Bill Text: IL SR0791 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Declares May 25, 2022 as Trauma-Informed Awareness Day to highlight the impact of trauma and the importance of prevention of adversity and fostering individual and community resilience through trauma-informed, healing-centered care.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-10 - Pursuant to Senate Rule 3-9(b) / Referred to Assignments [SR0791 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-SR0791-Introduced.html

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SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Building an Illinois that can thrive now and in
the future requires a steady commitment to supporting the
physical, mental, and emotional well-being of all of the
State's residents; and
WHEREAS, Equitable strategies are needed to ensure that
all residents have the supports at home and in their
communities that build a well-being, buffer against negative
experiences, foster resilience, and make it possible to
thrive; and
WHEREAS, Trauma, which may include adverse childhood
experiences and other experiences across the life-course,
disrupts health and well-being, making it more difficult for
people to reach their potential and participate fully in their
communities; and
WHEREAS, The landmark Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Study identified a profound connection between poor health
during a person's adulthood and ACEs, which include physical,
emotional, and sexual abuse, physical and emotional neglect,
and household stressors such as domestic violence, separation
or divorce involving household members, substance abuse,
untreated mental illness, or incarceration of a household

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member; and
WHEREAS, ACEs studies have also found a strong correlation
between the number of ACEs and a person's risk for health and
social outcomes that include cancer, cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, smoking, substance abuse, depression, obesity,
unplanned pregnancies, low birth weight, suicide attempts,
workplace absenteeism, unemployment, lower educational
achievement, and lower wages; and
WHEREAS, Individuals with six or more ACEs are at risk, on
average, to live 20 years less than those individuals with
zero ACEs; and
WHEREAS, Findings from the Illinois 2017 Behavioral Risk
Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) Illinois ACEs Response
Collaborative found that almost 60% of non-institutionalized
adults in Illinois say they had at least one ACE; this number
equates to almost five million Illinois residents;
approximately 16% of Illinois adults reported four or more
ACEs; and
WHEREAS, BRFSS data also showed that approximately 20% of
African American adults in Illinois report four or more ACEs,
compared to 15% of white residents; and

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WHEREAS, ACEs are not the only potentially traumatic
experiences that can influence health across the lifespan;
extensive research demonstrates that community experiences
such as gun violence, lack of educational or economic
opportunities, poor or unaffordable housing, and lack of
community cohesion can have the same detrimental effects on
later health outcomes in individuals as ACEs; and
WHEREAS, These adverse community experiences are the
result of historical traumas, such as slavery and genocides,
and subsequent systemic inequities and oppression, such as
racism; racism, which can include power inequalities,
prejudices, stereotypes, discrimination, beliefs, and a
systemic lack of access to essential supports including
healthcare, has been directly linked to reduced physical and
mental health in communities and individuals; and
WHEREAS, As a result of these historical traumas and
subsequent systemic inequities, Black and Latinx residents in
Illinois are more likely to live in neighborhoods with
restricted access to essential resources such as education and
economic opportunities, healthy food choices, safe and
affordable housing, and behavioral and physical healthcare;
like adverse childhood experience, these have all been linked
to health and social outcomes that include reduced life
expectancy, higher rates of infant and maternal mortality,

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high rates of asthma, higher rates of lead poisoning, and
higher vulnerabilities to public health pandemics, including
COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, These health inequities have been compounded and
exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has
disproportionately affected Black and Latinx communities in
Illinois; Black and Latinx residents are more likely to
contract and more likely to die from the disease than white
residents; Black and Latinx Americans are also significantly
more likely to have COVID-19 be a "major threat to their
general health and well-being" than the overall population;
and
WHEREAS, COVID-19 has exacerbated burnout, and its
associated conditions such as secondary trauma and compassion
fatigue have affected those in the health care, education,
human service, and other community supporting workforces; and
WHEREAS, Immigrant and refugee populations have been under
the additional strain of stigmatizing rhetoric and an
immigration system that fosters fear, mistrust, isolation, and
injustice; and
WHEREAS, Robust research demonstrates that positive
supports and experiences, such as stable and nurturing

