Jenna Quinn Law — CivicLens

Federal

Jenna Quinn Law

Source: Congress.gov · 786 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill changes the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to organizations that create training and education programs about child sexual abuse. These grants would support programs that teach students, teachers, school employees, parents and guardians how to prevent, recognize, respond to and report child sexual abuse in kindergarten through high school.

Who It Affects

Teachers and other school employees Students in primary and secondary schools Parents and guardians of students Mandatory reporters (people required by law to report abuse) Adults who work with children in professional or volunteer roles Organizations that receive grants to run these programs

Key Provisions

The Secretary may award grants for up to 5 years to organizations running child sexual abuse awareness and prevention programs that are evidence-based or evidence-informed, meaning they are supported by research or real-world results (Sec. 2(a)(8)(A)). Grants can support programs that teach students in an age-appropriate way how to recognize, prevent and safely report child sexual abuse (Sec. 2(a)(8)(A)(i)). Grants can support training for teachers, school employees, mandatory reporters and other adults who work with children so they can recognize and safely report child sexual abuse (Sec. 2(a)(8)(A)(ii)). Grants can support providing information to parents and guardians about preventing, recognizing, responding to and reporting child sexual abuse, and how to talk with children about it (Sec. 2(a)(8)(A)(iii)). Organizations receiving grants must submit annual reports to the Secretary during the grant period that include the number of participants, services provided and results of the projects (Sec. 2(a)(8)(B)).

What Changes

A new grant program is created under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act that did not exist before. Organizations can now apply for federal money to run child sexual abuse prevention and awareness programs in schools. Within 5 years of the first grant being awarded, the Comptroller General of the United States must prepare and submit a report to Congress describing the grant-funded projects and evaluating whether they worked. Within 5 years of the bill becoming law, the Comptroller General must also prepare and submit a report examining whether these grants duplicate other federal programs.

Important Definitions

Evidence-based programs: programs supported by research showing they work Evidence-informed programs: programs based on real-world results and practical experience Mandatory reporters: people required by law to report suspected child abuse Age-appropriate manner: teaching methods and content suitable for a child's age and development level

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2455 To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to provide for grants in support of training and education to teachers and other school employees, students, and the community about how to prevent, recognize, respond to, and report child sexual abuse among primary and secondary school students. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 30, 2023 Ms. WILD (for herself and Mr. MCCAUL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to provide for grants in support of training and edu- cation to teachers and other school employees, students, and the community about how to prevent, recognize, respond to, and report child sexual abuse among primary and secondary school students. 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 ‘‘Jenna Quinn Law’’. 4 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2455.IH H2455 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2455 IH SEC. 2. CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AWARENESS FIELD INITI- 1 ATED GRANTS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 105(a) of the Child Abuse 3 Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106(a)) is 4 amended by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(8) CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AWARENESS FIELD- 6 INITIATED GRANTS.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 8 award grants under this subsection to entities, 9 for periods of up to 5 years, in support of field- 10 initiated innovation projects that advance, es- 11 tablish, or implement comprehensive, innova- 12 tive, evidence-based or evidence-informed child 13 sexual abuse awareness and prevention pro- 14 grams by— 15 ‘‘(i) improving student awareness of 16 child sexual abuse in an age-appropriate 17 manner, including how to recognize, pre- 18 vent, and safely report child sexual abuse; 19 ‘‘(ii) training teachers, school employ- 20 ees, and other mandatory reporters and 21 adults who work with children in a profes- 22 sional or volunteer capacity, including with 23 respect to recognizing child sexual abuse 24 and safely reporting child sexual abuse; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2455.IH H2455 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2455 IH ‘‘(iii) providing information to parents 1 and guardians of students about child sex- 2 ual abuse awareness and prevention, in- 3 cluding how to prevent, recognize, respond 4 to, and report child sexual abuse and how 5 to discuss child sexual abuse with a child. 6 ‘‘(B) REPORTING.—Each entity receiving a 7 grant under subparagraph (A) shall submit an 8 annual report to the Secretary, for the duration 9 of the grant period, on the projects carried out 10 using such grant, including the number of par- 11 ticipants, the services provided, and the out- 12 comes of the projects, including participant 13 evaluations.’’. 14 (b) REPORT ON EFFECTIVENESS OF EXPENDI- 15 TURES.—Not later than 5 years after the date on which 16 the first grant is awarded under paragraph (8) of section 17 105(a) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act 18 (42 U.S.C. 5106(a)), as added by subsection (a), the 19 Comptroller General of the United States shall— 20 (1) prepare a report that describes the projects 21 for which funds are expended under paragraph (8) 22 of such section 105(a)(8) and evaluates the effective- 23 ness of those projects; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2455.IH H2455 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2455 IH (2) submit the report to the Committee on 1 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen- 2 ate and the Committee on Education and the Work- 3 force of the House of Representatives. 4 (c) REPORT ON DUPLICATIVE NATURE OF EXPENDI- 5 TURES.—Not later than 5 years after the date of enact- 6 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 7 States shall— 8 (1) prepare a report that examines whether the 9 projects described in subsection (b) are duplicative 10 of other activities supported by Federal funds; and 11 (2) submit the report to the Committee on 12 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen- 13 ate and the Committee on Education and the Work- 14 force of the House of Representatives. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2455.IH H2455 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.