Children, Youth, and Families (CYF) Policy Committee

A RESOLUTION ON THE RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF PARENTAL RIGHTS

WHEREAS, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) recognizes that it is in the best interest of a child to be in a safe, permanent home with positive adult role models;

WHEREAS, according to the Children’s Bureau, there are 443,000 children in foster care at any given time in the United States;

WHEREAS, African American children are overrepresented in the child welfare system, making up thirty-three percent of youth in foster care while comprising only fourteen percent of the total U.S. child population;

WHEREAS, studies have demonstrated that racial disparities persist in the child welfare system even after adjusting for socioeconomic factors;

WHEREAS, racial bias and structural racism exist in all social systems, including the child welfare system;

WHEREAS, the majority of children are placed in the foster care system due to non-egregious reasons such as neglect, not physical or sexual abuse;

WHEREAS, youth that age out of the foster care system suffer significantly higher rates of unemployment, poverty, homelessness, incarceration, chronic disease, and mental health and substance abuse disorders;

WHEREAS, all U.S. states have laws that allow for the termination of parental rights, yet nearly half of these states do not provide a legal pathway for reinstatement of these rights;

WHEREAS, parental rights reinstatement is a critical option for legal orphans whose parents have been rehabilitated to have access to permanency rather than age out of the foster care system; and

WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of a child in the foster care system to be reunited with their parents in a safe, permanent home once their parents have been rehabilitated and proven they have corrected the conditions that led to the termination of their parental rights.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) calls on states to enact legislation providing a pathway for parents to petition for the reinstatement of their parental rights, and provide resources and programs for parents to be able to correct the conditions that lead to this termination of their parental rights;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL urges state human services agencies to work with their county partners to ensure that eligible parents are notified of their right to petition for reinstatement of their parental rights;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL also recognizes the valuable role that foster care and adoption can play in these circumstances, and supports preserving stable families and the optimal environment for the child, and recognizes that may not always be the with their parent; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the Unites States, members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal and state government officials and agencies as appropriate.

• SPONSOR: Representative Rena Moran (MN)
  
• Committee of Jurisdiction: Children, Youth, and Families Policy Committee
  Certified by Committee Co-Chairs: Representative Robin Shackleford (IN) and Representative Pebblin Warren (AL)
  
• Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is December 6, 2019
  
• Ratification is certified by: Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter (SC), President

A RESOLUTION ON ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES

WHEREAS, Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs are stressful or traumatic experiences, such as abuse, neglect and family dysfunction that disrupt the safe, stable, nurturing environments that children need to thrive;

WHEREAS, abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction can cause stress during childhood that is especially harmful to the developing brain;

WHEREAS, childhood experiences, both positive and negative, have a tremendous impact on an individual’s life in a number of areas, including lifelong health and opportunity;

WHEREAS, ACEs have been linked to risky health behaviors, chronic health conditions, low life potential, and early death;

WHEREAS, ACEs can have lasting effects on adulthood disease, disability and social functioning;

WHEREAS, a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Kaiser Family Foundation found that persons who had experienced four or more categories of childhood exposure, compared to those who had experienced none, were four to twelve times more likely to experience health risks for alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, and attempt suicide;

WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that, in 2016 alone, more than 19,000 people in the United States were victims of homicide and nearly 45,000 people took their own lives; many others also survive violent acts and have permanent physical and emotional scars; and

WHEREAS, building strong foundations through investment in high-quality, evidence-based early intervention programs are critical to the growth of children.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) encourages local education authorities, schools, hospital, health systems, non-profits that work with children, law enforcement, first responders, social workers, and other applicable organizations to develop an evidence-based training program on ACEs for leaders and other employees to include:

• the effects of ACES on a child’s mental, physical, social, behavioral, emotional, and cognitive development,
• ACE’s as a risk factor for the development of substance abuse disorders and other at-risk health behaviors,
• trauma-informed principles and practices for classrooms, physicians’ offices, hospitals, extra-curricular activities, daycare, emergency situations, social services, and other activities,
• how early identification of children exposed to one or more ACEs may improve educational outcomes;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL encourages improving the lives of children by decreasing adverse childhood experiences and encourages local education authorities, the medical community, first responders, social services, non-profits, and others to develop an ACEs training programs; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the Unites States, members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal and state government officials and agencies as appropriate.

