I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1362

To provide enhanced Federal enforcement and assistance in preventing and 

prosecuting crimes of violence against children. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 19, 2003

Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees 

on Education and the Workforce and Ways and Means, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL

To provide enhanced Federal enforcement and assistance in 

preventing and prosecuting crimes of violence against 

children.

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 ‘‘Violence Against Chil5 dren Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 
2

•HR 1362 IH 

1 (1) People under the age of 18 make up ap2 proximately 12 percent of all crime victims known to 

3 police, including 71 percent of all sex crime victims 

4 and 38 percent of all kidnaping victims. 

5 (2) People from the ages of 12 through 17 are 

6 over 2 times more likely to be victims of violent 

7 crime than adults. 

8 (3) It has been estimated that only 28 percent 

9 of crimes against children are actually reported. 

10 (4) Some 1,200 children die as a result of 

11 abuse each year, and approximately 879,000 chil12 dren are victims of abuse. 

13 (5) Child abuse has long-lasting negative effects 

14 upon children and families, including delayed devel15 opment, depression, substance abuse, and increased 

16 likelihood of experiencing or perpetrating domestic 

17 violence as an adult. 

18 (6) Most local agencies lack adequate resources 

19 to protect and serve the needs of children and fami20 lies that are brought to their attention. 

21 (7) Failure to pay child support is in itself a 

22 form of neglect, as children who do not receive fi23 nancial support are more likely to live in poverty, 

24 and are therefore more likely to suffer from inad-
3

•HR 1362 IH 

1 equate education, a lack of quality health care, and 

2 a lack of affordable housing. 

3 TITLE I—ENHANCED FEDERAL 

4 ROLE IN CRIMES AGAINST 

5 CHILDREN 

6 SEC. 101. ENHANCED PENALTIES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 110 of title 18, United 

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

10 ‘‘§ 2260A. Violence against children 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever, whether or not acting 

12 under color of law, in any circumstance described in sub13 section (b), by force or threat of force willfully injures or 

14 attempts to injure any person under 18 years of age—

15 ‘‘(1) shall be imprisoned for not more than 10 

16 years and fined in accordance with this title; and 

17 ‘‘(2) shall be imprisoned for any term of years 

18 or for life, and fined in accordance with this title 

19 if—

20 ‘‘(A) death results from the offense; or 

21 ‘‘(B) the offense includes kidnaping or an 

22 attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or 

23 an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, 

24 or an attempt to kill. 
4

•HR 1362 IH 

1 ‘‘(b) CIRCUMSTANCES.—For purposes of subsection 

2 (a), the circumstances described in this subsection are 

3 that—

4 ‘‘(1) the conduct described in subsection (a) oc5 curs during the course of, or as the result of, the 

6 travel of the defendant or the victim—

7 ‘‘(A) across a State line or national border; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(B) using a channel, facility, or instru10 mentality of interstate or foreign commerce; or 

11 ‘‘(2) in connection with the conduct described in 

12 subsection (a), the defendant employs a firearm, ex13 plosive or incendiary device, or other weapon that 

14 has traveled in interstate or foreign commerce.’’. 

15 (b) AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER ANALYSIS.—The 

16 chapter analysis for chapter 110 of title 18, United States 

17 Code, is amended by inserting at the end the following:

‘‘2260A. Violence against children.’’.

18 (c) ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR EXISTING CRIMES

19 WHEN COMMITTED AGAINST CHILDREN.—Pursuant to 

20 its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United 

21 States Code, and in accordance with this Act and its pur22 poses, the United States Sentencing Commission shall re23 view and amend its guidelines and its policy statements 

24 to provide enhanced penalties when the victim of a Federal 

25 crime is under the age of 18.
5

•HR 1362 IH 

1 (d) GAO REVIEW OF STATE LAWS.—Not later than 

2 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

3 Comptroller General of the United States shall—

4 (1) review the statutory penalties for crimes 

5 against children under State laws and the sentencing 

6 practices of the States with respect to those crimes, 

7 including whether a State provides enhanced pen8 alties when the victim of the crime is a child; and 

9 (2) report the findings of the review to Con10 gress. 

11 SEC. 102. ENHANCED ASSISTANCE FOR CRIMINAL INVES12 TIGATIONS AND PROSECUTIONS BY STATE 

13 AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—At the request of a State, Indian 

15 tribal government, or unit of local government, the Attor16 ney General shall provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, 

17 or any other form of assistance in the criminal investiga18 tion or prosecution of any crime that—

19 (1) constitutes a crime of violence (as defined 

20 in section 16 of title 18, United States Code); 

21 (2) constitutes a felony under the laws of the 

22 State or Indian tribe; and 

23 (3) is committed against a person under 18 

24 years of age. 
6

•HR 1362 IH 

1 (b) PRIORITY.—If the Attorney General determines 

2 that there are insufficient resources to fulfill requests 

3 made pursuant to subsection (a), the Attorney General 

4 shall give priority to requests for assistance to—

5 (1) crimes committed by, or believed to be com6 mitted by, offenders who have committed crimes in 

7 more than 1 State; and 

8 (2) rural jurisdictions that have difficulty cov9 ering the extraordinary expenses relating to the in10 vestigation or prosecution of the crime. 

