IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 911 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 24, 2009 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

AN ACT 

To require certain standards and enforcement provisions to 

prevent child abuse and neglect in residential programs, 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Child Abuse in 

3 Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist7 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary for 

8 Children and Families of the Department of Health 

9 and Human Services. 

10 (2) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi11 vidual who has not attained the age of 18. 

12 (3) CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT.—The term 

13 ‘‘child abuse and neglect’’ has the meaning given 

14 such term in section 111 of the Child Abuse Preven15 tion and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106g). 

16 (4) COVERED PROGRAM.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered pro18 gram’’ means each location of a program oper19 ated by a public or private entity that, with re20 spect to one or more children who are unrelated 

21 to the owner or operator of the program— 

22 (i) provides a residential environment, 

23 such as— 

24 (I) a program with a wilderness 

25 or outdoor experience, expedition, or 

26 intervention; 


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1 (II) a boot camp experience or 

2 other experience designed to simulate 

3 characteristics of basic military train4 ing or correctional regimes; 

5 (III) a therapeutic boarding 

6 school; or 

7 (IV) a behavioral modification 

8 program; and 

9 (ii) operates with a focus on serving 

10 children with— 

11 (I) emotional, behavioral, or men12 tal health problems or disorders; or 

13 (II) problems with alcohol or sub14 stance abuse. 

15 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered pro16 gram’’ does not include— 

17 (i) a hospital licensed by the State; or 

18 (ii) a foster family home that provides 

19 24-hour substitute care for children placed 

20 away from their parents or guardians and 

21 for whom the State child welfare services 

22 agency has placement and care responsi23 bility and that is licensed and regulated by 

24 the State as a foster family home. 


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1 (5) PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY SYSTEM.—The 

2 term ‘‘protection and advocacy system’’ means a 

3 protection and advocacy system established under 

4 section 143 of the Developmental Disabilities Assist5 ance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

6 15043). 

7 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean8 ing given such term in section 111 of the Child 

9 Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. 

10 SEC. 3. STANDARDS AND ENFORCEMENT. 

11 (a) MINIMUM STANDARDS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the As14 sistant Secretary for Children and Families of the 

15 Department of Health and Human Services shall re16 quire each covered program, in order to provide for 

17 the basic health and safety of children at such a pro18 gram, to meet the following minimum standards: 

19 (A) Child abuse and neglect shall be pro20 hibited. 

21 (B) Disciplinary techniques or other prac22 tices that involve the withholding of essential 

23 food, water, clothing, shelter, or medical care 

24 necessary to maintain physical health, mental 

25 health, and general safety, shall be prohibited. 


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1 (C) The protection and promotion of the 

2 right of each child at such a program to be free 

3 from physical and mechanical restraints and se4 clusion (as such terms are defined in section 

5 595 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 290jj)) to the same extent and in the 

7 same manner as a non-medical, community8 based facility for children and youth is required 

9 to protect and promote the right of its residents 

10 to be free from such restraints and seclusion 

11 under such section 595, including the prohibi12 tions and limitations described in subsection 

13 (b)(3) of such section. 

14 (D) Acts of physical or mental abuse de15 signed to humiliate, degrade, or undermine a 

16 child’s self-respect shall be prohibited. 

17 (E) Each child at such a program shall 

18 have reasonable access to a telephone, and be 

19 informed of their right to such access, for mak20 ing and receiving phone calls with as much pri21 vacy as possible, and shall have access to the 

22 appropriate State or local child abuse reporting 

23 hotline number, and the national hotline num24 ber referred to in subsection (c)(2). 


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1 (F) Each staff member, including volun2 teers, at such a program shall be required, as 

3 a condition of employment, to become familiar 

4 with what constitutes child abuse and neglect, 

5 as defined by State law. 

6 (G) Each staff member, including volun7 teers, at such a program shall be required, as 

8 a condition of employment, to become familiar 

9 with the requirements, including with State law 

10 relating to mandated reporters, and procedures 

11 for reporting child abuse and neglect in the 

12 State in which such a program is located. 

13 (H) Full disclosure, in writing, of staff 

14 qualifications and their roles and responsibil15 ities at such program, including medical, emer16 gency response, and mental health training, to 

17 parents or legal guardians of children at such 

18 a program, including providing information on 

19 any staff changes, including changes to any 

20 staff member’s qualifications, roles, or respon21 sibilities, not later than 10 days after such 

22 changes occur. 

