National Child Abuse Help Hotline Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 886 To establish a National Child Abuse Hotline. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 22, 2021 Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Ms. SINEMA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To establish a National Child Abuse Hotline. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Child Abuse 4 Help Hotline Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. NATIONAL CHILD ABUSE HOTLINE. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 7 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec- 8 retary’’) may award a grant to a nonprofit entity to pro- 9 vide for the establishment and ongoing operation of a Na- 10 tional Child Abuse Hotline, which shall provide a 24-hour, 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Apr 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S886.IS S886 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 886 IS national, toll-free telephone hotline to improve capacity for 1 the provision of crisis intervention, assistance, and infor- 2 mation services with respect to child abuse or neglect, to 3 victims of child abuse or neglect, and to parents, care- 4 givers, mandated reporters, and other concerned commu- 5 nity members, including through implementation of other 6 communication technologies to improve access for such 7 victims and other individuals. 8 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive the grant 9 under subsection (a), an entity shall have experience in 10 operating a hotline that provides information and assist- 11 ance to victims of child abuse or neglect, and to parents, 12 caregivers, and mandated reporters. 13 (c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 14 under subsection (a), a nonprofit entity shall submit an 15 application to the Secretary, at such time and in such 16 manner as the Secretary may require, and containing— 17 (1) a complete description of the entity’s plan 18 for the operation of a national child abuse hotline, 19 including descriptions of— 20 (A) the qualifications for hotline personnel; 21 (B) the professional development program 22 for hotline personnel, including technology pro- 23 fessional development to ensure that all individ- 24 uals affiliated with the hotline are able to oper- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Apr 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S886.IS S886 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 886 IS ate the technological systems used by the hot- 1 line; 2 (C) the methods for the creation, mainte- 3 nance, and updating of a comprehensive data- 4 base of prevention and treatment services re- 5 sources; 6 (D) a plan for publicizing the availability 7 of the hotline throughout the United States; 8 (E) a plan for providing service to non- 9 English speaking callers, including service 10 through hotline personnel who have non-English 11 language capability; 12 (F) a plan for facilitating access to the 13 hotline and alternative modality services by in- 14 dividuals with hearing impairments and disabil- 15 ities; 16 (G) a plan for providing crisis counseling, 17 general assistance, and referrals to youth vic- 18 tims of child abuse; and 19 (H) a plan for utilizing available commu- 20 nications technologies other than the telephone 21 hotline, as appropriate, such as texting or live 22 chat; 23 (2) information to demonstrate that the enti- 24 ty— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Apr 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S886.IS S886 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 886 IS (A) has the capacity and the expertise to 1 maintain a child abuse and neglect hotline; 2 (B) has the ability to provide information 3 and referrals for contacts, directly connect con- 4 tacts to such service providers, and employ cri- 5 sis interventions; and 6 (C) complies with Federal and State pri- 7 vacy laws and has established quality assurance 8 practices; and 9 (3) such other information, assurances, and 10 agreements as the Secretary may require. 11 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For pur- 12 poses of carrying out this section, there are authorized to 13 be appropriated $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 14 through 2026. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Apr 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S886.IS S886 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS