TITLE 42 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER I - IMPROVING INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF CHILD ABUSE CASES

42 USC 13001 - Findings

The Congress finds that

(1) over 2,000,000 reports of suspected child abuse and neglect are made each year, and drug abuse is associated with a significant portion of these;

(2) the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases is extremely complex, involving numerous agencies and dozens of personnel;

(3) traditionally, community agencies and professionals have different roles in the prevention, investigation, and intervention process;

(4) in such cases, too often the system does not pay sufficient attention to the needs and welfare of the child victim, aggravating the trauma that the child victim has already experienced;

(5) there is a national need to enhance coordination among community agencies and professionals involved in the intervention system;

(6) multidisciplinary child abuse investigation and prosecution programs have been developed that increase the reporting of child abuse cases, reduce the trauma to the child victim, and increase the successful prosecution of child abuse offenders; and

(7) such programs have proven effective, and with targeted Federal assistance, could be duplicated in many jurisdictions throughout the country.

42 USC 13001a - Definitions

For purposes of this subchapter

(1) the term Administrator means the agency head designated under section 5611 (b) of this title;

(2) the term applicant means a child protective service, law enforcement, legal, medical and mental health agency or other agency that responds to child abuse cases;

(3) the term board means the Childrens Advocacy Advisory Board established under section 13001b (e) of this title;

(4) the term census region means 1 of the 4 census regions (northeast, south, midwest, and west) that are designated as census regions by the Bureau of the Census as of November 4, 1992;

(5) the term child abuse means physical or sexual abuse or neglect of a child;

(6) the term Director means the Director of the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect;

(7) the term multidisciplinary response to child abuse means a response to child abuse that is based on mutually agreed upon procedures among the community agencies and professionals involved in the intervention, prevention, prosecution, and investigation systems that best meets the needs of child victims and their nonoffending family members;

(8) the term nonoffending family member means a member of the family of a victim of child abuse other than a member who has been convicted or accused of committing an act of child abuse; and

(9) the term regional childrens advocacy program means the childrens advocacy program established under section 13001b (a) of this title.

42 USC 13001b - Regional childrens advocacy centers

(a) Establishment of regional children’s advocacy program
The Administrator, in coordination with the Director and with the Director of the Office of Victims of Crime, shall establish a childrens advocacy program to

(1) focus attention on child victims by assisting communities in developing child-focused, community-oriented, facility-based programs designed to improve the resources available to children and families;

(2) provide support for nonoffending family members;

(3) enhance coordination among community agencies and professionals involved in the intervention, prevention, prosecution, and investigation systems that respond to child abuse cases; and

(4) train physicians and other health care and mental health care professionals in the multidisciplinary approach to child abuse so that trained medical personnel will be available to provide medical support to community agencies and professionals involved in the intervention, prevention, prosecution, and investigation systems that respond to child abuse cases.

(b) Activities of regional children’s advocacy program

(1) Administrator
The Administrator, in coordination with the Director, shall

(A) establish regional childrens advocacy program centers;

(B) fund existing regional centers with expertise in the prevention, judicial handling, and treatment of child abuse and neglect; and

(C) fund the establishment of freestanding facilities in multidisciplinary programs within communities that have yet to establish such facilities,

for the purpose of enabling grant recipients to provide information, services, and technical assistance to aid communities in establishing multidisciplinary programs that respond to child abuse.

(2) Grant recipients
A grant recipient under this section shall

(A) assist communities

(i) in developing a comprehensive, multidisciplinary response to child abuse that is designed to meet the needs of child victims and their families;

(ii) in establishing a freestanding facility where interviews of and services for abused children can be provided;

(iii) in preventing or reducing trauma to children caused by multiple contacts with community professionals;

(iv) in providing families with needed services and assisting them in regaining maximum functioning;

(v) in maintaining open communication and case coordination among community professionals and agencies involved in child protection efforts;

(vi) in coordinating and tracking investigative, preventive, prosecutorial, and treatment efforts;

(vii) in obtaining information useful for criminal and civil proceedings;

(viii) in holding offenders accountable through improved prosecution of child abuse cases;

(ix) in enhancing professional skills necessary to effectively respond to cases of child abuse through training; and

(x) in enhancing community understanding of child abuse; and

(B) provide training and technical assistance to local childrens advocacy centers in its census region that are grant recipients under section 13002 of this title.

