79R12886 JHS-F

By:  Uresti                                                     H.C.R. No. 10 



CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and 
Texans stand ready to join with their fellow Americans in the 
prevention of child abuse and neglect; and
	WHEREAS, The increasing number of child deaths in Texas due 
to abuse and neglect has caused the 79th Legislature to take 
emergency action to protect the children of our state; and
	WHEREAS, More than three million cases of child abuse and 
neglect were reported in the United States last year, and 
approximately 2,000 children died as a result of such maltreatment; 
and
	WHEREAS, At least 150 Texas children died as a result of abuse 
or neglect last year, and more than 47,000 children were confirmed 
as victims of abuse or neglect; and
	WHEREAS, The legislature recognizes that child abuse and 
neglect frequently start a cycle of violence that perpetuates 
itself through generations of families and that preventing or 
interrupting this violent cycle at the earliest opportunity is not 
only our moral duty but also a public policy choice that improves 
the health, safety, and productivity of our society as a whole; and
	WHEREAS, We acknowledge that the future of our state depends 
on the children we raise and the opportunities we create for them; 
and
	WHEREAS, We recognize that strengthening our communities and 
families is essential to raising children to be adults who are 
strong in mind, body, and spirit; and
	WHEREAS, We believe that it is possible to fight child abuse 
and neglect with prevention programs that draw on the vitality, 
ingenuity, and diversity that have always characterized the history 
and traditions of our great state; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 79th Legislature of the State of Texas 
hereby declare April Child Abuse Prevention Month in Texas and call 
on all citizens to work together to create a Texas where all 
children are protected and cherished as the future of our state.