• SPONSOR: Senator Raumesh Akbari (TN)
  
• Committee of Jurisdiction: Children, Youth, and Families Policy Committee
  
• Certified by Committee Co-Chairs: Representative Robin Shackleford (IN) and Representative Pebblin Warren (AL)
  
• Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is December 6, 2019
  
• Ratification is certified by: Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter (SC), President

A RESOLUTION ON PAY EQUITY TO REDUCE POVERTY RATE

WHEREAS, approximately 40 million people, or 12.3 percent of the U.S. population, were living in poverty as of 2017, 21.1 percent of all African American households and 18.3 percent of all Hispanic households living in poverty;

WHEREAS, 2016 Census figures show that 5.8 percent of the U.S. population lives in deep poverty, with an income 50 percent below the federal poverty line;

WHEREAS, one in eight American women live in poverty or are on the brink of it, accounting for 16 million women in the United States;

WHEREAS, American women are 35 percent more likely to be poor than American men and 35 percent of single mothers fall below the level of poverty;

WHEREAS, the 2018 Census Bureau found that 58 percent of children in poverty are from single mother households, with their income accounting for the sole source of financial support for the household, despite the fact that women account for nearly two-thirds of all minimum wage workers in the US;

WHEREAS, any unplanned expense, health emergency, or reduction in work hours or pay can push many female-led households over the brink;

WHEREAS, according to a study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, in 2018 white women make only 81.1 cents on the dollar, and African American women only make 65.3 cents on the dollar when compared to men doing the same work;

WHEREAS, the National Women’s Law Center found that African American women work nearly 20 months for the amount of pay white men make during the calendar year;

WHEREAS, a woman’s percentage of pay will drop from 82 percent to 69 percent of their male counterparts’ earnings over the course of ten years after having graduated college;

WHEREAS, a woman with master’s degree and working a full-time job earns 75 cents on every dollar earned by a man with a master’s degree and working a full-time job;

WHEREAS, almost 60 percent of working women would earn more if there were pay equity and nearly 65.9 percent of working single mothers would receive a pay increase;

WHEREAS, a 2017 study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that providing equal pay to women with similar education and hours of work as their male counterparts would cut poverty among working women by half, and, remarkably, this is true whether women are married, single mothers, or single women living on their own;

WHEREAS, the same study found that gender pay equality for women would generate $512.6 billion in additional income for the U.S. economy, comparable to 2.8 percent of the gross domestic product from 2016;

WHEREAS, the American Association of University Women found that half of all states pay women less than 80 percent of what their male counterparts make; and

WHEREAS, in 2014, the U.S. Senate unsuccessfully sought to reduce gender pay inequality by amending the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, also known as the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have more narrowly defined legitimate reasons for pay disparities between women and men, and given more effective remedies for victims of gender based wage discrimination.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) urges the United States Congress to take additional steps towards reducing gender pay inequality for all Americans, because when men and women are paid equally for equal work, the U.S. economy is improved, and the poverty rate for working women is cut significantly;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL urges Congress to reintroduce and pass legislation that will promote gender pay equality, thus helping to increase economic self-sufficiency among women; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal and state government officials as appropriate.

