Full Text of HR0695 101st General Assembly
HR0695 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Healthy families are vital to the success of our | 3 | | children and, ultimately, our
nation; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Nationally, African American children are almost | 5 | | twice as likely as white children
to have their well-being | 6 | | investigated by child protective services; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, African American women and their children have | 8 | | long been overrepresented in
the child welfare system, and | 9 | | while African American children represent 15 percent of the
| 10 | | nation's children, they account for 45 percent of the foster | 11 | | care population and are four times as
likely as white children | 12 | | to be in foster care; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, As a percentage of the general population, African | 14 | | American children are five
times more likely than Caucasian | 15 | | children to be in out-of-home care and are nearly twice as | 16 | | likely to enter care for
"parent reasons", and African American | 17 | | families are more likely to be
reported for neglect; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, In Minnesota alone, African American children are | 19 | | 16.3 times as likely as
Caucasian children to be placed out of | 20 | | home during a child protection assessment; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, We believe that it is best to
protect the best | 2 | | interests of African American children and to promote the | 3 | | stability and security
of African American families to prevent | 4 | | arbitrary and unnecessary removal of African
American children | 5 | | from their families; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The creation of an African American Child Welfare | 7 | | Advisory Council in our
State would work to address disparities | 8 | | at major decision points, while providing oversight
and | 9 | | accountability to the child protection workforce; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, It is necessary to protect children and strengthen | 11 | | families, reduce the overall cost
of child welfare services and | 12 | | out of home placement, reduce law enforcement and judicial
| 13 | | system costs for intervention, improve the mental health and | 14 | | social function of African
American children, and improve the | 15 | | child protection department's efficacy; therefore, be it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 17 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, That | 18 | | we encourage State policymakers to increase their awareness of
| 19 | | the statistics surrounding the treatment of African American | 20 | | children and families in our
existing institutions, to enact | 21 | | legislation to protect African American children and allow them | 22 | | to stay in safe home environments,
and to work to reduce | 23 | | unnecessary government intervention into their homes and |
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| 1 | | disruptions of
their family unit; and be it further
| 2 | | RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to | 3 | | the President of
the United States, the Vice President of the | 4 | | United States, members of the United States House
of | 5 | | Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal | 6 | | and state government
officials and agencies as appropriate.
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