National Child Abuse Help Hotline Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4342 To establish a National Child Abuse Hotline. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 28, 2020 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 2020’’. 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 04:04 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4342.IS S4342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4342 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 professional development program 21 for hotline personnel, including technology pro- 22 fessional development to ensure that all individ- 23 uals affiliated with the hotline are able to effec- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4342.IS S4342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4342 IS tively operate any technological systems used by 1 the hotline; 2 (B) the qualifications for hotline personnel; 3 (C) the methods for the creation, mainte- 4 nance, and updating of a resource database; 5 (D) a plan for publicizing the availability 6 of the hotline throughout the United States; 7 (E) a plan for providing service to non- 8 English speaking callers, including service 9 through hotline personnel who have non-English 10 language capability; 11 (F) a plan for facilitating access to the 12 hotline and alternative modality services by in- 13 dividuals with hearing impairments and disabil- 14 ities; 15 (G) a plan for providing crisis counseling, 16 general assistance, and referrals to youth vic- 17 tims of child abuse; and 18 (H) a plan for utilizing available commu- 19 nications technologies other than the telephone 20 hotline, as appropriate, such as texting or live 21 chat; 22 (2) information to demonstrate that the enti- 23 ty— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4342.IS S4342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4342 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 privacy laws and 7 has established quality assurance practices; and 8 (3) such other information, assurances, and 9 agreements as the Secretary may require. 10 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For pur- 11 poses of carrying out this section, there are authorized to 12 be appropriated $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 13 through 2025. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4342.IS S4342 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS