SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 34
(By Senators Bowman, Boley, Foster, Deem, Hall, White, K.
Facemyer, Wells, Laird, Caruth, Williams, Sypolt, Snyder,
Jenkins, Stollings, Plymale, McCabe and Green)
Requesting the United States Congress enact the Education Begins at
Home Act.
Whereas, West Virginia faces serious challenges regarding the
well-being of our children, including one of the nation's highest
rates of child abuse and neglect; and
Whereas, In-Home Family Education programs help address these
challenges by providing voluntary parenting education and support
to vulnerable families with very young children through home visits
and helping parents understand their role as their child's first
and most important teacher; and
Whereas, In-Home Family Education programs provide information
and support in such areas as prenatal care, child health, early
learning and literacy, and child development and behavior; and
Whereas, Research indicates that a comprehensive statewide
system of In-Home Family Education in West Virginia could save $250
million per year by reducing the number of low birth weight babies,
increasing immunization rates and reducing child maltreatment; and
Whereas, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has
stated that "Up to forty percent of all child maltreatment could be prevented if home visiting was widely available" and the National
Conference of State Legislatures has concluded that nationally "the
predominant and most thoroughly researched child abuse prevention
strategy is early childhood home visitation"; and
Whereas, On June 18, 2008, the Education and Labor Committee
of the U. S. House of Representatives recommended passage of the
bipartisan Education Begins at Home Act that would authorize $400
million over three years in grants from the U. S. Department of
Health and Human Services to states for voluntary early childhood
home visiting programs; and
Whereas, The Education Begins at Home Act, with bipartisan
support, is being sponsored by Senator Kit Bond (R-MO), Senator Jay
Rockefeller (D-WV) and 32 members of the U. S. Senate, as well as
67 members of the U. S. House of Representatives; and
Whereas, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden
also cosponsored the Education Begins at Home Act as U. S. Senators
and have pledged to expand home visiting services to assist
approximately 570,000 first-time mothers each year; and
Whereas, In-Home Family Education programs are currently
serving families in only 22 West Virginia counties and many more
families could benefit greatly from these services; and
Whereas, Statewide expansion of these effective programs will
be enhanced and expedited with the support of federal funding
through passage of the Education Begins at Home Act; and
Whereas, Expansion of these programs has been endorsed by
leading state and national organizations, including, but not
limited to, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Imagine West
Virginia, Prevent Child Abuse America, TEAM for West Virginia
Children, Voices for America's Children and the West Virginia
Center on Budget and Policy; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate:
That the Senate hereby requests the United States Congress to
enact the Education Begins at Home Act; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk is hereby directed to forward
a copy of this resolution to members of West Virginia's
congressional delegation, the Speaker of the U. S. House of
Representatives, the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the U.
S. House of Representatives, the Majority Leader and Minority
Leader of the U. S. Senate and President Barack Obama.