The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“INTRODUCING THE HEALTHY FAMILIES ACT” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H7663 on July 17, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
INTRODUCING THE HEALTHY FAMILIES ACT
(Mr. DICKS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Healthy Families Act, a bill to help prevent child abuse. A 1994 survey of child welfare agencies reported more than 3 million cases of child abuse. Three children a day died.
My bill will make Justice Department funding available for local programs following the principles of the healthy families initiative, a pioneering child abuse prevention program. Communities adopting the healthy families model use their existing social service network to provide voluntary, culturally appropriate, intensive in-home visits to new mothers and their families by professional counselors to teach them how to avoid child abuse. The counseling which healthy families provides those families who want help with the training and discipline needed to prevent child abuse are important for our children.
Because of the success of this program in Hawaii, Mr. Speaker, the healthy families approach has been adopted by communities across the country. Earlier this year I visited a program site in the Washington State district, which I represent. The effort to prevent child abuse that I saw during my visit encouraged me to introduce this legislation.
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