WASHINGTON, D.C., July 19, 2023–Representative Danny K. Davis (D-IL) and Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI) announced the reintroduction of the Resilience Investment, Support, and Expansion (RISE) from Trauma Act to improve the health and well-being of children and adults by preventing and mitigating trauma. Since 2018, Reps. Davis and Gallagher have partnered to champion policies to address trauma, including founding the Trauma-Informed Care Caucus, enacting policies to expand trauma services and improve health provider training to help children and families exposed to trauma, and leading funding requests for key trauma programs. Today, the House Committee on Energy & Commerce included in its consideration of H.R. 4531, the Support for Patients Act, key components of the RISE from Trauma Act to expand the understanding of and services to help individuals exposed to trauma, provisions that Reps. Davis and Gallagher helped enact in 2018.
Childhood traumatic stress remains one of the most pressing public health issues impacting our communities. Pre-pandemic studies showed that as many as 80 percent of children and adolescents were exposed to traumatic events (e.g., mental illness, parental substance abuse or incarceration, domestic violence, or other stressors), with many exposed to multiple traumatic events. Children who have experienced four serious negative experiences are 2 times as likely not to complete high school, 10 times more likely to misuse drugs, and 12 times more likely to commit suicide than their peers who did not experience any serious adverse experiences. Exposure to adverse experiences also is linked to chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance misuse in adulthood. Fortunately, research shows that there are interventions that can successfully prevent and mitigate the impact of trauma. Trauma-Informed Care is a scientific approach that promotes healing and builds long-term resilience through safe and strengthened relationships.
The RISE from Trauma Act would increase funding for community-based efforts to prevent and heal the impact of trauma and expand the trauma-informed workforce in school, health, social service, and judicial settings. The bill builds on conclusions from a 2019 GAO report requested by Rep. Davis and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). Senators Dick Durbin, Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) lead the Senate companion.
Specifically, the bill would:
Create a new grant program to fund community-based coalitions to address trauma via stakeholder coordination and targeted local service delivery;
Create a new grant program to support hospital-based trauma interventions to improve outcomes and reduce reinjury and readmissions of patients who suffered violent injury or experience mental health or substance abuse needs;
Increase funding for the National Health Service Corps loan repayment program to help recruit mental health clinicians—including from under-represented populations—to serve in schools and community-based settings;
Enhance federal training programs at the Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Education to increase training for early childhood clinicians, teachers, school leaders, first responders, and community leaders; and
Reauthorize four critical federal programs that Davis, Gallagher, Durbin, Capito, and Murkowski (R-AK) helped enact via P.L. 115-271: the Interagency Task Force on Trauma-Informed Care; National Child Traumatic Stress Network; the Adverse Childhood Experiences Data Collection program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Trauma Support in Schools grant program within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency.
In Fiscal Year 2023, these four programs that support trauma research, training, coordination, and mental health services received $117 million in federal funding, a $20 million increase from the prior year.
“Trauma is a very personal issue for my community and my family,” said Rep. Davis. “I understand the deep and pervasive harm it causes, and I am honored to work with Representative Gallagher and Senators Durbin, Capito, Duckworth, and Murkowski to champion policies to prevent and mitigate the trauma that far too many children and families in Chicago and in our nation endure. The RISE from Trauma Act helps strengthen the health and well-being of Americans by increasing funding for community-based efforts to prevent and heal the impact of trauma and expand the trauma-informed workforce in school, health, social service, and judicial settings.”
“Northeast Wisconsin has seen firsthand how trauma-informed care can help kids, veterans, and other members of our community overcome the long-term effects of trauma,” said Rep. Gallagher. “This bill takes steps to further empower Wisconsin’s trauma-informed workforce and ensure our communities have the support they need to continue to lead in this transformative space.”
The RISE from Trauma Act is endorsed by the following organizations: Afterschool Alliance; American Academy of Pediatrics; American Psychological Association; Big Brothers Big Sisters of America; Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policies and Practice; the Center for Community Resilience; Center for Law and Social Policy; Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative; Children’s Home Society of America; Committee for Children; Family Focused Treatment Association; Futures Without Violence; Justice and Joy National Collaborative (formerly National Crittenton); MENTOR; National Head Start Association; Prevent Child Abuse America; Social Current; Trust for America’s Health; YMCA of the USA; and Zero to Three.
