IV 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1484 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 20, 2024 Mrs. Ramirez (for herself, Ms. Schakowsky , Ms. Tlaib , Mr. Carson , Ms. Garcia of Texas , and Mr. Doggett ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce RESOLUTION Recognizing the importance of evidence-based parenting and caregiving education in elementary and secondary schools.

Whereas evidence-based parenting and caregiving education in schools provides students critical information and tools that can empower them to be agents of change that can result in positive social, emotional, and economic outcomes; Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledges that parenting takes many different forms and that there are positive parenting practices that work well across diverse families and in diverse settings, including responding to children in a predictable way, showing warmth and sensitivity, having routines and household rules, supporting health and safety, and using appropriate discipline without harshness; Whereas studies have shown that parenting and caregiving programs created to promote healthy cognitive, emotional, and social development can improve the prospects and quality of life for children; Whereas parenting and caregiving programs can provide critical information on child development and safety, promote positive parenting and caregiving behaviors, teach effective discipline strategies, and reduce levels of child abuse and neglect; Whereas adaptive behaviors are defined by the American Psychological Association as the level of everyday performance of tasks that is required for a person to fulfill typical roles in society, including maintaining independence and meeting cultural expectations regarding personal and social responsibility; Whereas positive parenting and caregiving practices are directly linked to adaptive behaviors in children and can help avert adverse outcomes, especially among at-risk children; Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that many factors can increase or decrease the likelihood of someone experiencing and perpetrating violence and defines risk factors as characteristics that may increase the likelihood of experiencing or perpetrating child abuse and neglect; Whereas positive parenting and caregiving education can inform and make families aware of strategies and tools to prevent child mistreatment, which can interrupt healthy development in children and lead to maladaptive functioning; Whereas research has shown that the damaging consequences of abuse and neglect can reshape a child’s brain, resulting in consequences that last throughout their life, influence the child’s amygdala, which regulates emotions, particularly fear and anxiety, and change the functioning of the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for thinking, planning, reasoning, and decision making, which can all lead to behavioral and academic problems; Whereas, according to the World Health Organization, child maltreatment can cause severe short- and long-term physical, sexual, and mental health consequences, including head injuries and severe disability, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, and sexually transmitted infections, which can contribute to social problems including substance abuse, perpetrating or being a victim of violence, smoking, obesity, and unintended pregnancy; Whereas research has shown that the adverse effects of abuse and neglect on a child’s brain and behavioral development are not static and can be reversed with intervention and positive changes in a child’s environment that take place when the abuse ends and after the child is given the support they require; Whereas, according to a recent study through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the total national economic burden associated with child abuse and neglect from Federal fiscal year 2018 is approximately $563,000,000,000; Whereas there are several Federal agencies supporting and providing parenting and caregiving education programs, including— (1) the Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood programs operated by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Family Assistance, which provide funding for grants, contracts, research and evaluation, and other activities to strengthen families, promote responsible parenting, and improve family economic stability; (2) the Head Start and Early Head Start programs operated by the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, which offer comprehensive early childhood education and development services to low-income children and their families, among other things, and, in accordance with the statutes authorizing such programs, provide services to parents to support their role as parents (including parenting skills training and training in basic child development) ; (3) the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program operated jointly by the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services, which— (A) seeks to improve health, well-being, and educational outcomes for vulnerable families with young children; and (B) provides services to the families who voluntarily participate, including periodic visits from nurses, social workers, or other professionals, home visits to provide tailored services such as parenting education, caregiver well-being and child development screenings, and referrals to community support; (4) Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) operated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which aims to promote the healthy social and emotional development of school-aged youth and prevent youth violence in school settings; and (5) the Child and Family Development Program operated by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which strengthens and enhances the well-being of children, adults, and families by supporting research, education, and extension in the areas of prenatal care, early childhood health, nutrition, and care, maternal health, parenting education, adult and family relationships, adult development and aging, kinship care, intergenerational programming, rural health disparities, rural health and safety, and professional development in early childhood and adult care; Whereas Illinois, West Virginia, and California have supported parenting and caregiving education in their schools; and Whereas Nobel Prize-winning economist James J. Heckman has found that investing in early childhood education and developmental opportunities for at-risk children is an effective strategy to reduce social costs to taxpayers: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1) recognizes the importance of evidence-based parenting and caregiving education; and (2) encourages schools to promote evidence-based parenting and caregiving education.