WHEREAS, the landmark Adverse Childhood Experiences Study from the late 1990s brought attention to the powerful impact that negative childhood experiences have on future health and functioning and demonstrates the importance of gathering information early in the lives of children and their families and designing early intervention programs that target abuse and neglect; and

WHEREAS, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are stressful or traumatic experiences that include abuse, neglect, and household instability and are recognized as a proxy for toxic stress, which can affect brain and body development; and

WHEREAS, ACEs are determinants of major public health problems in Oklahoma, such as heart disease, substance abuse, and mental illness. Detrimental effects can be buffered by building resiliency and promoting protective and compensatory experiences (PACEs) in a child's life through early intervention; and

WHEREAS, the conservative annual cost of ACEs nationally is estimated to be Seven Hundred Fifty Billion Dollars ($750,000,000,000.00); and

WHEREAS, at least twenty-five percent (25%) of Oklahoma's children have experienced two or more ACEs and one in six adults has experienced four or more ACEs; and

WHEREAS, trauma-informed care is an approach that can bring greater understanding and more effective ways to prevent, identify, and support and serve children, adults, families, and communities affected by ACEs, trauma, adversity, and toxic stress; and

WHEREAS, research has identified at least ten (10) PACEs including having a caring, competent adult in an individual's life, having a hobby, participating in after-school activities and organized sports, volunteering and helping others, having a safe and clean home, having enough food to eat, and having access to appropriate school resources and academic support needed to learn; and

WHEREAS, trauma-informed care is being promoted and established in many of Oklahoma's counties and communities, in both urban and rural communities. By adopting trauma-informed approaches that build resilience and promote PACEs in all public, private, and charter schools, workplaces, communities, and government programs, training and licensing can aid in preventing mental, emotional, physical, and social issues for people impacted by ACEs, trauma, adversity, and toxic stress; and

WHEREAS, in 2018, the Oklahoma Legislature unanimously passed Senate Bill No. 1517 to establish the Task Force on Trauma–Informed Care to identify, evaluate, recommend, maintain, and update a set of best practices with respect to children and youth and their families, as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma, especially ACEs.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 2ND SESSION OF THE 58TH OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE:

THAT the Oklahoma House of Representatives designates Thursday, April 7, 2022, as “ACEs and PACEs Awareness Day” in Oklahoma, in conjunction with Child Abuse Prevention Month, to highlight the impact of trauma and the importance of prevention and community resilience, through trauma-informed care, to reduce children's exposure to ACEs, address the facts of those experiences, and build and promote resilience and protective factors, while investing in preventive health care and mental health and wellness interventions.