,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gcg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,january #cj1        
#bjag,ms4 ,clark of ,massachusetts 7for 
herself and ,mr4 ,reed7 introduced the  
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,education and the    
,workforce  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend the    
,head ,start ,act to promote            
trauma-informed practices1              
age-appropriate positive behavioral     
intervention and support1 services for  
young children who have experienced     
trauma or toxic stress1 and improved    
coordination between ,head ,start       
agencies and other programs that serve  
very young children4  #a4 ,short title  
,this ,act may be cited as the ,caring  
,start ,act of #bjag4  #b4 ,findings    
,the ,congress finds the following3     
7#a7 ,neglect1 hunger1 abuse1 and other 
forms of trauma present significant     
challenges to young children's learning 
and social-emotional development4  7#b7 
,trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive   

caregiving is an ideal targeted         
intervention for vulnerable children who
 experience trauma4  7#c7 ,a child's    
development relies significantly on the 
development of executive function       
skills1 including cognitive flexibility1
 self-regulation1 and effortful control 
and attention4  7#d7 ,focusing on these 
skills1 even though they are not        
obviously academic1 is critical in order
 to improve children's long-term        
outcomes4  7#e7 ,providing high-quality 
early childhood education can protect   
young children from some of the most    
adverse effects of poverty1 enable their
 healthy development1 strengthen their  
health1 and reduce or mediate toxic     
stress responses to adverse experiences4
  7#f7 ,robust support1 professional    
development1 and specialized training   
for the early education and care        
workforce is essential to providing a   
high-quality early education to every   
child4  #c4 ,amendments ,section #fdh of
 the ,head ,start ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4   

#ihdc7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection  
7a77#c7--  7,a7 in subparagraph 7,a7--  
7i7 in clause 7ii7 by striking and at   
the end1  7ii7 in clause 7iii7 by       
striking and at the end1 and  7iii7 by  
adding at the end the following3  7iv7  
activities that support the             
implementation of evidence-based        
trauma-informed practices1              
age-appropriate positive behavioral     
interventions and supports1 early       
childhood mental health consultation1   
and prevention of suspension and        
expulsion2 and  7v7 activities that     
appropriately increase the level of     
coordination between ,head ,start       
agencies and other programs that serve  
very young children1 in order to        
increase the general quality1           
availability1 and reliability of        
services provided2 and  1  7,b7 in      
subparagraph 7,b7-- 7i7 in clause 7xv7  
by striking and at the end1  7ii7 in    
clause 7xvi7 by striking the period at  
the end and inserting 2 and1 and  7iii7 

by adding at the end the following3     
7xvii7 assist ,head ,start agencies in  
adopting evidence-based approaches to   
best identify and serve children whose  
experiences have elicited a toxic stress
 response4  1  7#b7 in subsection       
7b77#b7-- 7,a7 in subparagraph 7,f7 by  
striking and at the end1  7,b7 in       
subparagraph 7,g7 by striking the period
 at the end and inserting a semicolon1  
and  7,c7 by adding at the end the      
following3  7,h7 in evidence-based      
trauma-informed practices1 as well as   
early childhood mental health           
consultation and age-appropriate        
positive behavioral interventions and   
supports2 and  7,i7 in helping children 
who have experienced1 or are            
experiencing1 trauma or toxic stress4  1
 and  7#c7 in subsection 7d77#a7--  7,a7
 in subparagraph 7,g7 by striking and   
children under #c years of age1 where   
applicable and inserting children who   
experience trauma1 and children under #c
 years of age1 especially for whom such 

experiences have caused a toxic stress  
response1 including appropriate training
 and professional development on        
evidence-based trauma-informed practices
 and early childhood mental health      
consultation1  7,b7 by redesignating    
subparagraph 7,i7 as subparagraph 7,j71 
and  7,c7 by inserting after            
subparagraph 7,h7 the following3  7,i7  
,activities designed to prevent         
suspension and expulsion and to increase
 utilization of age-appropriate positive
 behavioral interventions and supports4 
4