117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4926 

AN ACT 

To amend chapter 33 of title 28, United States Code, to 

require appropriate use of multidisciplinary teams for 

investigations of child sexual exploitation or abuse, the 

production of child sexual abuse material, or child trafficking conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Respect for Child Sur5 vivors Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS. 

7 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 33 of title 28, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘§ 540D. Multidisciplinary teams 

11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

12 ‘‘(1) the term ‘child sexual abuse material’ 

13 means a visual depiction described in section 

14 2256(8)(A) of title 18; 

15 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered investigation’ means any 

16 investigation of child sexual exploitation or abuse, 

17 the production of child sexual abuse material, or 

18 child trafficking conducted by the Federal Bureau of 

19 Investigation; 

20 ‘‘(3) the term ‘Director’ means the Director of 

21 the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 

22 ‘‘(4) the term ‘multidisciplinary team’ means a 

23 multidisciplinary team established or used under 

24 subsection (b)(2); 
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1 ‘‘(5) the term ‘relevant children’s advocacy cen2 ter personnel’ means children’s advocacy center staff 

3 that regularly participate in multidisciplinary child 

4 support settings, including the director of the chil5 dren’s advocacy center, the coordinator of a multi6 disciplinary team, forensic interviewers, victim advo7 cates, forensic medical evaluators, physicians, sexual 

8 assault nurse examiners, and mental health clini9 cians; and 

10 ‘‘(6) the term ‘victim advocate’ means a person, 

11 whether paid or serving as a volunteer, who provides 

12 services to victims under the auspices or supervision 

13 of a victim services program. 

14 ‘‘(b) FBI VICTIM SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the functions 

16 described in subsection (c) in connection with each 

17 covered investigation conducted by the Federal Bu18 reau of Investigation, the Director shall, unless un19 available or otherwise inconsistent with applicable 

20 Federal law— 

21 ‘‘(A) use a multidisciplinary team; and 

22 ‘‘(B) in accordance with paragraph (3), 

23 use— 
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1 ‘‘(i) a trained Federal Bureau of In2 vestigation child adolescent forensic inter3 viewer; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) in the absence of a trained Fed5 eral Bureau of Investigation child adoles6 cent forensic interviewer, a trained forensic 

7 interviewer at a children’s advocacy center. 

8 ‘‘(2) USE AND COORDINATION.—The Director 

9 shall use and coordinate with children’s advocacy 

10 center-based multidisciplinary teams as necessary to 

11 carry out paragraph (1). 

12 ‘‘(3) CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY CENTERS.—The 

13 Director— 

14 ‘‘(A) may work with children’s advocacy 

15 centers to implement a multidisciplinary team 

16 approaches for purposes of covered investiga17 tions; and 

18 ‘‘(B) shall allow, facilitate, and encourage 

19 multidisciplinary teams to collaborate with a 

20 children’s advocacy center with regard to avail21 ability, provision, and use of services to and by 

22 victims and families that are participants in or 

23 affected by the actions at issue in a covered in24 vestigation. 
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1 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—The Director shall submit to 

2 the Attorney General an annual report identifying 

3 any interview of a victim reporting child sexual 

4 abuse material or child trafficking that took place— 

5 ‘‘(A) without the use of— 

6 ‘‘(i) a multidisciplinary approach; 

7 ‘‘(ii) a trained forensic interviewer; or 

8 ‘‘(iii) either the use of a multidisci9 plinary approach or a trained forensic 

10 interviewer; and 

11 ‘‘(B) for each interview identified under 

12 subparagraph (A), describing the exigent cir13 cumstances that existed with respect to the 

14 interview, in accordance with paragraph (1). 

15 ‘‘(5) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.—The 

16 Director shall seek to enter into a memorandum of 

17 understanding with a reputable national accrediting 

18 organization for children’s advocacy centers— 

19 ‘‘(A) under which— 

20 ‘‘(i) the children’s advocacy services of 

21 the national organization are made avail22 able to field offices of the Federal Bureau 

23 of Investigation in the United States; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) special agents and other employ25 ees of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
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1 are made aware of the existence of such 

2 memoranda and its purposes; and 

3 ‘‘(B) which shall reflect a trauma-in4 formed, victim-centered approach and provide 

5 for case review. 

6 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—The functions described in this 

7 subsection are the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) To provide for the sharing of information 

9 among the members of a multidisciplinary team, 

10 when such a team is used, and with other appro11 priate personnel regarding the progress of a covered 

12 investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

13 ‘‘(2) To provide for and enhance collaborative 

14 efforts among the members of a multidisciplinary 

15 team, when such a team is used, and other appro16 priate personnel regarding a covered investigation. 

