Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act

IIB 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 485 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 17 (legislative day, MARCH 16), 2021 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions AN ACT To reauthorize the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Mar 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H485.RFS H485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 HR 485 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stronger Child Abuse 2 Prevention and Treatment Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 4 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 5 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. TITLE I—GENERAL PROGRAM Sec. 101. Repeal of findings. Sec. 102. Repeal of Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect. Sec. 103. National clearinghouse for information relating to child abuse. Sec. 104. Research and assistance activities. Sec. 105. Grants to States, Indian Tribes or tribal organizations, and public or private agencies and organizations. Sec. 106. Grants to States for child abuse or neglect prevention and treatment programs. Sec. 107. Miscellaneous requirements. Sec. 108. Reports. Sec. 109. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 110. Monitoring and oversight. Sec. 111. Electronic interstate data exchange system. Sec. 112. Technical and conforming amendments. TITLE II—COMMUNITY-BASED GRANTS FOR THE PREVENTION OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT Sec. 201. Purpose and authority. Sec. 202. Eligibility. Sec. 203. Amount of grant. Sec. 204. Application. Sec. 205. Local program requirements. Sec. 206. Performance measures. Sec. 207. National network for community-based family resource programs. Sec. 208. Definitions. Sec. 209. Rule of construction. Sec. 210. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 211. Study and report. TITLE III—ADOPTION OPPORTUNITIES Sec. 301. Purpose. Sec. 302. Report and guidance on unregulated custody transfers. Sec. 303. Information and services. Sec. 304. Study and report on successful adoptions. Sec. 305. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE IV—AMENDMENTS TO OTHER LAWS Sec. 401. Technical and conforming amendments to other laws. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Mar 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H485.RFS H485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 HR 485 RFS TITLE I—GENERAL PROGRAM 1 SEC. 101. REPEAL OF FINDINGS. 2 Section 2 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat- 3 ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 note) is repealed. 4 SEC. 102. REPEAL OF ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILD ABUSE 5 AND NEGLECT. 6 Section 102 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 7 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5102) is repealed. 8 SEC. 103. NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR INFORMATION 9 RELATING TO CHILD ABUSE. 10 Section 103 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 11 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5104) is amended— 12 (1) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting ‘‘early 13 learning programs and’’ after ‘‘including’’; 14 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(C)— 15 (A) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 16 end; 17 (B) in clause (iv), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 18 end; and 19 (C) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(v) the number of child fatalities and 21 near fatalities due to maltreatment, as re- 22 ported by States in accordance with the 23 uniform standards established pursuant to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Mar 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H485.RFS H485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 HR 485 RFS subsection (d), and any other relevant in- 1 formation related to such fatalities;’’; and 2 (3) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(d) UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR TRACKING AND RE- 4 PORTING OF CHILD FATALITIES RESULTING FROM MAL- 5 TREATMENT.— 6 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later than 7 24 months after the date of the enactment of the 8 Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 9 Act, the Secretary shall develop and issue final regu- 10 lations establishing uniform standards for the track- 11 ing and reporting of child fatalities and near-fatali- 12 ties resulting from maltreatment. As a condition on 13 eligibility for receipt of funds under section 106, the 14 standards established under this paragraph shall be 15 used by States for the tracking and reporting of 16 such fatalities under subsection (d) of such section. 17 ‘‘(2) MAINTENANCE OF STATE LAW.—Notwith- 18 standing the uniform standards developed under 19 paragraph (1), a State that defines or describes such 20 fatalities for any purpose other than tracking and 21 reporting under this subsection may continue to use 22 that definition or description for such purpose. 23 ‘‘(3) NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING.—In devel- 24 oping regulations under paragraph (1), the Sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Mar 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H485.RFS H485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 HR 485 RFS retary shall submit such regulations to a negotiated 1 rulemaking process, which shall include the partici- 2 pants described in paragraph (4). 3 ‘‘(4) PARTICIPANTS DESCRIBED.—The partici- 4 pants described in this paragraph are— 5 ‘‘(A) State and county officials responsible 6 for administering the State plans under this 7 Act and parts B and E of title IV of the Social 8 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 670 et 9 seq.); 10 ‘‘(B) child welfare professionals with field 11 experience; 12 ‘‘(C) child welfare researchers; 13 ‘‘(D) domestic violence researchers; 14 ‘‘(E) domestic violence professionals; 15 ‘‘(F) child development professionals; 16 ‘‘(G) mental health professionals; 17 ‘‘(H) pediatric emergency medicine physi- 18 cians; 19 ‘‘(I) child abuse pediatricians, as certified 20 by the American Board of Pediatrics, who spe- 21 cialize in treating victims of child abuse; 22 ‘‘(J) forensic pathologists; 23 ‘‘(K) public health administrators; 24 ‘‘(L) public health researchers; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Mar 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H485.RFS H485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 HR 485 RFS ‘‘(M) law enforcement; 1 ‘‘(N) family court judges; 2 ‘‘(O) prosecutors; 3 ‘‘(P) medical examiners and coroners; 4 ‘‘(Q) a representative from the National 5 Center for Fatality Review and Prevention; and 6 ‘‘(R) such other individuals and entities as 7 the Secretary determines to be appropriate.’’. 8 SEC. 104. RESEARCH AND ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES. 9 Section 104 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 10 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5105) is amended— 11 (1) in subsection (a)— 12 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 13 follows: 14 ‘‘(1) TOPICS.—The Secretary shall, in consulta- 15 tion with other Federal agencies and recognized ex- 16 perts in the field, carry out a continuing inter- 17 disciplinary program of research, including longitu- 18 dinal research, that is designed to provide informa- 19 tion needed to improve primary prevention of child 20 abuse and neglect, better protect children from child 21 abuse or neglect, and improve the well-being of vic- 22 tims of child abuse or neglect, with at least a portion 23 of such research being field initiated. Such research 24 program may focus on— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Mar 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H485.RFS H485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 HR 485 RFS ‘‘(A) disseminating evidence-based treat- 1 ment directed to individuals and families experi- 2 encing trauma due to child abuse and neglect, 3 including efforts to improve the scalability of 4 the treatments and programs being researched; 5 ‘‘(B) developing a set of evidence-based ap- 6 proaches to support child and family well-being 7 and developing ways to identify, relieve, and 8 mitigate stressors affecting families in rural, 9 urban, and suburban communities; 10 ‘‘(C) establishing methods to promote ra- 11 cial equity in the child welfare system, including 12 a focus on how neglect is defined, how services 13 are provided, and the unique impact on Native 14 American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 15 communities; 16 ‘‘(D) improving service delivery or out- 17 comes for child welfare service agencies engaged 18 with families experiencing domestic violence, 19 substance use disorder, or other complex needs; 20 ‘‘(E) the extent to which the number of 21 unsubstantiated, unfounded, and false reported 22 cases of child abuse or neglect have contributed 23 to the inability of a State to respond effectively 24 to serious cases of child abuse or neglect; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Mar 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H485.RFS H485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 HR 485 RFS ‘‘(F) the extent to which the lack of ade- 1 quate resources and the lack of adequate pro- 2 fessional development of individuals required by 3 law to report suspected cases of child abuse and 4 neglect have contributed to the inability of a 5 State to respond effectively to serious cases of 6 child abuse and neglect; 7 ‘‘(G) the extent to which unsubstantiated 8 reports return as more serious cases of child 9 abuse or neglect; 10 ‘‘(H) the incidence and outcomes of child 11 abuse and neglect allegations reported within 12 the context of divorce, custody, or other family 13 court proceedings, and the interaction between 14 family courts and the child protective services 15 system; 16 ‘‘(I) the information on the national inci- 17 dence of child abuse and neglect specified in 18 clauses (i) through (xi) of subparagraph (J); 19 and 20 ‘‘(J) the national incidence of child abuse 21 and neglect, including— 22 ‘‘(i) the extent to which incidents of 23 child abuse and neglect are increasing or 