11 TITLE II—GRANT PROGRAMS 

12 SEC. 201. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO STATE AND LOCAL LAW 

13 ENFORCEMENT. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall award 

15 grants to assist States, Indian tribal governments, and 

16 units of local government to develop and strengthen effec17 tive law enforcement and prosecution of crimes against 

18 children. 

19 (b) PURPOSES.—Grants provided under this section 

20 shall provide personnel, training, technical assistance, 

21 data collection, and other equipment for the more wide22 spread apprehension, prosecution, and adjudication of per23 sons committing crimes against children, and specifically, 

24 for the purposes of—
7

•HR 1362 IH 

1 (1) training law enforcement officers, prosecu2 tors, judges, and other court personnel to more ef3 fectively identify and respond to crimes against chil4 dren; 

5 (2) developing, training, or expanding units of 

6 law enforcement officers, prosecutors, or courts spe7 cifically targeting crimes against children; 

8 (3) developing and implementing more effective 

9 police and prosecution policies, protocols, orders, and 

10 services specifically devoted to preventing, identi11 fying, and responding to crimes against children; 

12 (4) developing, installing, or expanding data 

13 collection and communication systems, including 

14 computerized systems, linking police, prosecutors, 

15 and courts for the purpose of identifying and track16 ing arrests, prosecutions, and convictions for crimes 

17 against children; 

18 (5) encouraging, developing, and strengthening 

19 programs, procedures, and policies that enhance 

20 cross-collaboration and cross-communication between 

21 law enforcement and child services agencies regard22 ing the care, treatment, and services for child vic23 tims; and 
8

•HR 1362 IH 

1 (6) developing, enlarging, or strengthening pro2 grams addressing the needs and circumstances of 

3 Indian tribes in dealing with crimes against children. 

4 (c) APPLICATION.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State, Indian tribal 

6 government, or unit of local government that desires 

7 a grant under this section shall submit an applica8 tion to the Attorney General at such time, in such 

9 manner, and accompanied by or containing such in10 formation as the Attorney General shall reasonably 

11 require. 

12 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—A State, Indian tribal 

13 government, or unit of local government applying for 

14 a grant under this section shall—

15 (A) describe—

16 (i) the purposes for which the grant is 

17 needed; 

18 (ii) the intended use of the grant 

19 funds; and 

20 (iii) the expected results from the use 

21 of grant funds; 

22 (B) demonstrate that, in developing a plan 

23 to implement the grant, the State, Indian tribal 

24 government, or unit of local government has 

25 consulted and coordinated with nonprofit, non-
9

•HR 1362 IH 

1 governmental victim services programs that 

2 have experience in providing services to victims 

3 of crimes against children; and 

4 (C) certify that—

5 (i) any Federal funds received under 

6 this section will be used to supplement, not 

7 supplant, non-Federal funds that would 

8 otherwise be available for activities funded 

9 under this section; and 

10 (ii) the State, the Indian tribal gov11 ernment, or the State in which the unit of 

12 local government is located is in compli13 ance with sections 301 and 302. 

14 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

15 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

16 $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 

17 2008. 

18 SEC. 202. EDUCATION, PREVENTION, AND VICTIMS’ ASSIST19 ANCE GRANTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall award 

21 grants to assist States, Indian tribal governments, units 

22 of local government, and nongovernmental organizations 

23 to provide education, prevention, intervention, and victims’ 

24 assistance services regarding crimes against children.
10

•HR 1362 IH 

1 (b) PURPOSES.—Grants provided under this section 

2 shall be used to provide education, prevention, and inter3 vention services to prevent crimes against children and to 

4 provide assistance to children, and the families of children, 

5 who are victims of crime, including—

6 (1) educational seminars; 

7 (2) the operation of hotlines; 

8 (3) training programs for professionals; 

9 (4) the preparation of informational materials; 

10 (5) intervention services to prevent crimes 

11 against children; 

12 (6) other efforts to increase awareness of the 

13 facts about, or to help prevent, crimes against chil14 dren, including efforts to increase awareness in un15 derserved racial, ethnic, and language minority com16 munities; 

17 (7) emergency medical treatment for victims; 

18 (8) counseling to victims of crimes against chil19 dren and their families; and 

20 (9) increasing the supply of mental health pro21 fessionals specializing in the mental health of victims 

22 of crimes against children. 