• SPONSOR: Senator Raumesh Akbari (TN)
  
• Committee of Jurisdiction: Children, Youth, and Families Policy Committee
  
• Certified by Committee Co-Chairs: Representative Robin Shackleford (IN) and Representative Pebblin Warren (AL)
  
• Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is December 6, 2019
  
• Ratification is certified by: Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter (SC), President

A RESOLUTION ON YOUTH JUSTICE REFORM

WHEREAS, the current youth justice system is not applied fairly or equitably, and can thus not provide the best possible outcomes for our nation’s children, families or public safety;

WHEREAS, 2015 Bureau of Justice Statistics show that more than 5,000 youth are incarcerated in jails and adult prisons on any given day in the U.S.;

WHEREAS, according to the NAACP 2019 statistics for African American children represent 52% of children whose cases are judicially waived to the criminal court, though they comprise only 16% of youth in the U.S.;

WHEREAS, the justice system as currently designed does not adequately recognize the different development stages of young people and the opportunities that these stages offer for their life trajectories;

WHEREAS, there is considerable ambiguity around the appropriateness and involvement of younger children as there is no age limit for entry into our delinquency system;

WHEREAS, there is a growing understanding of how trauma can materially impact brain growth and behavior, and how punitive responses to behavior often do not result in desired behavior or the well-being of children and families;

WHEREAS, youth are more likely than adults to be permanently traumatized by the harsh realities of the adult prison system, according to the National Prison Rape Elimination, “more than any other group of incarcerated persons, youth incarcerated with adults are probably at the highest risk of sexual abuse”;

WHEREAS, as of 2016, there are more than 3,700 youth still in adult prisons, youth convicted in the adult system receive little or no rehabilitative programming, which is mandated in the juvenile system;

WHEREAS, a study by the Department of Justice found that 76 percent of prisoners under the age of 25 (when released) were rearrested within three years, and 84 percent were rearrested within five years;

WHEREAS, a 2015 study by the Campaign for Youth Justice found incarcerated youth are at the highest risk for sexual abuse, and to protect them in adult facilities, children are often placed in solitary confinement, where they are kept in their cells for 22-23 hours a day;

WHEREAS, the current system arranges individuals into two categories, juveniles and adults, and it does not recognize the “emerging adults”, individuals 18-25 years old who have distinct needs; and

WHEREAS, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Justice, black male emerging adults comprised nearly 40% of all emerging adults admitted to state and federal prisons in the U.S. in 2012, and they are 7-9 times more likely to end up in prison compared to their white peers.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) urges legislators, municipalities, law enforcement officials, judicial system decision makers, legal professionals, school systems and key stakeholders to achieve more fair, just, equitable and effective outcomes by embracing a developmental approach to the treatment of children and emerging adults in the justice system through:

• Reducing disproportionality and disparities based on race, ethnicity, gender, ability status, and sexual orientation or gender identity and expression among children and emerging adults in the justice system;
• Ensuring youth and emerging adults in the justice system maintain supportive relationships and have appropriate guidance and counsel from legal professionals and caregivers;
• Implementing policies and practices to reduce harm and improve outcomes for justice-involved youth in accordance with knowledge from developmental science;
• Ensuring that for those youth and young adults in the justice system, policies and practices prioritize the health and educational needs and avoid causing harm;
• Ensuring that through all developmental stages of young people, including emerging adult, our justice system provides age and developmentally appropriate services and supports, life skills development, rigorous education, and fresh starts so young people have the best opportunity to successfully transition into law abiding and productive adulthood; and
• Promoting a strong collaboration among impacted communities, governmental agencies and the non-profit sector, along with partnerships with diverse community stakeholders who will provide technical assistance, support and engagement with decision-making;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL urges Congress to enact legislation that supports and ensures the justice system utilizes a culturally responsive and trauma-informed developmental approach to youth justice; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal and state government officials as appropriate.

• SPONSOR(S): Representative Robin Shackleford (IN) and Representative Cherrish Pryor (IN)
  
• Committee of Jurisdiction: Children, Youth, and Families Policy Committee
  Certified by Committee Co-Chairs: Representative Robin Shackleford (IN) and Representative Pebblin Warren (AL)
  
• Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is December 6, 2019
  
• Ratification is certified by: Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter (SC), President