Speak Up to Protect Every Abused Kid Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1353 To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require manda- tory reporting of incidents of child abuse or neglect, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 7, 2019 Mr. CASEY 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 require mandatory reporting of incidents of child abuse or neglect, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Speak Up to Protect 4 Every Abused Kid Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that— 7 (1) children are dependent on the adults in 8 their lives, including parents, extended family, teach- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1353.IS S1353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1353 IS ers, health care providers, and others in their com- 1 munity, to ensure their safety and well-being; 2 (2) data from the Administration on Children 3 and Families for 2016 indicate that 671,622 chil- 4 dren in the United States were reported as being 5 victims of child abuse or neglect, and 1,447 of those 6 children died as a result of such abuse or neglect; 7 (3) regardless of whether an adult is legally re- 8 quired to report child abuse and neglect, every adult 9 who suspects or knows about child abuse or neglect 10 has a moral duty to report such concerns to the ap- 11 propriate authorities; and 12 (4) establishing a Federal standard for the 13 classes of individuals that State law establishes as 14 mandated reporters will protect children and ensure 15 greater consistency among the laws of States, while 16 allowing States the flexibility to establish additional 17 classes of individuals as mandated reporters. 18 SEC. 3. EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGNS AND TRAINING. 19 The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act is 20 amended by inserting after section 103 (42 U.S.C. 5104) 21 the following: 22 ‘‘SEC. 103A. EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGNS AND TRAINING. 23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make grants 24 to eligible entities to carry out educational campaigns and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1353.IS S1353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1353 IS provide evidence-based or evidence-informed training re- 1 garding State laws for mandatory reporting of incidents 2 of child abuse or neglect. 3 ‘‘(b) GUIDANCE AND INFORMATION ON BEST PRAC- 4 TICES.—The Secretary shall develop and disseminate 5 guidance and information on best practices for— 6 ‘‘(1) educational campaigns to educate members 7 of the public about— 8 ‘‘(A) the acts and omissions that constitute 9 child abuse or neglect under State law; 10 ‘‘(B) the responsibilities of adults to report 11 suspected and known incidents of child abuse or 12 neglect under State law; and 13 ‘‘(C) the resources available to struggling 14 families to help prevent child abuse and neglect; 15 and 16 ‘‘(2) evidence-based or evidence-informed train- 17 ing programs to improve such reporting by adults, 18 with a focus on adults who work with children in a 19 professional or volunteer capacity. 20 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a grant 21 under this section, an entity shall submit an application 22 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con- 23 taining such information as the Secretary may require. In 24 determining whether to make a grant under this section, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1353.IS S1353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1353 IS the Secretary shall determine whether the educational 1 campaign or training proposed by the entity uses practices 2 described in the guidance and information developed 3 under subsection (b). 4 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a 5 grant under this section shall use the funds made available 6 through the grant to carry out an educational campaign, 7 or provide training, described in subsection (b). 8 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 9 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 10 $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 and $10,000,000 for each 11 of fiscal years 2021 through 2024.’’. 12 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO STATES FOR CHILD ABUSE OR NE- 13 GLECT PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PRO- 14 GRAMS. 15 Section 106(b) of the Child Abuse Prevention and 16 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)) is amended— 17 (1) in paragraph (2)— 18 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘(B) 19 an assurance’’ and all that follows through the 20 end of clause (i), and inserting the following: 21 ‘‘(B) an assurance in the form of a certifi- 22 cation by the Governor of the State that the 23 State has in effect and is enforcing a State law, 24 or has in effect and is operating a statewide 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1353.IS S1353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1353 IS program, relating to child abuse and neglect 1 that includes— 2 ‘‘(i) provisions or procedures for an 3 individual described in paragraph (5) to re- 4 port suspected or known incidents of child 5 abuse or neglect to a State child protective 6 service agency or to a law enforcement 7 agency, which shall include a State law for 8 mandatory reporting of such incidents, to 9 either type of agency, by any individual de- 10 scribed in paragraph (5), in accordance 11 with paragraph (6);’’; 12 (B) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘; 13 and’’ and inserting ‘‘;’’; 14 (C) in subparagraph (G), by striking the 15 period at the end and inserting ‘‘;’’; and 16 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (G) 17 the following: 18 ‘‘(H) an assurance that the State, in devel- 19 oping the State plan described in paragraph 20 (1), has established procedures to ensure co- 21 ordination between the State law or statewide 22 program described in subparagraph (B) and 23 relevant law enforcement and State or commu- 24 nity-based victims’ services agencies to ensure 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1353.IS S1353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1353 IS that children who are the victims of acts by a 1 perpetrator other than a parent or caretaker 2 that would be considered child abuse or neglect 3 under section 3(2) if the perpetrator of such act 4 were a parent or caretaker, are referred for ap- 5 propriate follow-up services, even if such chil- 6 dren do not qualify for the protections under 7 such State law or statewide program; 8 ‘‘(I) an assurance that the State will— 9 ‘‘(i) take primary responsibility to ac- 10 cept and investigate reports of known and 11 suspected child abuse or neglect pertaining 12 to an incident that occurred in that State, 13 even if the child or the alleged perpetrator 14 resides in a different State; 15 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a State that takes 16 primary responsibility to investigate a re- 17 port as described in clause (i), share the 18 results of the investigation with the State 19 where the child resides and with the State 20 where the alleged perpetrator resides; and 21 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a State in which 22 the child or alleged perpetrator resides, but 23 where the alleged incident did not occur, 24 establish a plan to assist the State with 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1353.IS S1353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1353 IS primary responsibility for the investigation; 1 and 2 ‘‘(J) an assurance that the State has es- 3 tablished procedures to screen for domestic vio- 4 lence in the course of investigating child abuse 5 and that such procedures— 6 ‘‘(i) were developed in consultation 7 with the State Domestic Violence Coalition 8 (as defined in section 302 of the Family 9 Violence Prevention and Services Act (42 10 U.S.C. 10402)) or other entity eligible for 11 funds under section 311 of the Family Vio- 12 lence Prevention and Services Act (42 13 U.S.C. 10411); and 14 ‘‘(ii) include training and practice re- 15 quirements for investigators of child abuse 16 where domestic violence is also present.’’; 17 and 18 (2) by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(5) INDIVIDUALS REQUIRED TO REPORT SUS- 20 PECTED OR KNOWN CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT.— 21 To satisfy the requirements of paragraph (2)(B)(i), 22 a State law for mandatory reporting described in 23 such paragraph shall require all of the following in- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1353.IS S1353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1353 IS dividuals to report suspected or known incidents of 1 child abuse or neglect: 2 ‘‘(A) Individuals licensed or certified to 3 practice in any health-related field licensed by 4 the State, employees of health care facilities or 5 providers licensed by the State, who are en- 6 gaged in the admission, examination, care or 7 treatment of individuals, including mental 8 health and emergency medical services pro- 9 viders. 10 ‘‘(B) Individuals employed by a school who 11 have direct contact with children, including 12 teachers, administrators, and independent con- 13 tractors. 14 ‘‘(C) Peace officers and law enforcement 15 personnel. 16 ‘‘(D) Clergy, including Christian Science 17 practitioners, except where prohibited on ac- 18 count of clergy-penitent privilege. 19 ‘‘(E) Day care and child care operators 20 and employees. 21 ‘‘(F) Employees of social services agencies 22 who have direct contact with children in the 23 course of employment. 24 ‘‘(G) Foster parents. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1353.IS S1353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1353 IS ‘‘(H) Court appointed special advocates 1 (employees and volunteers). 2 ‘‘(I) Camp and after-school employees. 3 ‘‘(J) An individual, paid or unpaid, who, 4 on the basis of the individual’s role as an inte- 5 gral part of a regularly scheduled program, ac- 6 tivity, or service, accepts responsibility for a 7 child. 8 ‘‘(K) Other individuals, as the applicable 9 State law or statewide program may require. 10 ‘‘(6) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—To satisfy 11 the requirements of paragraph (2)(B)(i), a State law 12 for mandatory reporting described in such para- 13 graph shall require such individuals to report sus- 14 pected or known incidents of child abuse or neglect 15 directly to the appropriate law enforcement or child 16 welfare agency (as applicable under State law) and, 17 if applicable, to the individual’s supervisor or em- 18 ployer.’’. 19 SEC. 5. APPROACHES AND TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE RE- 20 PORTING. 21 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 107(b) of the Child Abuse 22 Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106c(b)) is 23 amended— 24 (1) in paragraph (4)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1353.IS S1353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1353 IS (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 1 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 2 (B) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(C) support training for adults who work 4 with children in a professional or volunteer ca- 5 pacity, to report suspected and known incidents 6 of child abuse or neglect under State law; and’’; 7 and 8 (2) in paragraph (5), by inserting before the pe- 9 riod ‘‘and the training described in paragraph 10 (4)(C)’’. 11 (b) STATE TASK FORCE STUDY.—Section 107(d) of 12 such Act (42 U.S.C. 5106c(d)) is amended— 13 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 14 end; 15 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and 16 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 17 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol- 18 lowing: 19 ‘‘(3) evaluate the State’s efforts to train adults 20 who work with children in a professional or volun- 21 teer capacity, to report suspected and known inci- 22 dents of child abuse or neglect under State law.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1353.IS S1353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 1353 IS (c) ADOPTION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—Section 1 107(e)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5106c(e)(1)) is amend- 2 ed— 3 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 4 the end; 5 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 6 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 7 (3) by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(D) experimental, model, and demonstra- 9 tion programs for testing innovative approaches 10 and techniques that may improve reporting of 11 and response to suspected and known incidents 12 of child abuse or neglect by adults to the State 13 child protective service agencies or to law en- 14 forcement agencies.’’. 15 SEC. 6. GENERAL PROGRAM GRANTS. 16 Section 108 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 17 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106d) is amended by adding 18 at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(f) MANDATORY REPORTING.—To be eligible to re- 20 ceive any form of financial assistance under this title, a 21 State shall include in the corresponding plan or applica- 22 tion an assurance that the State has in effect a State law 23 for mandatory reporting described in section 24 106(b)(2)(B)(i).’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\S1353.IS S1353 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 1353 IS SEC. 7. REPORTS. 1 Section 110 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 2 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106f) is amended by adding 3 at the end the following: 4 ‘‘(e) STUDY AND REPORT ON STATE MANDATORY 5 REPORTING LAWS.— 6 ‘‘(1) STUDY.—Not later than 4 years after the 7 date of enactment of the Speak Up to Protect Every 8 Abused Kid Act, the Secretary shall collect informa- 9 tion on and otherwise study the efforts of States re- 10 lating to State laws for mandatory reporting of inci- 11 dents of child abuse or neglect, in order to assess 12 the implementation of the amendments made by that 13 Act. 14 ‘‘(2) REPORT.— 15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years 16 after the date of enactment of the Speak Up to 17 Protect Every Abused Kid Act, the Secretary 18 shall submit to the appropriate committees of 19 Congress a report containing the findings of the 20 study under paragraph (1). 21 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 22 under subparagraph (A) shall— 23 ‘‘(i) provide an update on— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 May 11, 2019 Jkt 089 [Text truncated for display. 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