Alternative Pathways to Child Abuse Prevention Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1741 To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to provide for alternative pathways of addressing child abuse and neglect. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 20, 2021 Mr. LUJA´N introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to provide for alternative pathways of addressing child abuse and neglect. 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 ‘‘Alternative Pathways 4 to Child Abuse Prevention Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Section 2 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat- 7 ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended— 8 (1) in paragraph (11), by inserting ‘‘trauma-in- 9 formed,’’ after ‘‘child-centered,’’; 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1741.IS S1741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1741 IS (2) in paragraphs (12) and (14), by inserting ‘‘, 1 Indian Tribes,’’ after ‘‘States’’ each place such term 2 appears; and 3 (3) in subparagraphs (C) and (D) of paragraph 4 (15), by inserting ‘‘and Indian Tribes’’ after 5 ‘‘States’’ each place such term appears. 6 SEC. 3. ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT. 7 Section 102 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 8 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5102) is amended— 9 (1) in subsection (c)— 10 (A) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘and’’; 11 (B) in paragraph (14), by striking the pe- 12 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 14 ‘‘(15) domestic violence advocates and ex- 15 perts.’’; and 16 (2) in subsection (f)— 17 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘; and’’; 18 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe- 19 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 20 (C) by adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘(4) recommendations for actions Federal, 22 State, Tribal, and local public agencies can take to 23 safely reduce the number of families referred to 24 child protective services and direct such families to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1741.IS S1741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1741 IS alternative pathways of preventive, family-centered 1 services for support.’’. 2 SEC. 4. NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR INFORMATION 3 RELATING TO CHILD ABUSE. 4 Section 103 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 5 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5104) is amended— 6 (1) in subsection (b)— 7 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘relating 8 to differential response;’’ and inserting ‘‘relat- 9 ing to— 10 ‘‘(A) differential response; and 11 ‘‘(B) the use of alternative pathways that 12 connect families experiencing difficulty meeting 13 basic needs or other risk factors associated with 14 child abuse and neglect, such as parental stress, 15 family violence, and isolation, to community- 16 based systems and programs that strengthen 17 families seeking support instead of to the child 18 protection system, such as— 19 ‘‘(i) State, Tribal, or local helplines 20 that provide information or assistance and 21 connect families to voluntary community- 22 based support services; and 23 ‘‘(ii) alternative pathways for man- 24 dated reporters and other concerned adults 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1741.IS S1741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1741 IS to use to refer families for voluntary sup- 1 ports outside of the child protection sys- 2 tem;’’; 3 (B) in paragraph (8) , by striking subpara- 4 graph (B) and inserting the following: 5 ‘‘(B) appropriate State, Tribal, and local 6 officials to assist in training law enforcement, 7 legal, judicial, medical, physical, behavioral, and 8 mental health, education, child welfare, sub- 9 stance use disorder treatment services, and do- 10 mestic violence services personnel, including 11 training on— 12 ‘‘(i) the role of the child protective 13 services system to identify children at risk 14 of serious harm; and 15 ‘‘(ii) how to direct families in need to 16 alternative pathways to community-based 17 systems and programs that strengthen 18 such families in order to safely reduce the 19 number of families unnecessarily referred 20 to child protective services; and’’; and 21 (C) in paragraph (9), by inserting ‘‘for 22 both victims and for people who use violence’’ 23 before the period; and 24 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(C)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1741.IS S1741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1741 IS (A) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 1 inserting a semicolon; 2 (B) in clause (iv), by inserting ‘‘and’’ after 3 the semicolon; and 4 (C) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(v) information on the presence of 6 domestic violence in advance of a child 7 death;’’. 8 SEC. 5. 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)(1)— 12 (A) in subparagraph (L), by inserting 13 ‘‘and the use of alternative pathways that con- 14 nect families to community-based prevention 15 services where possible instead of system in- 16 volvement’’ after ‘‘differential response’’; and 17 (B) in subparagraph (O)— 18 (i) in clause (ix), by inserting ‘‘pres- 19 ence of domestic violence,’’ after ‘‘size),’’; 20 (ii) in clause (x), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 21 and inserting a semicolon; 22 (iii) in clause (xi), by striking the pe- 23 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1741.IS S1741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1741 IS (iv) by adding at the end the fol- 1 lowing: 2 ‘‘(xii) the prevalence of domestic vio- 3 lence in child abuse and neglect reports 4 and open cases.’’; 5 (2) in subsection (b)(2)— 6 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘; 7 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 8 (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 9 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 10 (C) by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(E) ways to safely decrease the number of 12 families being referred to child protective serv- 13 ices and instead provide them with alternative 14 pathways to community-based child abuse pre- 15 vention services that strengthen families.’’; and 16 (3) in subsection (e)(3), by inserting ‘‘and for 17 demonstration projects that focus on building re- 18 search-based protective factors in community organi- 19 zations, health care, and schools for adult and child 20 survivors of domestic violence as a strategy for keep- 21 ing children out of the child protective services sys- 22 tem’’ before the period. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1741.IS S1741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1741 IS SEC. 6. GRANTS TO STATES, INDIAN TRIBES OR TRIBAL OR- 1 GANIZATIONS, AND PUBLIC OR PRIVATE 2 AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS. 3 Section 105(a) of the Child Abuse Prevention and 4 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106(a)) is amended— 5 (1) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ‘‘and case 6 management’’ after ‘‘through referral’’; 7 (2) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘for survivors 8 or people who use violence’’ after ‘‘violence service 9 agencies’’; 10 (3) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘account- 11 ability and meaningful pathways to change for the 12 person using violence,’’ after ‘‘parent involved and 13 children,’’; and 14 (4) by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(8) ALTERNATIVE PATHWAYS TO COMMUNITY- 16 BASED FAMILY-STRENGTHENING SERVICES AND 17 PROGRAMS.