(1) Solicitation of proposals
Not later than 1 year after November 4, 1992, the Administrator shall solicit proposals for assistance under this section.

(2) Minimum qualifications
In order for a proposal to be selected, the Administrator may require an applicant to have in existence, at the time the proposal is submitted, 1 or more of the following:

(A) A proven record in conducting activities of the kinds described in subsection (c) of this section.

(B) A facility where children who are victims of sexual or physical abuse and their nonoffending family members can go for the purpose of evaluation, intervention, evidence gathering, and counseling.

(D) Experience in serving as a center for training and education and as a resource facility.

(E) National expertise in providing technical assistance to communities with respect to the judicial handling of child abuse and neglect.

(3) Proposal requirements

(A) In general
A proposal submitted in response to the solicitation under paragraph (1) shall

(i) include a single or multiyear management plan that outlines how the applicant will provide information, services, and technical assistance to communities so that communities can establish multidisciplinary programs that respond to child abuse;

(ii) demonstrate the ability of the applicant to operate successfully a multidisciplinary child abuse program or provide training to allow others to do so; and

(iii) state the annual cost of the proposal and a breakdown of those costs.

(B) Content of management plan
A management plan described in paragraph (3)(A) shall

(i) outline the basic activities expected to be performed;

(ii) describe the entities that will conduct the basic activities;

(iii) establish the period of time over which the basic activities will take place; and

(iv) define the overall program management and direction by

(I) identifying managerial, organizational, and administrative procedures and responsibilities;

(II) demonstrating how implementation and monitoring of the progress of the childrens advocacy program after receipt of funding will be achieved; and

(III) providing sufficient rationale to support the costs of the plan.

(4) Selection of proposals

(A) Competitive basis
Proposals shall be selected under this section on a competitive basis.

(B) Criteria
The Administrator, in coordination with the Director, shall select proposals for funding that

(i) best result in developing and establishing multidisciplinary programs that respond to child abuse by assisting, training, and teaching community agencies and professionals called upon to respond to child abuse cases;

(ii) assist in resolving problems that may occur during the development, operation, and implementation of a multidisciplinary program that responds to child abuse;

(iii) carry out the objectives developed by the board under subsection (e)(2)(A) of this section;

(iv) to the greatest extent possible and subject to available appropriations, ensure that at least 1 applicant is selected from each of the 4 census regions of the country; and

(v) otherwise best carry out the purposes of this section.

(5) Funding of program
From amounts made available in separate appropriation Acts, the Administrator shall provide to each grant recipient the financial and technical assistance and other incentives that are necessary and appropriate to carry out this section.

(6) Coordination of effort
In order to carry out activities that are in the best interests of abused and neglected children, a grant recipient shall consult with other grant recipients on a regular basis to exchange ideas, share information, and review childrens advocacy program activities.

(d) Review

(1) Evaluation of regional children’s advocacy program activities
The Administrator, in coordination with the Director, shall regularly monitor and evaluate the activities of grant recipients and shall determine whether each grant recipient has complied with the original proposal and any modifications.

(2) Annual report
A grant recipient shall provide an annual report to the Administrator and the Director that

(A) describes the progress made in satisfying the purpose of the childrens advocacy program; and

(B) states whether changes are needed and are being made to carry out the purpose of the childrens advocacy program.

(3) Discontinuation of funding

(A) Failure to implement program activities
If a grant recipient under this section substantially fails in the implementation of the program activities, the Administrator shall not discontinue funding until reasonable notice and an opportunity for reconsideration is given.

(B) Solicitation of new proposals
Upon discontinuation of funding of a grant recipient under this section, the Administrator shall solicit new proposals in accordance with subsection (c) of this section.

(e) Children’s advocacy advisory board

(1) Establishment of board

(A) In general
Not later than 120 days after November 4, 1992, the Administrator and the Director, after consulting with representatives of community agencies that respond to child abuse cases, shall establish a childrens advocacy advisory board to provide guidance and oversight in implementing the selection criteria and operation of the regional childrens advocacy program.