17 ‘‘(3) To enhance the social services available to 

18 victims in connection with a covered investigation, 

19 including through the enhancement of cooperation 

20 among specialists and other personnel providing 

21 such services in connection with a covered investiga22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(4) To carry out other duties regarding the re24 sponse to investigations of child sexual abuse or 

25 trafficking. 
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1 ‘‘(d) PERSONNEL.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each multidisciplinary 

3 team shall be composed of the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) Appropriate investigative personnel. 

5 ‘‘(B) Appropriate mental health profes6 sionals. 

7 ‘‘(C) Appropriate medical personnel. 

8 ‘‘(D) Victim advocates or victim specialists. 

9 ‘‘(E) Relevant children’s advocacy center 

10 personnel, with respect to covered investigations 

11 in which the children’s advocacy center or per12 sonnel of the children’s advocacy center were 

13 used in the course of the covered investigation. 

14 ‘‘(F) Prosecutors, as appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(2) EXPERTISE AND TRAINING.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any individual as17 signed to a multidisciplinary team shall possess 

18 such expertise, and shall undertake such train19 ing as is required to maintain such expertise, in 

20 order to ensure that members of the team re21 main appropriately qualified to carry out the 

22 functions of the team under this section. 

23 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—The training and 

24 expertise required under subparagraph (A) shall 
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1 include training and expertise on special vic2 tims’ crimes, including child sexual abuse. 

3 ‘‘(e) SHARING OF INFORMATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara6 graphs (B) and (C), relevant children’s advo7 cacy center personnel who are assigned to work 

8 on a covered investigation under this section 

9 shall be granted access to the case information 

10 necessary to perform their role conducting fo11 rensic interviews and providing mental health 

12 treatment, medical care, and victim advocacy 

13 for Federal Bureau of Investigation cases. 

14 ‘‘(B) INCLUDED INFORMATION.—The case 

15 information described in subparagraph (A) to 

16 which relevant children’s advocacy center per17 sonnel shall be granted access includes— 

18 ‘‘(i) case outcome of forensic inter19 views; 

20 ‘‘(ii) medical evaluation outcomes; 

21 ‘‘(iii) mental health treatment refer22 rals and treatment completion; 

23 ‘‘(iv) safety planning and child protec24 tion issues; 
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1 ‘‘(v) victim service needs and referrals 

2 addressed by the victim advocate; 

3 ‘‘(vi) case disposition; 

4 ‘‘(vii) case outcomes; and 

5 ‘‘(viii) any other information required 

6 for a children’s advocacy centers as a part 

7 of the standards of practice of the chil8 dren’s advocacy center; and 

9 ‘‘(C) EXEMPT INFORMATION.—The case 

10 information described in subparagraph (A) does 

11 not include— 

12 ‘‘(i) classified information; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the identity of confidential in14 formants; or 

15 ‘‘(iii) other investigative information 

16 not included as a part of the standards of 

17 practice of the children’s advocacy center. 

18 ‘‘(2) SHARING INFORMATION WITH FBI.—Chil19 dren’s advocacy centers shall provide the Federal 

20 Bureau of Investigation with forensic interview re21 cordings and documentation, medical reports, and 

22 other case information on Federal Bureau of Inves23 tigation-related cases. 

24 ‘‘(3) SECURITY CLEARANCES.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Bureau 

2 of Investigation may provide security clearances 

3 to relevant children’s advocacy center personnel 

4 for purposes of case review by multidisciplinary 

5 teams, if it is determined that those personnel 

6 are eligible and possess a need-to-know specific 

7 classified information to perform or assist in a 

8 lawful and authorized government function. 

9 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA10 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

11 such sums as are necessary to carry out sub12 paragraph (A). 

13 ‘‘(f) USE OF TEAMS.—Multidisciplinary teams used 

14 under this section shall be made available to victims re15 porting child sexual abuse or child trafficking in covered 

16 investigations, regardless of the age of the victim making 

17 the report. 

18 ‘‘(g) CASE REVIEW BY MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM.— 

19 Throughout a covered investigation, a multidisciplinary 

20 team supporting an investigation under this section shall, 

21 at regularly scheduled times, convene to— 

22 ‘‘(1) share information about case progress; 

23 ‘‘(2) address any investigative or prosecutorial 

24 barriers; and 
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1 ‘‘(3) ensure that victims receive support and 

2 needed treatment. 

3 ‘‘(h) AVAILABILITY OF ADVOCATES.—The Director 

4 shall make advocates available to each victim who reports 

5 child sexual abuse or child trafficking in connection with 

6 an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

7 ‘‘(i) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY.—Nothing in 

9 this section shall be construed to augment any exist10 ing investigative authority of the Federal Bureau of 

11 Investigation or to expand the jurisdiction of any 

12 Federal law enforcement agency. 

13 ‘‘(2) PROTECTING INVESTIGATIONS.—Nothing 

14 in this section shall be construed to limit the legal 

15 obligations of the Director under any other provision 

16 of law, including section 552a of title 5 (commonly 

17 known as the ‘Privacy Act of 1974’), or require the 

18 sharing of classified information with unauthorized 

19 persons.’’. 