23 (I) Each staff member at a covered pro24 gram described in subclause (I) or (II) of sec25 tion 2(4)(A)(i) shall be required, as a condition 


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1 of employment, to be familiar with the signs, 

2 symptoms, and appropriate responses associated 

3 with heatstroke, dehydration, and hypothermia. 

4 (J) Each staff member, including volun5 teers, shall be required, as a condition of em6 ployment, to submit to a criminal history check, 

7 including a name-based search of the National 

8 Sex Offender Registry established pursuant to 

9 the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety 

10 Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–248; 42 U.S.C. 

11 16901 et seq.), a search of the State criminal 

12 registry or repository in the State in which the 

13 covered program is operating, and a Federal 

14 Bureau of Investigation fingerprint check. An 

15 individual shall be ineligible to serve in a posi16 tion with any contact with children at a covered 

17 program if any such record check reveals a fel18 ony conviction for child abuse or neglect, spous19 al abuse, a crime against children (including 

20 child pornography), or a crime involving vio21 lence, including rape, sexual assault, or homi22 cide, but not including other physical assault or 

23 battery. 

24 (K) Policies and procedures for the provi25 sion of emergency medical care, including poliVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:41 Feb 25, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H911.RFS H911

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1 cies for staff protocols for implementing emer2 gency responses. 

3 (L) All promotional and informational ma4 terials produced by such a program shall in5 clude a hyperlink to or the URL address of the 

6 website created by the Assistant Secretary pur7 suant to subsection (c)(1)(A). 

8 (M) Policies to require parents or legal 

9 guardians of a child attending such a pro10 gram— 

11 (i) to notify, in writing, such program 

12 of any medication the child is taking; 

13 (ii) to be notified within 24 hours of 

14 any changes to the child’s medical treat15 ment and the reason for such change; and 

16 (iii) to be notified within 24 hours of 

17 any missed dosage of prescribed medica18 tion. 

19 (N) Procedures for notifying immediately, 

20 to the maximum extent practicable, but not 

21 later than within 48 hours, parents or legal 

22 guardians with children at such a program of 

23 any— 

24 (i) on-site investigation of a report of 

25 child abuse and neglect; 


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1 (ii) violation of the health and safety 

2 standards described in this paragraph; and 

3 (iii) violation of State licensing stand4 ards developed pursuant to section 

5 114(b)(1) of the Child Abuse Prevention 

6 and Treatment Act, as added by section 7 

7 of this Act. 

8 (O) Other standards the Assistant Sec9 retary determines appropriate to provide for the 

10 basic health and safety of children at such a 

11 program. 

12 (2) REGULATIONS.— 

13 (A) INTERIM REGULATIONS.—Not later 

14 than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

15 of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall pro16 mulgate and enforce interim regulations to 

17 carry out paragraph (1). 

18 (B) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Assistant 

19 Secretary shall, for a 90-day period beginning 

20 on the date of the promulgation of interim reg21 ulations under subparagraph (A) of this para22 graph, solicit and accept public comment con23 cerning such regulations. Such public comment 

24 shall be submitted in written form. 


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1 (C) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not later than 

2 90 days after the conclusion of the 90-day pe3 riod referred to in subparagraph (B) of this 

4 paragraph, the Assistant Secretary shall pro5 mulgate and enforce final regulations to carry 

6 out paragraph (1). 