(B) Membership

(i) The board

(I) shall be composed of 12 members who are selected by the Administrator, in coordination with the Director, a majority of whom shall be individuals experienced in the child abuse investigation, prosecution, prevention, and intervention systems;

(II) shall include at least 1 member from each of the 4 census regions; and

(III) shall have members appointed for a term not to exceed 3 years.

(ii) Members of the board may be reappointed for successive terms.

(2) Review and recommendations

(A) Objectives
Not later than 180 days after November 4, 1992, and annually thereafter, the board shall develop and submit to the Administrator and the Director objectives for the implementation of the childrens advocacy program activities described in subsection (b) of this section.

(B) Review
The board shall annually

(i) review the solicitation and selection of childrens advocacy program proposals and make recommendations concerning how each such activity can be altered so as to better achieve the purposes of this section; and

(ii) review the program activities and management plan of each grant recipient and report its findings and recommendations to the Administrator and the Director.

(3) Rules and regulations
The board shall promulgate such rules and regulations as it deems necessary to carry out its duties under this section.

(f) Reporting
The Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to Congress, by March 1 of each year, a detailed review of the progress of the regional childrens advocacy program activities.

42 USC 13002 - Local childrens advocacy centers

(a) In general
The Administrator, in coordination with the Director and with the Director of the Office of Victims of Crime, shall make grants to develop and implement multidisciplinary child abuse investigation and prosecution programs.

(b) Grant criteria

(1) The Director shall establish the criteria to be used in evaluating applications for grants under this section consistent with sections 5673 and 5676 of this title.

(2) In general, the grant criteria established pursuant to paragraph (1) may require that a program include any of the following elements:

(A) A written agreement between local law enforcement, social service, health, and other related agencies to coordinate child abuse investigation, prosecution, treatment, and counseling services.

(B) An appropriate site for referring, interviewing, treating, and counseling child victims of sexual and serious physical abuse and neglect and nonoffending family members (referred to as the counseling center).

(C) Referral of all sexual and serious physical abuse and neglect cases to the counseling center not later than 24 hours after notification of an incident of abuse.

(D) Joint initial investigative interviews of child victims by personnel from law enforcement, health, and social service agencies.

(E) A requirement that, to the extent practicable, the same agency representative who conducts an initial interview conduct all subsequent interviews.

(F) A requirement that, to the extent practicable, all interviews and meetings with a child victim occur at the counseling center.

(G) Coordination of each step of the investigation process to minimize the number of interviews that a child victim must attend.

(H) Designation of a director for the multidisciplinary program.

(I) Assignment of a volunteer or staff advocate to each child in order to assist the child and, when appropriate, the childs family, throughout each step of judicial proceedings.

(J) Such other criteria as the Director shall establish by regulation.

(c) Distribution of grants
In awarding grants under this section, the Director shall ensure that grants are distributed to both large and small States and to rural, suburban, and urban jurisdictions.

(d) Consultation with regional children’s advocacy centers
A grant recipient under this section shall consult from time to time with regional childrens advocacy centers in its census region that are grant recipients under section 13001b of this title.

42 USC 13003 - Grants for specialized technical assistance and training programs

(a) In general
The Administrator shall make grants to national organizations to provide technical assistance and training to attorneys and others instrumental to the criminal prosecution of child abuse cases in State or Federal courts, for the purpose of improving the quality of criminal prosecution of such cases.

(b) Grantee organizations
An organization to which a grant is made pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be one that has, or is affiliated with one that has, broad membership among attorneys who prosecute criminal cases in State courts and has demonstrated experience in providing training and technical assistance for prosecutors.

(1) The Administrator shall establish the criteria to be used for evaluating applications for grants under this section, consistent with sections 5673 and 5676 of this title.

(2) The grant criteria established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall require that a program provide training and technical assistance that includes information regarding improved child interview techniques, thorough investigative methods, interagency coordination and effective presentation of evidence in court, including the use of alternative courtroom procedures described in this title.^[1]

[1] See References in Text note below.

42 USC 13004 - Authorization of appropriations

(a) Sections 13001b and 13002
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out sections 13001b and 13002 of this title, $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 and 2005.

(b) Section 13003
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 13003 of this title, $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 and 2005.