20 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

21 The table of sections for chapter 33 of title 28, United 

22 States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relat23 ing to section 540C the following: 

‘‘540D. Multidisciplinary teams.’’. 
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1 SEC. 3. IMPROVING INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF 

2 CHILD ABUSE CASES. 

3 The Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 

4 20301 et seq.) is amended— 

5 (1) in section 211 (34 U.S.C. 20301)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

7 (i) by striking ‘‘3,300,000’’ and in8 serting ‘‘3,400,000’’; and 

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘, and drug abuse is 

10 associated with a significant portion of 

11 these’’; 

12 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) 

13 through (8) as paragraphs (4) through (9), re14 spectively; 

15 (C) by inserting afer paragraph (2) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(3) a key to a child victim healing from abuse 

18 is access to supportive and healthy families and com19 munities;’’; and 

20 (D) in paragraph (9)(B), as so redesig21 nated, by inserting ‘‘, and operations of cen22 ters’’ before the period at the end; 

23 (2) in section 212 (34 U.S.C. 20302)— 

24 (A) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘coordi25 nated team’’ before ‘‘response’’; and 
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1 (B) in paragraph (8), by inserting ‘‘organi2 zational capacity’’ before ‘‘support’’; 

3 (3) in section 213 (34 U.S.C. 20303)— 

4 (A) in subsection (a)— 

5 (i) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘AND

6 MAINTENANCE’’ after ‘‘ESTABLISHMENT’’; 

7 (ii) in the matter preceding paragraph 

8 (1)— 

9 (I) by striking ‘‘, in coordination 

10 with the Director of the Office of Vic11 tims of Crime,’’; and 

12 (II) by inserting ‘‘and maintain’’ 

13 after ‘‘establish’’; 

14 (iii) in paragraph (3)— 

15 (I) by striking ‘‘and victim advo16 cates’’ and inserting ‘‘victim advo17 cates, multidisciplinary team leader18 ship, and children’s advocacy center 

19 staff’’; and 

20 (II) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

21 (iv) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

22 paragraph (5); 

23 (v) by inserting after paragraph (3) 

24 the following: 
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1 ‘‘(4) provide technical assistance, training, co2 ordination, and organizational capacity support for 

3 State chapters; and’’; and 

4 (vi) in paragraph (5), as so redesig5 nated, by striking ‘‘and oversight to’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘organizational capacity support, 

7 and oversight of’’; 

8 (B) in subsection (b)— 

9 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (I) in subparagraph (A), by in11 serting ‘‘and maintain’’ after ‘‘estab12 lish’’; and 

13 (II) in the matter following sub14 paragraph (B), by striking ‘‘and tech15 nical assistance to aid communities in 

16 establishing’’ and inserting ‘‘training 

17 and technical assistance to aid com18 munities in establishing and maintain19 ing’’; and 

20 (ii) in paragraph (2)— 

21 (I) in subparagraph (A)— 

22 (aa) in clause (ii), by insert23 ing ‘‘Center’’ after ‘‘Advocacy’’; 

24 and 
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1 (bb) in clause (iii), by strik2 ing ‘‘of, assessment of, and inter3 vention in’’ and inserting ‘‘and 

4 intervention in child’’; and 

5 (II) in subparagraph (B), by 

6 striking ‘‘centers and interested com7 munities’’ and inserting ‘‘centers, in8 terested communities, and chapters’’; 

9 and 

10 (C) in subsection (c)— 

11 (i) in paragraph (2)— 

12 (I) in subparagraph (B), by 

13 striking ‘‘evaluation, intervention, evi14 dence gathering, and counseling’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘investigation and interven16 tion in child abuse’’; and 

17 (II) in subparagraph (E), by 

18 striking ‘‘judicial handling of child 

19 abuse and neglect’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘multidisciplinary response to child 

21 abuse’’; 

22 (ii) in paragraph (3)(A)(i), by striking 

23 ‘‘so that communities can establish multi24 disciplinary programs that respond to child 

25 abuse’’ and inserting ‘‘and chapters so that 
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1 communities can establish and maintain 

2 multidisciplinary programs that respond to 

3 child abuse and chapters can establish and 

4 maintain children’s advocacy centers in 

5 their State’’; 

6 (iii) in paragraph (4)(B)— 

7 (I) in clause (iii), by striking 

8 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

9 (II) in by redesignating clause 

10 (iv) as clause (v); and 

11 (III) by inserting after clause 

12 (iii) the following: 

