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WHEREAS, 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 factors (PACEs) in a child’s life through early intervention; and

WHEREAS, the conservative annual cost of ACEs nationally is estimated to be $750 billion; and WHEREAS, at least 25% of Oklahoma’s children have experienced
two or more ACEs and one in six adults have 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 10 protective factors (PACEs) including having a caring, competent adult in one’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, 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 urban and rural counties and communities. By adopting trauma-informed approaches that build resilience and promote protective factors 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 Trauma Informed Task Force 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 adverse childhood experiences.

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

THAT the Oklahoma State Legislature designates 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 adverse childhood experiences, 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.

LINK to SOURCE

Adverse Childhood Experiences