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relationships and equitable access to food, housing, health
care, financial resources, and other fundamentals of lifelong
health and well-being can buffer against the effects of
adversity and build resilience; and
WHEREAS, Resilience, the capacity to adapt and thrive in
the face of adversity through strengths-based methods, can be
built in individuals throughout the lifespan through
trauma-informed, healing-centered care principles and
practices such as trustworthiness and reliability,
establishing physical and emotional safety, and providing
opportunities for empowered decision-making; and
WHEREAS, Trauma-informed, healing-centered care is not a
therapy or an intervention but is a principle-based, culture
change process aimed at recognizing strengths and resiliency
as well as helping people who have experienced trauma heal;
and
WHEREAS, Implementing trauma-informed policies and
practices mitigates the effects of workforce burnout, improves
provider well-being, and leads to better outcomes for
patients, students, and people engaged in human service and
other community-supporting organizations; and
WHEREAS, Healthy and thriving communities are also

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fostered through these same trauma-informed, healing-centered,
resilience-building principles; and
WHEREAS, It has been shown to be cost effective and
sustainable to build programs and policies that foster
positive experiences and are dedicated to the prevention and
mitigation of traumatic experiences and their potential
effects on physical and mental well-being and health,
particularly in childhood; and
WHEREAS, This can be seen in allocated resources, as well
as the creation of policies that acknowledge trauma and its
effects on the health of individuals and communities, and how
historical and contemporary systemic oppression may lead to
potentially traumatic events such as adverse childhood
experiences and adverse community experiences; and
WHEREAS, Applying a trauma-informed and healing-centered
framework to the development and implementation of public
policies has the potential to create sustainable, scalable
change; and
WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has previously recognized
the impact of ACEs on its residents' health and how
trauma-informed, healing-centered principles, policies, and
practices can prevent and mitigate the adverse health outcomes

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associated with trauma, such as Trauma-Informed Awareness Day
in 2019, 2020, and 2021, the passage of the Children of
Incarcerated Parents Bill of Rights, and the creation of the
Whole Child Task Force introduced by the Illinois Legislative
Black Caucus, as well as local resolutions recognizing
Trauma-Informed Awareness Day in communities such as Winnebago
County and the City of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, These same trauma-informed, healing-centered
principles, policies, and practices must also recognize the
detrimental effect that systemic oppressions such as racism
can have on the health of individuals and communities and how
these are, in fact, traumatic experiences with the same
potential adverse health outcomes as ACEs; and
WHEREAS, The COVID-19 pandemic has made these systemic
inequities more apparent and impactful, and a comprehensive
response must recognize the role of racism and other
oppressions in contraction of the disease, patient outcomes,
and vaccine and treatment distribution; and
WHEREAS, The State's commitment to the support of a
trauma-informed Illinois must be expanded to include
recognition of the role that systemic policies and oppression
have played in the creation and impact of trauma and
communities; and

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WHEREAS, This recognition must include a racially-just and
healing-centered approach with an acknowledgment of the
additional potential burden of trauma faced by Black and
Latinx residents in Illinois and the United States; and
WHEREAS, The inclusion of recognizing the issue of
systemic oppression and its impact on the creation of
historical, community, and individual trauma will allow for a
more thorough and effective response to reduce and eliminate
health disparities in Illinois; and
WHEREAS, A trauma-informed, healing-centered Illinois can
work to dismantle these systemic inequities and address the
effects of racism and poverty, while working to prevent
continued disparities; and
WHEREAS, This expanded definition of a trauma-informed,
healing-centered Illinois enhances the ability of individuals
and communities to adapt, cope, and thrive, including during
difficult times, supporting the physical and mental well-being
of everyone in Illinois; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare May 25, 2022
as Trauma-Informed Awareness Day in the State of Illinois to

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highlight the impact of trauma and the importance of
prevention of adversity and fostering individual and community
resilience through trauma-informed, healing-centered care; and
be it further
RESOLVED, That we encourage members of the General
Assembly and their staff to incorporate trauma-informed
principles, such as safety, trustworthiness, collaboration,
strengths-based approaches, and social justice, into the
policymaking process; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we encourage all officers, agencies, and
employees of the State of Illinois whose responsibilities
include individuals throughout the life course and
communities, including the Office of the Governor, the State
Board of Education, the Department of Human Services, the
Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of
Public Health, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and
Department of Corrections to become informed regarding
well-documented, short-term, long-term, and
multi-generational impacts of adverse childhood experiences,
toxic stress, systemic racism, and other potentially traumatic
experiences for children, adults, and communities and to
become aware of and implement evidence-based and
racially-just, trauma-informed, healing-centered care
practices, tools, and interventions that promote positive

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experiences and racial justice to build resilience in
individuals and communities so that they will be able to
maximize their well-being and thrive.