I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1688 

To amend the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2021 

Mr. GALLEGO (for himself and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence 

Prevention Act. 

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 ‘‘Native American Child 

5 Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INDIAN CHILD PROTECTION AND FAMILY VIOLENCE 

7 PREVENTION ACT AMENDMENTS. 

8 The Indian Child Protection and Family Violence 

9 Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3202 et seq.) is amended as 

10 follows: 


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1 (1) By amending section 403(3)(A) (25 U.S.C. 

2 3202(3)(A)) to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(A) in any case in which— 

4 ‘‘(i)(I) a child is dead or exhibits evi5 dence of skin bruising, bleeding, malnutri6 tion, failure to thrive, burns, fracture of 

7 any bone, subdural hematoma, soft tissue 

8 swelling; and 

9 ‘‘(II) such condition is not justifiably 

10 explained or may not be the product of an 

11 accidental occurrence; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) a child is subjected to sexual as13 sault, sexual molestation, sexual exploi14 tation, sexual contact, or prostitution;’’. 

15 (2) In section 409 (25 U.S.C. 3208)— 

16 (A) in subsection (a)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘The Secretary of 

18 Health and Human Services, acting 

19 through the Service and in cooperation 

20 with the Bureau’’ and inserting ‘‘The Serv21 ice, in cooperation with the Bureau’’; and 

22 (ii) by striking ‘‘sexual abuse’’ and in23 serting ‘‘abuse or neglect’’; 

24 (B) in subsection (b) through the end of 

25 the section, by striking ‘‘Secretary of Health 


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1 and Human Services’’ each place it appears and 

2 inserting ‘‘Service’’; 

3 (C) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting after 

4 ‘‘Any Indian tribe or intertribal consortium’’ 

5 the following: ‘‘, on its own or in partnership 

6 with an urban Indian organization,’’; 

7 (D) in subsections (b)(2)(B) and (d), by 

8 striking ‘‘such Secretary’’ each place it appears 

9 and inserting ‘‘the Service’’; 

10 (E) by amending subsection (c) to read as 

11 follows: 

12 ‘‘(c) CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE TREATMENT.—In 

13 awarding grants under this section, the Service shall en14 courage the use of culturally appropriate treatment serv15 ices and programs that respond to the unique cultural val16 ues, customs, and traditions of applicant Indian Tribes.’’; 

17 (F) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ‘‘the 

18 Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘the Service’’; 

19 (G) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub20 section (f); 

21 (H) by inserting after subsection (d) the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

24 of the enactment of the Native American Child Protection 

25 Act, the Service shall submit a report to Congress on the 


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1 award of grants under this section. The report shall con2 tain— 

3 ‘‘(1) a description of treatment and services for 

4 which grantees have used funds awarded under this 

5 section; and 

6 ‘‘(2) any other information that the Service re7 quires.’’; and 

8 (I) by amending subsection (f) (as so re9 designated by subparagraph (G) of this para10 graph), to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

13 $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2027.’’. 

14 (3) In section 410 (25 U.S.C. 3209)— 

15 (A) in the heading— 

16 (i) by inserting ‘‘NATIONAL’’ before 

17 ‘‘INDIAN’’; and 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘CENTERS’’ and in19 serting ‘‘CENTER’’; 

20 (B) by amending subsections (a) and (b) to 

21 read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than one year 

23 after the date of the enactment of the Native American 

24 Child Protection Act, the Secretary shall establish a Na25 tional Indian Child Resource and Family Services Center. 


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1 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

2 of the enactment of the Native American Child Protection 

3 Act, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bu4 reau of Indian Affairs, shall submit a report to Congress 

5 on the status of the National Indian Child Resource and 

6 Family Services Center.’’; 

7 (C) in subsection (c)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘Each’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘The’’; and 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘multidisciplinary’’; 

11 (D) in subsection (d)— 

12 (i) in the text before paragraph (1), 

13 by striking ‘‘Each’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’; 

14 (ii) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and 

15 inter-tribal consortia’’ and inserting ‘‘inter16 tribal consortia, and urban Indian organi17 zations’’; 

18 (iii) in paragraph (2), by inserting 

19 ‘‘urban Indian organizations,’’ after ‘‘tribal 

20 organizations,’’; 

21 (iv) in paragraph (3)— 

22 (I) by inserting ‘‘and technical 

23 assistance’’ after training; and 

24 (II) by striking ‘‘and to tribal or25 ganizations’’ and inserting ‘‘, Tribal 


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1 organizations, and urban Indian orga2 nizations’’; 

3 (v) in paragraph (4)— 

4 (I) by inserting ‘‘, State,’’ after 

5 ‘‘Federal’’; and 

6 (II) by striking ‘‘and tribal’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘Tribal, and urban Indian’’; 

8 and 

9 (vi) by amending paragraph (5) to 

10 read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(5) develop model intergovernmental agree12 ments between Tribes and States, and other mate13 rials that provide examples of how Federal, State, 

14 and Tribal governments can develop effective rela15 tionships and provide for maximum cooperation in 