—The Secretary may award grants to 18 collaborations of State, Tribal, and local child wel- 19 fare agencies with community-based providers to 20 support the development and implementation of al- 21 ternative pathways and systems and supports that 22 connect families experiencing difficulty meeting basic 23 needs or risk factors associated with child abuse and 24 neglect to community-based systems and programs 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1741.IS S1741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1741 IS that assist families seeking support as an alternative 1 to the child protection system, such as supporting— 2 ‘‘(A) the development and implementation 3 of— 4 ‘‘(i) local or State helplines, websites, 5 or mobile applications that provide infor- 6 mation or assistance and connect families 7 to voluntary community-based support 8 services, including local programs sup- 9 ported under title II; 10 ‘‘(ii) a continuum of preventive serv- 11 ices that strengthen families and promote 12 child, parent, and family well-being; and 13 ‘‘(iii) alternative pathways for manda- 14 tory reporters and other concerned adults 15 to use to connect families to voluntary sup- 16 ports outside of child protection systems 17 and educating adults about such pathways; 18 and 19 ‘‘(B) the hiring of personnel to help con- 20 nect families to voluntary supports outside of 21 child protection systems, navigate barriers to 22 accessing these services, and ensure services 23 exist where families live and work.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1741.IS S1741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1741 IS SEC. 7. GRANTS TO STATES FOR CHILD ABUSE OR NE- 1 GLECT PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PRO- 2 GRAMS. 3 Section 106 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 4 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a) is amended— 5 (1) in subsection (a)— 6 (A) in paragraph (13)(B), by striking ‘‘; 7 or’’ and inserting a semicolon; 8 (B) in paragraph (14)(B), by striking the 9 period and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 10 (C) by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(15) improving the child protective system to 12 focus children at most serious risk of harm and safe- 13 ly reduce the number of families investigated for 14 child abuse and neglect by increasing the number of 15 families connected to voluntary, community-based 16 systems and programs that assist families in need of 17 supports and services, including by developing, im- 18 plementing, and expanding— 19 ‘‘(A) local or State helplines, websites, and 20 mobile applications that connect families to vol- 21 untary community-based resources, including 22 local programs funded under title II; 23 ‘‘(B) a continuum of preventive services 24 that strengthen families and promote child, par- 25 ent, and family well-being; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1741.IS S1741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1741 IS ‘‘(C) alternative pathways for mandatory 1 reporters and other concerned adults to use to 2 refer families for voluntary supports outside of 3 child protection systems and educating adults 4 about such systems; and 5 ‘‘(D) personnel to help connect families to 6 voluntary supports outside of child protection 7 systems, navigate barriers to accessing these 8 services, and ensure services exist where fami- 9 lies live and work.’’; and 10 (2) in subsection (b)(2)(D)— 11 (A) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 12 inserting a semicolon; 13 (B) in clause (vi), by adding ‘‘and’’ after 14 the semicolon; and 15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(vii) changes in policies and proce- 17 dures of State and local child welfare agen- 18 cies that— 19 ‘‘(I) reduce the number of fami- 20 lies referred to such agencies for inci- 21 dents that are not child abuse or ne- 22 glect, such as families referred to the 23 child protective system solely based on 24 circumstances related to poverty; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1741.IS S1741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1741 IS ‘‘(II) develop, implement, and 1 scale systems of alternative pathways 2 (in coordination with the lead entity 3 and local programs supported by title 4 II) that connect such families to vol- 5 untary community-based support to 6 build protective factors that reduce 7 the likelihood of child abuse and ne- 8 glect, or that reduce harm as a result 9 of domestic violence, including efforts 10 to educate mandatory reporters and 11 other concerned adults about such 12 systems to refer families for voluntary 13 supports outside of child protection 14 systems; and 15 ‘‘(III) increase supports for fami- 16 lies in navigating and accessing vol- 17 untary community-based support to 18 reduce the likelihood of child abuse 19 and neglect or that reduce harm as a 20 result of domestic violence, including 21 personnel and casework.’’. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1741.IS S1741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1741 IS SEC. 8. GRANTS TO STATES FOR PROGRAMS RELATING TO 1 THE INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF 2 CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT CASES. 3 Section 107(c)(1) of the Child Abuse Prevention and 4 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106c(c)(1)) is amended— 5 (1) in subparagraph (I), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 6 and inserting a semicolon; 7 (2) in subparagraph (J), by striking the period 8 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(K) domestic violence and sexual violence 11 prevention and treatment advocates.’’. 12 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 13 (a) TITLE I.—Section 112(a)(1) of the Child Abuse 14 Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106h(a)(1)) 15 is amended by striking ‘‘$120,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 16 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal 17 years 2011 through 2015’’ and inserting ‘‘$500,000,000 18 for fiscal year 2022 and such sums as may be necessary 19 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027’’. 20 (b) TITLE II.—Section 209 of the Child Abuse Pre- 21 vention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116i) is amended 22 by striking ‘‘$80,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and such 23 sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2011 24 through 2015’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000,000,000 for fiscal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1741.IS S1741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1741 IS year 2022 and such sums as may be necessary for each 1 of fiscal years 2023 through 2027’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1741.IS S1741 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS