II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 982 

To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require mandatory reporting of incidents of child abuse or neglect, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2017 

Mr. CASEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act 

to require mandatory reporting of incidents of child 

abuse or neglect, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Speak Up to Protect 

5 Every Abused Kid Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 

8 (1) children are dependent on the adults in 

9 their lives, including parents, extended family, teachVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Apr 29, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S982.IS S982

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1 ers, health care providers, and others in their com2 munity, to ensure their safety and well-being; 

3 (2) data from the Administration on Children 

4 and Families for 2013 indicate that 678,932 chil5 dren in the United States were reported as being 

6 victims of child abuse or neglect, and 1,484 of those 

7 children died as a result of such abuse or neglect; 

8 (3) regardless of whether an adult is legally re9 quired to report child abuse and neglect, every adult 

10 who suspects or knows about child abuse or neglect 

11 has a moral duty to report such concerns to the ap12 propriate authorities; and 

13 (4) establishing a Federal standard for the 

14 classes of individuals that State law establishes as 

15 mandated reporters will protect children and ensure 

16 greater consistency among the laws of States, while 

17 allowing States the flexibility to establish additional 

18 classes of individuals as mandated reporters. 

19 SEC. 3. EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGNS AND TRAINING. 

20 The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act is 

21 amended by inserting after section 103 (42 U.S.C. 5104) 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 103A. EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGNS AND TRAINING. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make grants 

25 to eligible entities to carry out educational campaigns and 


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1 provide evidence-based or evidence-informed training re2 garding State laws for mandatory reporting of incidents 

3 of child abuse or neglect. 

4 ‘‘(b) GUIDANCE AND INFORMATION ON BEST PRAC5 TICES.—The Secretary shall develop and disseminate 

6 guidance and information on best practices for— 

7 ‘‘(1) educational campaigns to educate members 

8 of the public about— 

9 ‘‘(A) the acts and omissions that constitute 

10 child abuse or neglect under State law; 

11 ‘‘(B) the responsibilities of adults to report 

12 suspected and known incidents of child abuse or 

13 neglect under State law; and 

14 ‘‘(C) the resources available to struggling 

15 families to help prevent child abuse and neglect; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(2) evidence-based or evidence-informed train18 ing programs to improve such reporting by adults, 

19 with a focus on adults who work with children in a 

20 professional or volunteer capacity. 

21 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

22 under this section, an entity shall submit an application 

23 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con24 taining such information as the Secretary may require. In 

25 determining whether to make a grant under this section, 


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1 the Secretary shall determine whether the educational 

2 campaign or training proposed by the entity uses practices 

3 described in the guidance and information developed 

4 under subsection (b). 

5 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a 

6 grant under this section shall use the funds made available 

7 through the grant to carry out an educational campaign, 

8 or provide training, described in subsection (b). 

9 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

11 $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2017 and $10,000,000 for each 

12 of fiscal years 2018 through 2021.’’. 

13 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO STATES FOR CHILD ABUSE OR NE14 GLECT PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PRO15 GRAMS. 

16 Section 106(b) of the Child Abuse Prevention and 

17 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘(B) 

20 an assurance’’ and all that follows through the 

21 end of clause (i), and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(B) an assurance in the form of a certifi23 cation by the Governor of the State that the 

24 State has in effect and is enforcing a State law, 

25 or has in effect and is operating a statewide 


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1 program, relating to child abuse and neglect 

2 that includes— 

3 ‘‘(i) provisions or procedures for an 

4 individual described in paragraph (5) to re5 port suspected or known incidents of child 

6 abuse or neglect to a State child protective 

7 service agency or to a law enforcement 

8 agency, which shall include a State law for 

9 mandatory reporting of such incidents, to 

10 either type of agency, by any individual de11 scribed in paragraph (5), in accordance 

12 with paragraph (6);’’; 

13 (B) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘; 

14 and’’ and inserting ‘‘;’’; 

15 (C) in subparagraph (G), by striking the 

16 period at the end and inserting ‘‘;’’; and 

17 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (G) 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(H) an assurance that the State, in devel20 oping the State plan described in paragraph 

21 (1), has established procedures to ensure co22 ordination between the State law or statewide 

23 program described in subparagraph (B) and 

24 relevant law enforcement and State or commu25 nity-based victims’ services agencies to ensure 


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1 that children who are the victims of acts by a 

2 perpetrator other than a parent or caretaker 

3 that would be considered child abuse or neglect 

4 under section 3(2) if the perpetrator of such act 

5 were a parent or caretaker, are referred for ap6 propriate follow-up services, even if such chil7 dren do not qualify for the protections under 

8 such State law or statewide program; 

9 ‘‘(I) an assurance that the State will— 

10 ‘‘(i) take primary responsibility to ac11 cept and investigate reports of known and 

12 suspected child abuse or neglect pertaining 

13 to an incident that occurred in that State, 

14 even if the child or the alleged perpetrator 

15 resides in a different State; 

16 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a State that takes 

17 primary responsibility to investigate a re18 port as described in clause (i), share the 

19 results of the investigation with the State 

20 where the child resides and with the State 

21 where the alleged perpetrator resides; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a State in which 

23 the child or alleged perpetrator resides, but 

24 where the alleged incident did not occur, 

25 establish a plan to assist the State with 


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1 primary responsibility for the investigation; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(J) an assurance that the State has es4 tablished procedures to screen for domestic vio5 lence in the course of investigating child abuse 

6 and that such procedures— 

7 ‘‘(i) were developed in consultation 

8 with the State Domestic Violence Coalition 

9 (as defined in section 302 of the Family 

10 Violence Prevention and Services Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 10402)) or other entity eligible for 

12 funds under section 311 of the Family Vio13 lence Prevention and Services Act (42 

14 U.S.C. 10411); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) include training and practice re16 quirements for investigators of child abuse 

17 where domestic violence is also present.’’; 

18 and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(5) INDIVIDUALS REQUIRED TO REPORT SUS21 PECTED OR KNOWN CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT.— 

22 To satisfy the requirements of paragraph (2)(B)(i), 

23 a State law for mandatory reporting described in 

24 such paragraph shall require all of the following inVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Apr 29, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S982.IS S982

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1 dividuals to report suspected or known incidents of 

2 child abuse or neglect: 

3 ‘‘(A) Individuals licensed or certified to 

4 practice in any health-related field licensed by 

5 the State, employees of health care facilities or 

6 providers licensed by the State, who are en7 gaged in the admission, examination, care or 

8 treatment of individuals, including mental 

9 health and emergency medical services pro10 viders. 

11 ‘‘(B) Individuals employed by a school who 

12 have direct contact with children, including 

13 teachers, administrators, and independent con14 tractors. 

15 ‘‘(C) Peace officers and law enforcement 

16 personnel. 

17 ‘‘(D) Clergy, including Christian Science 

18 practitioners, except where prohibited on ac19 count of clergy-penitent privilege. 

20 ‘‘(E) Day care and child care operators 

21 and employees. 

22 ‘‘(F) Employees of social services agencies 

23 who have direct contact with children in the 

24 course of employment. 

25 ‘‘(G) Foster parents. 


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1 ‘‘(H) Court appointed special advocates 

2 (employees and volunteers). 

3 ‘‘(I) Camp and after-school employees. 

4 ‘‘(J) An individual, paid or unpaid, who, 

5 on the basis of the individual’s role as an inte6 gral part of a regularly scheduled program, ac7 tivity, or service, accepts responsibility for a 

8 child. 

9 ‘‘(K) Other individuals, as the applicable 

10 State law or statewide program may require. 

11 ‘‘(6) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—To satisfy 

12 the requirements of paragraph (2)(B)(i), a State law 

13 for mandatory reporting described in such para14 graph shall require such individuals to report sus15 pected or known incidents of child abuse or neglect 

16 directly to the appropriate law enforcement or child 

17 welfare agency (as applicable under State law) and, 

18 if applicable, to the individual’s supervisor or em19 ployer.’’. 