16 the furtherance of prevention, investigation, treat17 ment, and prosecution of incidents of family violence 

18 and child abuse and child neglect involving Indian 

19 children and families.’’; and 

20 (E) in subsection (e)— 

21 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘MUL22 TIDISCIPLINARY TEAM’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘TEAM’’; 


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1 (ii) in the text before paragraph (1), 

2 by striking ‘‘Each multidisciplinary’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘The’’; and 

4 (F) by amending subsections (f), (g), and 

5 (h) to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(f) CENTER ADVISORY BOARD.—The Secretary 

7 shall establish an advisory board to advise and assist the 

8 National Indian Child Resource and Family Services Cen9 ter in carrying out its activities under this section. The 

10 advisory board shall consist of 12 members appointed by 

11 the Secretary from Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, 

12 and urban Indian organizations with expertise in child 

13 abuse and child neglect. Members shall serve without com14 pensation, but may be reimbursed for travel and other ex15 penses while carrying out the duties of the board. The ad16 visory board shall assist the Center in coordinating pro17 grams, identifying training and technical assistance mate18 rials, and developing intergovernmental agreements relat19 ing to family violence, child abuse, and child neglect. 

20 ‘‘(g) APPLICATION OF INDIAN SELF-DETERMINA21 TION ACT TO THE CENTER.—The National Indian Child 

22 Resource and Family Services Center shall be subject to 

23 the provisions of the Indian Self-Determination Act. The 

24 Secretary may also contract for the operation of the Cen25 ter with a nonprofit Indian organization governed by an 


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1 Indian-controlled board of directors that have substantial 

2 experience in child abuse, child neglect, and family vio3 lence involving Indian children and families. 

4 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

6 $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2027.’’. 

7 (4) In section 411 (25 U.S.C. 3210)— 

8 (A) in subsection (d)— 

9 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (I) in subparagraph (A), by strik11 ing ‘‘abuse and child neglect’’ and in12 serting ‘‘abuse, neglect, or both’’; 

13 (II) in subparagraph (B), by 

14 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

15 (III) by inserting after subpara16 graph (C), the following: 

17 ‘‘(D) development of agreements between 

18 Tribes, States, or private agencies on the co19 ordination of child abuse and neglect preven20 tion, investigation, and treatment services; 

21 ‘‘(E) child protective services operational 

22 costs including transportation, risk and protec23 tive factors assessments, family engagement 

24 and kinship navigator services, and relative 


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1 searches, criminal background checks for pro2 spective placements, and home studies; and 

3 ‘‘(F) development of a Tribal child protec4 tion or multidisciplinary team to assist in the 

5 prevention and investigation of child abuse and 

6 neglect;’’; 

7 (ii) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (I) in subparagraph (A), by in9 serting ‘‘in culturally appropriate 

10 ways’’ after ‘‘incidents of family vio11 lence’’; and 

12 (II) in subparagraph (C), by in13 serting ‘‘that may include culturally 

14 appropriate programs’’ after ‘‘training 

15 programs’’; and 

16 (iii) in paragraph (3)— 

17 (I) in subparagraph (A), by in18 serting ‘‘and neglect’’ after ‘‘abuse’’; 

19 and 

20 (II) in subparagraph (B), by 

21 striking ‘‘cases, to the extent prac22 ticable,’’ and inserting ‘‘and neglect 

23 cases’’; 

24 (B) in subsection (f)— 


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1 (i) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘de2 velop, in consultation with Indian tribes, 

3 appropriate caseload standards and staff4 ing requirements which are comparable to 

5 standards developed by the National Asso6 ciation of Social Work, the Child Welfare 

7 League of America and other professional 

8 associations in the field of social work and 

9 child welfare’’ and inserting ‘‘develop, not 

10 later than one year after the date of the 

11 enactment of the Native American Child 

12 Protection Act, in consultation with Indian 

13 Tribes, appropriate caseload standards and 

14 staffing requirements’’; 

15 (ii) in paragraph (3)(D), by striking 

16 ‘‘sexual abuse’’ and inserting ‘‘abuse and 

17 neglect, high incidence of family violence’’; 

18 (iii) by amending paragraph (4) to 

19 read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(4) The formula established pursuant to this 

21 subsection shall provide funding necessary to sup22 port not less than one child protective services or 

23 family violence caseworker, including fringe benefits 

24 and support costs, for each Indian Tribe.’’; and 


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1 (iv) in paragraph (5), by striking 

2 ‘‘tribes’’ and inserting ‘‘Indian Tribes’’; 

3 (C) by amending subsection (g) to read as 

4 follows: 

5 ‘‘(g) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

6 of the enactment of the Native American Child Protection 

7 Act, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bu8 reau of Indian Affairs, shall submit a report to Congress 

9 on the award of grants under this section. The report shall 

10 contain— 

11 ‘‘(1) a description of treatment and services for 

12 which grantees have used funds awarded under this 

13 section; and 

14 ‘‘(2) any other information that the Secretary 

15 of the Interior requires.’’; and 

16 (D) by amending subsection (i) to read as 

17 follows: 

18 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

20 $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2027.’’. 

Æ 


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