24 decreasing in number and severity; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Mar 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H485.RFS H485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 HR 485 RFS ‘‘(ii) the incidence of substantiated 1 and unsubstantiated reported child abuse 2 and neglect cases; 3 ‘‘(iii) the number of substantiated 4 cases that result in a judicial finding of 5 child abuse or neglect or related criminal 6 court convictions; 7 ‘‘(iv) the extent to which the number 8 of unsubstantiated, unfounded and false 9 reported cases of child abuse or neglect 10 have contributed to the inability of a State 11 to respond effectively to serious cases of 12 child abuse or neglect; 13 ‘‘(v) the extent to which the lack of 14 adequate resources and the lack of ade- 15 quate education of individuals required by 16 law to report suspected cases of child 17 abuse and neglect have contributed to the 18 inability of a State to respond effectively to 19 serious cases of child abuse and neglect; 20 ‘‘(vi) the number of unsubstantiated, 21 false, or unfounded reports that have re- 22 sulted in a child being placed in substitute 23 care, and the duration of such placement; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Mar 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H485.RFS H485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 HR 485 RFS ‘‘(vii) the extent to which unsubstan- 1 tiated reports return as more serious cases 2 of child abuse or neglect; 3 ‘‘(viii) the incidence and prevalence of 4 physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and 5 physical and emotional neglect in sub- 6 stitute care; 7 ‘‘(ix) the incidence and prevalence of 8 child maltreatment by a wide array of de- 9 mographic characteristics such as age, sex, 10 race, family structure, household relation- 11 ship (including the living arrangement of 12 the resident parent and family size), school 13 enrollment and education attainment, dis- 14 ability, grandparents as caregivers, labor 15 force status, work status in previous year, 16 and income in previous year; 17 ‘‘(x) the extent to which reports of 18 suspected or known instances of child 19 abuse or neglect involving a potential com- 20 bination of jurisdictions, such as intra- 21 state, interstate, Federal-State, and State- 22 Tribal, are being screened out solely on the 23 basis of the cross-jurisdictional complica- 24 tions; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Mar 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H485.RFS H485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 HR 485 RFS ‘‘(xi) the incidence and outcomes of 1 child abuse and neglect allegations re- 2 ported within the context of divorce, cus- 3 tody, or other family court proceedings, 4 and the interaction between family courts 5 and the child protective services system.’’; 6 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘para- 7 graph (1)(O)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 8 (1)(J)’’; 9 (C) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 10 follows: 11 ‘‘(3) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years 13 after the date of the enactment of the Stronger 14 Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, the 15 Secretary shall prepare and submit to the Com- 16 mittee on Education and Labor of the House of 17 Representatives and the Committee on Health, 18 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 19 a report that contains the results of the re- 20 search conducted under paragraph (2). 21 ‘‘(B) NATIONAL INCIDENCE.—The Sec- 22 retary shall ensure that research conducted, 23 and data collected, under paragraph (1)(J) are 24 reported in a way that will allow longitudinal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Mar 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H485.RFS H485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 HR 485 RFS comparisons as well as comparisons to the na- 1 tional incidence studies conducted under this 2 title.’’; and 3 (D) by striking the second paragraph (4); 4 (2) in subsection (b), by amending paragraph 5 (2) to read as follows: 6 ‘‘(2) AREAS OF EMPHASIS.—Such technical as- 7 sistance— 8 ‘‘(A) shall focus on— 9 ‘‘(i) implementing strategies that can 10 leverage existing community-based and 11 State funded resources to prevent child 12 abuse and neglect and providing education 13 for individuals involved in prevention ac- 14 tivities; 15 ‘‘(ii) reducing racial bias in child wel- 16 fare systems, including how such systems 17 interact with health, law enforcement, and 18 education systems; 19 ‘‘(iii) promoting best practices for 20 families experiencing domestic violence, 21 substance use disorder, or other complex 22 needs; and 23 ‘‘(iv) providing professional develop- 24 ment and other technical assistance to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Mar 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H485.RFS H485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 HR 485 RFS child welfare agencies to improve the un- 1 derstanding of and to help address the e [Text truncated for display. 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