23 (c) APPLICATION.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State, Indian tribal 

25 government, unit of local government, or nongovern-
11

•HR 1362 IH 

1 mental organization that desires a grant under this 

2 section shall submit an application to the Attorney 

3 General at such time, in such manner, and accom4 panied by or containing such information as the At5 torney General shall reasonably require. 

6 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—A State, Indian tribal 

7 government, unit of local government, or nongovern8 mental organization applying for a grant under this 

9 section shall—

10 (A) describe—

11 (i) the purposes for which the grant is 

12 needed; 

13 (ii) the intended use of the grant 

14 funds; and 

15 (iii) the expected results from the use 

16 of grant funds; 

17 (B) demonstrate that, in developing a plan 

18 to implement the grant—

19 (i) in the case of a State, Indian tribal 

20 government, or unit of local government, 

21 that the State, Indian tribal government, 

22 or unit of local government has consulted 

23 and coordinated with nonprofit, nongovern24 mental victim services programs that have 
12

•HR 1362 IH 

1 experience in providing services to victims 

2 of crimes against children; and 

3 (ii) in the case of a nongovernmental 

4 organization, that the nongovernmental or5 ganization has experience in providing edu6 cation, prevention, or intervention services 

7 regarding crimes against children or has 

8 experience in providing services to victims 

9 of crimes against children; and 

10 (C) certify that—

11 (i) any Federal funds received under 

12 this section will be used to supplement, not 

13 supplant, non-Federal funds that would 

14 otherwise be available for activities funded 

15 under this section, provided that the Attor16 ney General may waive such requirement 

17 for nongovernmental organizations in ex18 traordinary circumstances; and 

19 (ii) the State, the Indian tribal gov20 ernment, the State in which the unit of 

21 local government is located, or the State in 

22 which the nongovernmental organization 

23 will operate the activities funded under this 

24 section is located, is in compliance with 

25 section 303. 
13

•HR 1362 IH 

1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 

4 2008. 

5 SEC. 203. REAUTHORIZATION OF CHILD ADVOCACY CEN6 TERS. 

7 The Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

8 13001 et seq.) is amended—

9 (1) in section 211 (42 U.S.C. 13001) by—

10 (A) redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) 

11 as paragraphs (9) and (10), respectively; and 

12 (B) inserting after paragraph (5) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(6)(A) the National Children’s Alliance (NCA) 

15 is a nationwide not-for-profit membership organiza16 tion whose members are local Children’s Advocacy 

17 Centers; 

18 ‘‘(B) the NCA’s mission is to assist commu19 nities seeking to improve their response to child 

20 abuse by supporting the development, growth, and 

21 continuation of Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs); 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(C) the NCA provides training, technical as24 sistance, and networking opportunities to CACs na25 tionally; 
14

•HR 1362 IH 

1 ‘‘(7)(A) CACs are community partnerships 

2 committed to a multidisciplinary team approach by 

3 professionals pursuing the truth in child abuse inves4 tigations; and 

5 ‘‘(B) CACs are based in child-friendly facilities 

6 that enable law enforcement, prosecutors, child pro7 tective services, and the medical and mental health 

8 communities to work as a team to investigate, pros9 ecute, and treat child abuse; 

10 ‘‘(8)(A) working in partnership with the Na11 tional Children’s Alliance, Regional Children’s Advo12 cacy Centers were established by the Office of Juve13 nile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to provide 

14 outreach and assistance to communities seeking to 

15 develop a Children’s Advocacy Center; and 

16 ‘‘(B) Regional Children’s Advocacy Centers pro17 vide information, consultation, training, and tech18 nical assistance helping to establish child-focused 

19 programs that facilitate and support coordination 

20 among agencies responding to child abuse. Regional 

21 Children’s Advocacy Centers also provide regional 

22 services to help Children’s Advocacy Centers already 

23 in existence;’’; 

24 (2) in section 212 (42 U.S.C. 13001a)—

25 (A) by striking paragraphs (3) and (6);
15

•HR 1362 IH 

1 (B) redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) 

2 as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and 

3 (C) redesignating paragraphs (7), (8), and 

4 (9) as paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respec5 tively; 

6 (3) in section 213 (42 U.S.C. 13001b)—

7 (A) by striking the caption for the section 

8 and inserting ‘‘CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY CEN9 TERS’’; and 

10 (B) in subsection (a), by striking beginning 

11 with ‘‘the Administrator’’ through paragraph 

12 (1) and inserting the following: ‘‘The Adminis13 trator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and De14 linquency Prevention shall establish Regional 

15 Children’s Advocacy Centers to—

16 ‘‘(1) focus attention on child victims by assist17 ing communities to develop and maintain local Chil18 dren’s Advocacy Centers which are child-focused 

