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The online versions of legislation provided on this website are not official. Enrolled bills are the final version passed by the Ohio General Assembly and presented to the Governor for signature. The official version of acts signed by the Governor are available from the Secretary of State's Office in the Continental Plaza, 180 East Broad St., Columbus.
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S. C. R. No. 8 As Adopted by the HouseAs Adopted by the House
| 130th General Assembly | | Regular Session | | 2013-2014 |
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Cosponsors:
Senators Balderson, Beagle, Jones, Lehner, Seitz, Smith, Schaffer, LaRose, Bacon, Brown, Burke, Cafaro, Coley, Eklund, Faber, Gardner, Gentile, Jordan, Kearney, Manning, Obhof, Oelslager, Patton, Peterson, Sawyer, Schiavoni, Skindell, Tavares, Turner, Uecker, Widener
Representatives Butler, Stinziano, Celebrezze, Pillich, Winburn, Adams, R., Anielski, Antonio, Barborak, Barnes, Beck, Blair, Blessing, Boyce, Brown, Buchy, Budish, Burkley, Damschroder, Derickson, Driehaus, Fedor, Gerberry, Green, Grossman, Hackett, Hagan, C., Hagan, R., Hall, Hayes, Henne, Hill, Huffman, Landis, Letson, Lundy, McClain, Milkovich, O'Brien, Ramos, Retherford, Rogers, Romanchuk, Rosenberger, Ruhl, Schuring, Sears, Smith, Sprague, Stebelton, Strahorn, Williams, Young Speaker Batchelder
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION | To designate the month of April as Forgotten Victims
of Crime recognition month in Ohio.
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BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF OHIO
(THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING):
| WHEREAS, Ohio has the seventh largest prison population in
the United States, with more than 48,800 men and women
incarcerated in Ohio's prison system; and |
| WHEREAS, Between 1991 and 2007, the number of children who
had an incarcerated parent increased by 80%. One out of every 28
children has a parent who is incarcerated. Approximately seven in
ten women under correctional sanctions have minor children under
the age of 18 and approximately five in ten men under correctional
sanctions have minor children. On average, for every female
prisoner, 2.4 children become invisible, forgotten victims. For
every male prisoner, an average of 2.0 children become forgotten
victims. Since incarceration rates are higher for males than for
females, up to 90% of the children who have an incarcerated parent
are socially fatherless; and |
| WHEREAS, Imprisonment disrupts positive, nurturing
relationships, particularly between mothers and their children;
and |
| WHEREAS, Parental incarceration is associated with greater
risk that a child will experience material hardship and family
instability; and |
| WHEREAS, Children of incarcerated parents face many problems
typical to at-risk youth (lack of positive role models, unstable
home life, poverty, poor school performance), including being five
to six times more likely than peers to be incarcerated themselves,
more likely to abuse substances and engage in antisocial behavior,
more likely to drop out of school, run away, and become homeless,
more likely to suffer from a negative self image, fear, anxiety,
anger, resentment, and sadness, more likely to have high levels of
truancy, physical aggression and disruptive behavior, and more
likely to be traumatized by separation, stigmatized by shame of
having a parent in prison; and |
| WHEREAS, Intervening in the lives of incarcerated parents and
their children to preserve and strengthen positive family
connections can yield positive societal benefits in the form of
reduced recidivism, reduced crime through less intergenerational
criminal justice system involvement and promotion of healthy child
development; and |
| WHEREAS, Several studies have found that maintenance of
family ties during incarceration is linked to post-release
success, defined as lower rates of recidivism and fewer parole
violations; and |
| WHEREAS, It is in the best interest of the citizens of Ohio
to encourage strong families, especially among Ohio's incarcerated
population whenever possible; now therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That we, the members of the 130th General Assembly,
recognizing the adverse impacts upon children of incarcerated
parents, designate the month of April as Forgotten Victims of
Crime Recognition Month and encourage all citizens of the state of
Ohio, along with all state and local agencies that interact with
the families of incarcerated Ohioans, to join with the General
Assembly in acknowledgement and support of the families and
children of incarcerated Ohioans; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit duly
authenticated copies of this resolution to the news media of Ohio. |
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