ms. Heitkamp, Mr. Boozman, and Ms. Baldwin) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
               on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing the importance and effectiveness of trauma-informed care.

Whereas traumatic experiences affect millions of individuals in the United 
        States and can affect the mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, 
        economic, and social well-being of an individual;
Whereas adverse childhood experiences (in this preamble referred to as ``ACEs'') 
        can be traumatizing and, if not recognized, can affect health across the 
        lifespan of an individual and, in some cases, result in a shortened 
        lifespan;
Whereas ACEs are recognized as a proxy for toxic stress, which can affect brain 
        development and can cause a lifetime of physical, mental, and social 
        challenges;
Whereas ACEs and trauma are determinants of public health problems in the United 
        States such as obesity, addiction, and serious mental illness;
Whereas trauma-informed care is an approach that can bring greater understanding 
        and more effective ways to support and serve children, adults, families, 
        and communities affected by trauma;
Whereas trauma-informed care is not a therapy or an intervention, but a 
        principle-based, culture-change process aimed at recognizing strengths 
        and resiliency as well as helping people who have experienced trauma to 
        overcome those issues in order to lead healthy and positive lives;
Whereas adopting trauma-informed approaches in workplaces, communities, and 
        government programs can aid in preventing mental, emotional, physical, 
        and social issues for people impacted by toxic stress or trauma;
Whereas trauma-informed care has been promoted and established in communities 
        across the United States, including many different uses of trauma-
        informed care being utilized by various types of entities, such as--

    (1) the State of Wisconsin, which established Fostering Futures, a 
statewide initiative--

    G    (A) under which the State partnered with Indian tribes, State 
agencies, county governments, and nonprofit organizations to make Wisconsin 
the first trauma-informed State; and

    G    (B) the goal of which is to reduce toxic stress and improve life-
long health and well-being for all Wisconsinites;

    (2) the Menominee Tribe in Wisconsin, which improved educational and 
public health outcomes by increasing understanding of historical trauma and 
childhood adversity and by developing culturally relevant, trauma-informed 
practices;

    (3) schools of medicine that provide critical trauma-informed care in 
Chicago, Illinois, including--

    G    (A) the University of Illinois at Chicago Comprehensive Assessment 
and Response Training System, which improves the quality of psychiatric 
services provided to youth in foster care; and

    G    (B) the University of Chicago Recovery and Empowerment After 
Community Trauma Program, which helps residents who are coping with 
community violence;

    (4) service providers, academics, and local artists in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, that use art to engage communities to educate and involve 
citizens in trauma-informed care activities;

    (5) the Department of Public Health of San Francisco, California, which 
aligned its workforce to create a trauma-informed system;

    (6) schools in Kansas City, Missouri, that--

    G    (A) worked to become trauma-informed by encouraging teachers and 
children to create self-care plans to manage stress; and

    G    (B) have implemented broad community-wide, trauma-informed culture 
changes;

    (7) the city of Tarpon Springs, Florida, which crafted a community 
effort to gather city officials, professionals, and residents to coordinate 
multiple trauma-informed activities, including a community education day;

    (8) community members in Worcester, Massachusetts, who worked with the 
Massachusetts Department of Mental Health to create a venue with peer-to-
peer support to better engage individuals dealing with trauma and extreme 
emotional distress;

    (9) the city of Walla Walla, Washington, which, together with community 
members, launched the Children's Resilience Initiative to mobilize 
neighborhoods and Washington State agencies to tackle ACEs;

    (10) the State of Oregon, which passed the first State law in the 
United States to promote--

    G    (A) trauma-informed approaches in order to decrease rates of 
school absenteeism and increase understanding of ACEs and trauma; and

    G    (B) best practices to leverage community resources to support 
youth;

    (11) the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which passed a law to promote 
whole-school efforts to implement trauma-informed care approaches to 
support the social, emotional, and academic well-being of all students, 
including both preventive and intensive services and support depending on 
the needs of students; and

    (12) the State of Washington, which implemented the ACEs Public-Private 
Initiative, a collaboration among private, public, and community 
organizations to research and inform policies to prevent childhood trauma 
and reduce the negative emotional, social, and health effects of childhood 
trauma;

Whereas the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides 
        substantial resources to better engage individuals and communities 
        across the United States to implement trauma-informed care;
Whereas numerous Federal agencies have integrated trauma-informed approaches 
        into programs and grants that those agencies administer, and those 
        agencies could benefit from closer collaboration; and
Whereas national recognition through a trauma-focused awareness month would help 
        to deepen the understanding of the nature and impact of trauma, the 
        importance of prevention, the impact that ACEs can have on brain 
        development, and the benefits of trauma-informed care: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the importance, effectiveness, and need for 
        trauma-informed care among existing programs and agencies at 
        the Federal level;
            (2) encourages the use and practice of trauma-informed care 
        within the Federal Government, including within the executive 
        branch agencies and Congress; and
            (3) supports the designation of May 2018 as ``National 
        Trauma Awareness Month'' and May 22, 2018, as ``National 
        Trauma-Informed Awareness Day'' in order to highlight community 
        resilience through trauma-informed change.
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