1Declaring youth violence as a public health epidemic and
2supporting the establishment of Statewide trauma-informed
3education.

4WHEREAS, Youth across this Commonwealth are committing acts
5of violence against one another and throughout their
6communities; and

7WHEREAS, A national survey by the Centers for Disease Control
8and Prevention (CDC) found that United States adults reported
9approximately 1.56 million incidents of victimization by
10perpetrators estimated to be between 12 and 20 years of age; and

11WHEREAS, The CDC states, "Violence is a serious public health
12problem in the United States. From infants to the elderly, it
13affects people in all stages of life. In 2007, more than 18,000
14people were victims of homicide and more than 34,000 took their
15own life."; and

16WHEREAS, The CDC reports that many people survive violence
17and are left with permanent physical and emotional scars and

1that violence erodes communities by reducing productivity,
2decreasing property values and disrupting social services; and

3WHEREAS, A national initiative lead by the CDC, Striving to
4Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere (STRYVE), assists communities
5in applying a public health perspective to preventing youth
6violence; and

7WHEREAS, In 1985, former United States Surgeon General C.
8Everett Koop declared violence as a public health issue and
9called for the application of the science of public health to
10the treatment and prevention of violence; and

11WHEREAS, In 2000, former United States Surgeon General David
12Satcher declared youth violence as a public health epidemic; and

13WHEREAS, Dr. Satcher released a report that deems youth
14violence as a threat to public health and calls for Federal,
15state, local and private entities to invest in research on youth
16violence and for the use of the knowledge gained to inform
17intervention programs; and

18WHEREAS, The report states that the public health approach to
19youth violence involves identifying risk and protective factors,
20determining how they work, making the public aware of these
21findings and designing programs to prevent or stop the violence;
22and

23WHEREAS, The 2000 public health report calls for national
24resolve to confront the problem of youth violence
25systematically; to facilitate entry of youth into effective
26intervention programs rather than incarceration; to improve
27public awareness of effective interventions; to convene youth,
28families, researchers and public and private organizations for a
29periodic youth violence summit; to develop new collaborative
30multidisciplinary partnerships; and to hold periodic, highly

1visible national summits; and

2WHEREAS, An individual's characteristics, experiences and
3environmental conditions during childhood and adolescence are an
4indicator of future violent behavior; and

5WHEREAS, Ages 15 through 18, the ages that students spend in
6high school, are the peak years of offending; and

7WHEREAS, There is concern about high school dropout rates,
8academic performance and violence in schools across this
9Commonwealth; and

10WHEREAS, According to the Yale School of Medicine Child Study
11Center, the Comer School Development Program offers low-
12achieving schools assistance in creating a conducive learning
13environment while providing a solid foundation for students; and

14WHEREAS, The work of the Yale School of Medicine Child Study
15Center has demonstrated that, "When teachers, administrators,
16parents, and/or mature adults interact with students in a
17supportive school environment and/or culture, and provide
18adequate instruction in a way that mediates physical, social-
19interactive, psycho-emotional, moral-ethical, linguistic and
20cognitive-intellectual development, acceptable academic
21achievement will take place."; and

22WHEREAS, The Comer School Development Program is an operating
23system comprised of three teams: the School Planning and
24Management Team, the Student and Staff Support Team and the
25Parent Team, which work together to create a comprehensive
26school plan; and

27WHEREAS, The Comer School Development Program model is guided
28by three principles: decision-making by consensus, no-fault
29problem solving and collaboration; and

30WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania State Conference of the National

1Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
2Branches, through its Education Committee members, have given
3testimony before the Education Committee of the House of
4Representatives calling for attention to the impact of trauma
5brought about by violence and other adverse conditions on
6children's academic performance as well as their relationship
7with school and the broader society; and

8WHEREAS, Due to the violence epidemic, youth suffer from
9either primary or secondary trauma. Primary trauma is trauma
10associated with the violent death of a loved one. Secondary
11trauma results from exposure to violence present within their
12community; and

13WHEREAS, Exposure to violence in families and communities, as
14well as exposure to homicidal death, can lead to youth-specific
15post-traumatic stress disorder with complex effects as well as
16homicidal grief; and

17WHEREAS, Trauma is not easily visible within youth because it
18requires proper assessment and, due to the amount of violence
19youth are currently exposed to, measures should be taken to
20properly assess the issue; and

21WHEREAS, The experience of trauma impacts children of all
22situations and conditions across this Commonwealth; and

23WHEREAS, In August 2007, the CDC deemed schools as providing
24"a critical opportunity for changing societal behavior because
25almost the entire population is engaged in this institution for
26many years, starting at an early and formative period" and
27"Universal school-based violence prevention programs represent
28an important means of reducing violent and aggressive behavior
29in the United States."; therefore be it

30RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives declare youth

1violence as a public health epidemic and support the
2establishment of Statewide trauma-informed education.