13 ‘‘(iv) best result in supporting chap14 ters in each State; and’’; and 

15 (iv) in paragraph (6), by inserting 

16 ‘‘under this Act’’ after ‘‘recipients’’; 

17 (4) in section 214 (34 U.S.C. 20304)— 

18 (A) by striking subsection (a) and insert19 ing the following: 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall make 

21 grants to— 

22 ‘‘(1) establish and maintain a network of care 

23 for child abuse victims where investigation, prosecu24 tions, and interventions are continually occurring 
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1 and coordinating activities within local children’s ad2 vocacy centers and multidisciplinary teams; 

3 ‘‘(2) develop, enhance, and coordinate multi4 disciplinary child abuse investigations, intervention, 

5 and prosecution activities; 

6 ‘‘(3) promote the effective delivery of the evi7 dence-based, trauma-informed Children’s Advocacy 

8 Center Model and the multidisciplinary response to 

9 child abuse; and 

10 ‘‘(4) develop and disseminate practice standards 

11 for care and best practices in programmatic evalua12 tion, and support State chapter organizational ca13 pacity and local children’s advocacy center organiza14 tional capacity and operations in order to meet such 

15 practice standards and best practices.’’; 

16 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘, in co17 ordination with the Director of the Office of 

18 Victims of Crime,’’; 

19 (C) in subsection (c)(2)— 

20 (i) in subparagraph (C), by inserting 

21 ‘‘to the greatest extent practicable, but in 

22 no case later than 72 hours,’’ after 

23 ‘‘hours’’; and 

24 (ii) by striking subparagraphs (D) 

25 through (I) and inserting the following: 
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1 ‘‘(D) Forensic interviews of child victims 

2 by trained personnel that are used by law en3 forcement, health, and child protective service 

4 agencies to interview suspected abuse victims 

5 about allegations of abuse. 

6 ‘‘(E) Provision of needed follow up services 

7 such as medical care, mental healthcare, and 

8 victims advocacy services. 

9 ‘‘(F) A requirement that, to the extent 

10 practicable, all interviews and meetings with a 

11 child victim occur at the children’s advocacy 

12 center or an agency with which there is a link13 age agreement regarding the delivery of multi14 disciplinary child abuse investigation, prosecu15 tion, and intervention services. 

16 ‘‘(G) Coordination of each step of the in17 vestigation process to eliminate duplicative fo18 rensic interviews with a child victim. 

19 ‘‘(H) Designation of a director for the chil20 dren’s advocacy center. 

21 ‘‘(I) Designation of a multidisciplinary 

22 team coordinator. 

23 ‘‘(J) Assignment of a volunteer or staff ad24 vocate to each child in order to assist the child 

25 and, when appropriate, the child’s family, 
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1 throughout each step of intervention and judi2 cial proceedings. 

3 ‘‘(K) Coordination with State chapters to 

4 assist and provide oversight, and organizational 

5 capacity that supports local children’s advocacy 

6 centers, multidisciplinary teams, and commu7 nities working to implement a multidisciplinary 

8 response to child abuse in the provision of evi9 dence-informed initiatives, including mental 

10 health counseling, forensic interviewing, multi11 disciplinary team coordination, and victim advo12 cacy. 

13 ‘‘(L) Such other criteria as the Adminis14 trator shall establish by regulation.’’; and 

15 (D) by striking subsection (f) and inserting 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(f) GRANTS TO STATE CHAPTERS FOR ASSISTANCE

18 TO LOCAL CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY CENTERS.—In award19 ing grants under this section, the Administrator shall en20 sure that a portion of the grants is distributed to State 

21 chapters to enable State chapters to provide oversight, 

22 training, and technical assistance to local centers on evi23 dence-informed initiatives including mental health, coun24 seling, forensic interviewing, multidisciplinary team co25 ordination, and victim advocacy.’’; 
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1 (5) in section 214A (34 U.S.C. 20305)— 

2 (A) in subsection (a)— 

3 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘at4 torneys and other allied’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘prosecutors and other attorneys and al6 lied’’; and 

7 (ii) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting 

8 ‘‘Center’’ after ‘‘Advocacy’’; and 

9 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking sub10 paragraph (A) and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) a significant connection to prosecu12 tors who handle child abuse cases in State 

13 courts, such as a membership organization or 

14 support service providers; and’’; and 

15 (6) by striking 214B (34 U.S.C. 20306) and in16 serting the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 214B. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

19 sections 213, 214, and 214A, $40,000,000 for each of fis20 cal years 2022 through 2028.’’. 

Passed the Senate December 13, 2022. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4926 

AN ACT 

To amend chapter 33 of title 28, United States 

by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. ual abuse material, or child trafficking conducted exploitation or abuse, the production of child sexplinary teams for investigations of child sexual Code, to require appropriate use of multidisci-