HI HR82

Encourages the Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Human Services, Department of the Attorney General, and Judiciary to incorporate research and strategies on adverse childhood experiences into their work with traumatized children.

Requires each of these five agencies to submit a report to the Legislature no later than 20 days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2018 on their plans to address adverse childhood experiences.

Establishes that adverse childhood experiences include abuse, neglect, domestic violence, community violence, loss of loved ones, parental incarceration, natural disasters, and other traumatic events that damage a child's developing brain.

Notes that the CDC-Kaiser Permanente study found two-thirds of participants experienced at least one adverse childhood experience and that effects are cumulative, causing behavioral, mental, physical, and academic problems throughout a person's life.

Emphasizes that building resilience through proper support and community resources can reverse accumulated damage from adverse childhood experiences and break intergenerational cycles of trauma.