Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 102 Part 1.djvu/473

 PUBLIC LAW 100-299—APR. 28, 1988

102 STAT. 435

Public Law 100-299 100th Congress Joint Resolution To designate the month of April 1988, as "National Child Abuse Prevention Month".

Whereas the incidence and prevalence of child abuse and neglect have reached alarming proportions in the United States; Whereas an estimated four million children become victims of child abuse in this Nation each year; Whereas an estimated five thousand of these children die as a result of such abuse each year; Whereas the Nation faces a continuing need to support innovative programs to prevent child abuse and assist parents and family members in which child abuse occurs; Whereas Congress has expressed its commitment to seeking and applying solutions to this problem by enacting the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974; Whereas many dedicated individuals and private organizations, including Child Help U.SA., Parents Anonymous, the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse, the American Humane Association, and other members of the National Child Abuse Coalition, are working to counter the ravages of abuse and neglect and to help child abusers break this destructive pattern of behavior; Whereas the average cost for a public welfare agency to serve a family through a child abuse program is twenty times greater than self-help programs administered by private organizations; Whereas organizations such as Parents Anonymous, and other members of the National Child Abuse Coalition, are expediting efforts to prevent child abuse in the next generation through special programs for abused children; and Whereas it is appropriate to focus the attention of the Nation upon the problem of child abuse: Now, therefore, be it

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—— [S.J. Res. 246]

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