Post by blackcrowheart on Oct 29, 2005 12:05:02 GMT -5
CONTACT: Barry Piatt or Rebecca Pollard
Thursday
October 20, 2005
PHONE:202-224-2551
DORGAN INTRODUCES LEGISLATION AIMED AT REDUCING CHILD ABUSE ON INDIAN
RESERVATIONS
(WASHINGTON, DC)--- U.S.Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND),
ViceChairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, introduced a bill
Thursday that would improve policies for reporting and tracking child
abuse
cases in Indian Country and would begin to address the prevalence of
suicide among Native American teenagers.
Dorgan, along with Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ),
introduced a bill to reauthorize the 1990 Indian Child Protection and
Family Violence Prevention Act. Dorgan said the bill would:
· Provide additional safeguards forthe privacy of information
about a child;
· Provide more involvement by theFBI and the Attorney General in
documenting incidents of child abuse;
· Direct a study to identify ways toreduce child abuse in Indian
Country, as well as require data collection and annual reporting to
Congress on child abuse in Indian Country;
· And authorize the Indian HealthService (IHS) to use
telemedicine in connection with examinations of abused Indian children
Dorgan said the bill also addresses the high rate of suicide
among teens living on Indian reservations. Dorgan held the first-ever
Senate hearings on the subject earlier this year, and said that while
it’s
a sensitive issue to discuss, there needs to be a public spotlight on
the issue in order to get Congress totake action.
This bill, he said, is one step in that direction. The bill
allows professionals trained in suicide prevention and treatment to be
included on the staff of Indian Child Resource and Family Services
Centers,which the bill establishes in each BIA region.
“All too often, children who attempt suicide have been
abused by a family orcommunity member,” Dorgan said. “Suicide on our
Indian
reservations is at epidemic levels. The rate in the Upper Great
Plains alone is 10 times higher than the national average. This bill is
just a
start, but it’s a good start at improving the reporting and tracking of
child abuse cases on our reservations, and gets at the tragic epidemic
of
suicide that is often attributed to instances of child abuse.”
Thursday
October 20, 2005
PHONE:202-224-2551
DORGAN INTRODUCES LEGISLATION AIMED AT REDUCING CHILD ABUSE ON INDIAN
RESERVATIONS
(WASHINGTON, DC)--- U.S.Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND),
ViceChairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, introduced a bill
Thursday that would improve policies for reporting and tracking child
abuse
cases in Indian Country and would begin to address the prevalence of
suicide among Native American teenagers.
Dorgan, along with Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ),
introduced a bill to reauthorize the 1990 Indian Child Protection and
Family Violence Prevention Act. Dorgan said the bill would:
· Provide additional safeguards forthe privacy of information
about a child;
· Provide more involvement by theFBI and the Attorney General in
documenting incidents of child abuse;
· Direct a study to identify ways toreduce child abuse in Indian
Country, as well as require data collection and annual reporting to
Congress on child abuse in Indian Country;
· And authorize the Indian HealthService (IHS) to use
telemedicine in connection with examinations of abused Indian children
Dorgan said the bill also addresses the high rate of suicide
among teens living on Indian reservations. Dorgan held the first-ever
Senate hearings on the subject earlier this year, and said that while
it’s
a sensitive issue to discuss, there needs to be a public spotlight on
the issue in order to get Congress totake action.
This bill, he said, is one step in that direction. The bill
allows professionals trained in suicide prevention and treatment to be
included on the staff of Indian Child Resource and Family Services
Centers,which the bill establishes in each BIA region.
“All too often, children who attempt suicide have been
abused by a family orcommunity member,” Dorgan said. “Suicide on our
Indian
reservations is at epidemic levels. The rate in the Upper Great
Plains alone is 10 times higher than the national average. This bill is
just a
start, but it’s a good start at improving the reporting and tracking of
child abuse cases on our reservations, and gets at the tragic epidemic
of
suicide that is often attributed to instances of child abuse.”