PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Congress says there are over 3,400,000 reports of suspected child abuse and neglect each year. Investigations and prosecutions are very complex and involve many agencies and people. Children heal best when they have supportive families and communities, but the system often misses the child’s needs and makes trauma worse. Programs that bring different agencies together help more cases get reported, reduce harm to children, improve outcomes, and increase successful prosecutions. State chapters of children’s advocacy center networks are needed to help communities coordinate services and to provide oversight, training, and technical help for evidence-informed programs and centers.

Title 34, §20301

Navy, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The Congress finds that—

(1)over 3,400,000 reports of suspected child abuse and neglect are made each year;

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

(3)a key to a child victim healing from abuse is access to supportive and healthy families and communities;

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

(5)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;

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

(7)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, improve positive outcomes for the child, and increase the successful prosecution of child abuse offenders;

(8)such programs have proven effective, and with targeted Federal assistance, have expanded dramatically throughout the United States; and

(9)State chapters of children’s advocacy center networks are needed to—

(A)assist local communities in coordinating their multidisciplinary child abuse investigation, prosecution, and intervention services; and

(B)provide oversight of, and training and technical assistance in, the effective delivery of evidence-informed programming, and operations of centers.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was formerly classified to section 13001 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Amendments

2023—Par. (1). Pub. L. 117–354, § 3(1)(A), substituted “3,400,000” for “3,300,000” and struck out “, and drug abuse is associated with a significant portion of these” after “year”. Pars. (3) to (9). Pub. L. 117–354, § 3(1)(B), (C), added par. (3) and redesignated former pars. (3) to (8) as (4) to (9), respectively. Par. (9)(B). Pub. L. 117–354, § 3(1)(D), inserted “, and operations of centers” after “programming”. 2019—Par. (1). Pub. L. 115–424, § 2(a)(1), substituted “3,300,000” for “2,000,000”. Par. (6). Pub. L. 115–424, § 2(a)(2), inserted “improve positive outcomes for the child,” before “and increase” and substituted semicolon for “; and” at end. Par. (7). Pub. L. 115–424, § 2(a)(3), substituted “have expanded dramatically throughout the United States; and” for “could be duplicated in many jurisdictions throughout the country.” Par. (8). Pub. L. 115–424, § 2(a)(4), added par. (8). 1992—Pars. (3) to (7). Pub. L. 102–586 added pars. (3) and (5) and redesignated former pars. (3), (4), and (5) as (4), (6), and (7), respectively.

§20301 Findings

Summary

Title 34, §20301

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Citations & Metadata