20 SEC. 5. APPROACHES AND TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE RE21 PORTING. 

22 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 107(b) of the Child Abuse 

23 Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106c(b)) is 

24 amended— 

25 (1) in paragraph (4)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

3 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(C) support training for adults who work 

5 with children in a professional or volunteer ca6 pacity, to report suspected and known incidents 

7 of child abuse or neglect under State law; and’’; 

8 and 

9 (2) in paragraph (5), by inserting before the pe10 riod ‘‘and the training described in paragraph 

11 (4)(C)’’. 

12 (b) STATE TASK FORCE STUDY.—Section 107(d) of 

13 such Act (42 U.S.C. 5106c(d)) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

15 end; 

16 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and 

17 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(3) evaluate the State’s efforts to train adults 

21 who work with children in a professional or volun22 teer capacity, to report suspected and known inci23 dents of child abuse or neglect under State law.’’. 


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1 (c) ADOPTION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—Section 

2 107(e)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5106c(e)(1)) is amend3 ed— 

4 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

5 the end; 

6 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 

7 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(D) experimental, model, and demonstra10 tion programs for testing innovative approaches 

11 and techniques that may improve reporting of 

12 and response to suspected and known incidents 

13 of child abuse or neglect by adults to the State 

14 child protective service agencies or to law en15 forcement agencies.’’. 

16 SEC. 6. GENERAL PROGRAM GRANTS. 

17 Section 108 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 

18 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106d) is amended by adding 

19 at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(f) MANDATORY REPORTING.—To be eligible to re21 ceive any form of financial assistance under this title, a 

22 State shall include in the corresponding plan or applica23 tion an assurance that the State has in effect a State law 

24 for mandatory reporting described in section 

25 106(b)(2)(B)(i).’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. REPORTS. 

2 Section 110 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 

3 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106f) is amended by adding 

4 at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(e) STUDY AND REPORT ON STATE MANDATORY

6 REPORTING LAWS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) STUDY.—Not later than 4 years after the 

8 date of enactment of the Speak Up to Protect Every 

9 Abused Kid Act, the Secretary shall collect informa10 tion on and otherwise study the efforts of States re11 lating to State laws for mandatory reporting of inci12 dents of child abuse or neglect, in order to assess 

13 the implementation of the amendments made by that 

14 Act. 

15 ‘‘(2) REPORT.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years 

17 after the date of enactment of the Speak Up to 

18 Protect Every Abused Kid Act, the Secretary 

19 shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

20 Congress a report containing the findings of the 

21 study under paragraph (1). 

22 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 

23 under subparagraph (A) shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) provide an update on— 


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1 ‘‘(I) implementation of State laws 

2 for mandatory reporting described in 

3 section 106(b)(2)(B)(i); and 

4 ‘‘(II) State efforts to improve re5 porting on, and responding to reports 

6 of, child abuse or neglect; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) include data regarding any 

8 changes in the rate of substantiated child 

9 abuse reports and changes in the rate of 

10 child abuse fatalities since the date of en11 actment of the Speak Up to Protect Every 

12 Abused Kid Act.’’. 

13 SEC. 8. COMMUNITY-BASED GRANTS. 

14 Section 204 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 

15 Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116d) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

17 end; 

18 (2) in paragraph (12), by striking the period 

19 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(13) an assurance that the State has in effect 

22 a State law for mandatory reporting described in 

23 section 106(b)(2)(B)(i).’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

3 (b), this Act takes effect on the date of enactment of this 

4 Act. 

5 (b) MANDATORY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The 

6 amendments made by sections 4, 5(a), 6, and 8 shall apply 

7 to the applicable plans and applications submitted after 

8 the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of 

9 this Act. 

Æ 


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