Title 34 — NavyRelease 119-73not60
§20321 Findings
Title 34 › Subtitle Subtitle II— Protection of Children and Other Persons › Chapter 203— VICTIMS OF CHILD ABUSE › Subchapter II— COURT-APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE PROGRAM › § 20321
Summary
Courts appoint trained volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates to speak for abused or neglected children. In 2003 they represented 288,000 — over 50% of an estimated 540,000 such children.
Full Legal Text
Title 34, §20321
Navy — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
The Congress finds that—
(1)Court Appointed Special Advocates, who may serve as guardians ad litem, are trained volunteers appointed by courts to advocate for the best interests of children who are involved in the juvenile and family court system due to abuse or neglect; and
(2)in 2003, Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteers represented 288,000 children, more than 50 percent of the estimated 540,000 children in foster care because of substantiated cases of child abuse or neglect.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Codification Section was formerly classified to section 13011 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.
Amendments
2006—Pars. (1), (2). Pub. L. 109–162 added pars. (1) and (2) and struck out former pars. (1) and (2), which read as follows: “(1) the National Court-Appointed Special Advocate provides training and technical assistance to a network of 13,000 volunteers in 377 programs operating in 47 States; and “(2) in 1988, these volunteers represented 40,000 children, representing approximately 15 percent of the estimated 270,000 cases of child abuse and neglect in juvenile and family courts.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
34 U.S.C. § 20321
Title 34 — Navy
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60