HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

56

THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO ESTABLISh TRAINING PROGRAMS for identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, this year marks the 95th anniversary of the League of Nations' adoption of the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child, a paramount Declaration that advocates for the wellbeing and care of children including their protection against exploitation; and

 

     WHEREAS, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child, a critically integral human rights treaty that sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children, currently with 196 nation-states signing, adopting, and ratifying this highly important treaty; and

 

     WHEREAS, this year marks the 45th anniversary of the United States' adoption of the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, which provides federal funding and guidance to states in support of prevention, assessment, treatment, and prosecution of child abuse and neglect; and

 

     WHEREAS, children are our most precious asset, but some cannot adequately defend themselves against the harmful actions of adults; and

 

     WHEREAS, each year, nearly eight million children in the United States are maltreated by their parents or other adults, and every day approximately five children die in the United States due to circumstances attributed to child abuse or mistreatment; and

 

     WHEREAS, in Hawaii, nearly 4,000 cases of child abuse are reported each year with more than 1,000 unique cases of child abuse confirmed by the Department of Human Services; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2005, a 5-year-old girl named Talia Williams died after months of abuse at the hands of her father and step-mother at Wheeler Army Airfield housing on Oahu; and

 

     WHEREAS, in honor of Talia Williams, President Barack Obama signed "Talia's Law" in 2016, which now requires any abuse taking place on a military base to be reported to civilian authorities; and

 

     WHEREAS, the tragic death of young Talia Williams in fact served to propel a watershed, momentous shift in the State's awareness to the many types of child abuse and neglect; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Education is requested to establish training programs to empower parents, teachers, students, and administrators on how to identify, report, and mitigate all forms of child abuse that may take place; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Chairperson of the Board of Education, and the Superintendent of Education.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Programs