19 community-oriented facility based programs designed 

20 to improve the resources available to children and 

21 families affected by child abuse and neglect;’’; 

22 (C) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘, in 

23 coordination with the Director,’’; 

24 (D) in subsection (c)—
16

•HR 1362 IH 

1 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking the 

2 text and inserting ‘‘The Administrator, in 

3 consultation with the National Children’s 

4 Alliance, shall solicit proposals for assist5 ance under this section when existing con6 tracts with Regional Children’s Advocacy 

7 Centers are close to expiration.’’; and 

8 (ii) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking 

9 the matter before clause (i) and inserting 

10 the following: ‘‘The Administrator shall se11 lect proposals for funding that—’’; 

12 (E) in subsection (d)—

13 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, in 

14 coordination with the Director,’’; and 

15 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and 

16 the Director’’; and 

17 (F) by striking subsection (e); 

18 (4) in section 214 (42 U.S.C. 13002)—

19 (A) by amending subsection (a) to read as 

20 follows: 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in consulta22 tion with the officials from the Office of Victims of Crime, 

23 shall make grants to develop and implement local multi24 disciplinary child abuse investigations and prosecution 
17

•HR 1362 IH 

1 programs. The National Children’s Alliance shall serve as 

2 the subgrantor of these funds.’’; and 

3 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘, in 

4 coordination with the Director,’’; and 

5 (5) in section 214B (42 U.S.C. 13004)—

6 (A) in subsection (a), by striking para7 graph (2) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(2) $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

9 2004 through 2008.’’; and 

10 (B) in subsection (b)(2), by inserting be11 fore the period the following: ‘‘and each of the 

12 fiscal years 2004 through 2008’’. 

13 TITLE III—NATIONWIDE 

14 PROGRAMS 

15 SEC. 301. NATIONWIDE AMBER ALERT. 

16 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

17 of this Act, each State receiving grants pursuant to section 

18 201 shall have in place a statewide AMBER Alert commu19 nications network for child abduction cases. 

20 SEC. 302. IMPROVED STATISTICAL GATHERING. 

21 Each State receiving grants pursuant to section 201 

22 shall use, or shall be in the process of testing or developing 

23 protocols to use, the National Incident-Based Reporting 

24 System. 
18

•HR 1362 IH 

1 SEC. 303. NATIONAL SAFE HAVEN. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, each State receiving grants 

4 pursuant to section 202 shall have in effect a statute 

5 that—

6 (1) permits a parent to leave a newborn baby 

7 with a medically-trained employee of a hospital 

8 emergency room anonymously without any criminal 

9 or other penalty; 

10 (2) includes a mechanism to encourage and per11 mit a hospital employee in the receiving hospital to 

12 collect information about the medical history of the 

13 family subject to the approval of the parent; and 

14 (3) includes a plan for publicizing the State’s 

15 Safe Haven law. 

16 (b) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a)(1), 

17 a State statute in effect pursuant to this section may deny 

18 a parent the ability to leave a newborn baby anonymously 

19 without any criminal or other penalty if the newborn baby 

20 shows signs of abuse or appears to have been intentionally 

21 harmed. 

22 SEC. 304. IMPROVED CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES PRO23 GRAMS. 

24 (a) REPORT BY STATES.—Not later than 180 days 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, each State receiv26 ing an allotment for child welfare services under subpart 
19

•HR 1362 IH 

1 1 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 620 et seq.) shall submit to the Secretary of Health 

3 and Human Services a report detailing the State’s pro4 gram funded under that subpart, including the process for 

5 maintaining records and verifying the well-being of the 

6 children under the State’s care. 

7 (b) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the General Accounting Of9 fice shall report to Congress on State practices and poli10 cies under the child welfare program funded under subpart 

11 1 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

12 U.S.C. 620 et seq.). The report shall include the following: 

13 (1) How States are maintaining records and 

14 verifying the well-being of the children under their 

15 care, including how well States are keeping track of 

16 where those children are. 

17 (2) Whether and how the review system being 

18 undertaken by the Secretary of Health and Human 

19 Services is helping States to reform their child wel20 fare system. 

21 (3) The best practices being implemented by 

22 the States. 

23 (4) Recommendations for legislative changes by 

24 Congress. 
20

•HR 1362 IH 

1 TITLE IV—CHILD SUPPORT 

2 ENFORCEMENT 

3 SEC. 401. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON TAX TREATMENT OF 

4 CHILD SUPPORT. 

5 It is the sense of the Senate that Congress should 

6 pass legislation to extend the current Federal tax treat7 ment on bad debt to nonpayment of child support by—

8 (1) allowing those that do not receive the child 

9 support they are owed to deduct that amount from 

10 their Federal income taxes; and 

11 (2) requiring those who fail to pay child sup12 port to add the unpaid amount to their income for 

13 Federal tax purposes.

Æ