7 (b) MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT.— 

8 (1) ON-GOING REVIEW PROCESS.—Not later 

9 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

10 this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall implement an 

11 on-going review process for investigating and evalu12 ating reports of child abuse and neglect at covered 

13 programs received by the Assistant Secretary from 

14 the appropriate State, in accordance with section 

15 114(b)(3) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat16 ment Act, as added by section 7 of this Act. Such 

17 review process shall— 

18 (A) include an investigation to determine if 

19 a violation of the standards required under sub20 section (a)(1) has occurred; 

21 (B) include an assessment of the State’s 

22 performance with respect to appropriateness of 

23 response to and investigation of reports of child 

24 abuse and neglect at covered programs and apVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:41 Feb 25, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H911.RFS H911

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1 propriateness of legal action against responsible 

2 parties in such cases; 

3 (C) be completed not later than 60 days 

4 after receipt by the Assistant Secretary of such 

5 a report; 

6 (D) not interfere with an investigation by 

7 the State or a subdivision thereof; and 

8 (E) be implemented in each State in which 

9 a covered program operates until such time as 

10 each such State has satisfied the requirements 

11 under section 114(c) of the Child Abuse Pre12 vention and Treatment Act, as added by section 

13 7 of this Act, as determined by the Assistant 

14 Secretary, or two years has elapsed from the 

15 date that such review process is implemented, 

16 whichever is later. 

17 (2) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Not later than 180 

18 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

19 Assistant Secretary shall promulgate regulations es20 tablishing civil penalties for violations of the stand21 ards required under subsection (a)(1). The regula22 tions establishing such penalties shall incorporate 

23 the following: 

24 (A) Any owner or operator of a covered 

25 program at which the Assistant Secretary has 


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1 found a violation of the standards required 

2 under subsection (a)(1) may be assessed a civil 

3 penalty not to exceed $50,000 per violation. 

4 (B) All penalties collected under this sub5 section shall be deposited in the appropriate ac6 count of the Treasury of the United States. 

7 (c) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The Assist8 ant Secretary shall establish, maintain, and disseminate 

9 information about the following: 

10 (1) Websites made available to the public that 

11 contain, at a minimum, the following: 

12 (A) The name and each location of each 

13 covered program, and the name of each owner 

14 and operator of each such program, operating 

15 in each State, and information regarding— 

16 (i) each such program’s history of vio17 lations of— 

18 (I) regulations promulgated pur19 suant to subsection (a); and 

20 (II) section 114(b)(1) of the 

21 Child Abuse Prevention and Treat22 ment Act, as added by section 7 of 

23 this Act; 

24 (ii) each such program’s current sta25 tus with the State licensing requirements 


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1 under section 114(b)(1) of the Child Abuse 

2 Prevention and Treatment Act, as added 

3 by section 7 of this Act; 

4 (iii) any deaths that occurred to a 

5 child while under the care of such a pro6 gram, including any such deaths that oc7 curred in the five-year period immediately 

8 preceding the date of the enactment of this 

9 Act, and including the cause of each such 

10 death; 

11 (iv) owners or operators of a covered 

12 program that was found to be in violation 

13 of the standards required under subsection 

14 (a)(1), or a violation of the licensing stand15 ards developed pursuant to section 

16 114(b)(1) of the Child Abuse Prevention 

17 and Treatment Act, as added by section 7 

18 of this Act, and who subsequently own or 

19 operate another covered program; and 

20 (v) any penalties levied under sub21 section (b)(2) and any other penalties lev22 ied by the State, against each such pro23 gram. 

24 (B) Information on best practices for help25 ing adolescents with mental health disorders, 


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1 conditions, behavioral challenges, or alcohol or 

2 substance abuse, including information to help 

3 families access effective resources in their com4 munities. 

5 (2) A national toll-free telephone hotline to re6 ceive complaints of child abuse and neglect at cov7 ered programs and violations of the standards re8 quired under subsection (a)(1). 

9 (d) ACTION.—The Assistant Secretary shall establish 

10 a process to— 

11 (1) ensure complaints of child abuse and ne12 glect received by the hotline established pursuant to 

13 subsection (c)(2) are promptly reviewed by persons 

14 with expertise in evaluating such types of com15 plaints; 

16 (2) immediately notify the State, appropriate 

17 local law enforcement, and the appropriate protec18 tion and advocacy system of any credible complaint 

19 of child abuse and neglect at a covered program re20 ceived by the hotline; 

21 (3) investigate any such credible complaint not 

22 later than 30 days after receiving such complaint to 

23 determine if a violation of the standards required 

24 under subsection (a)(1) has occurred; and 


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1 (4) ensure the collaboration and cooperation of 

2 the hotline established pursuant to subsection (c)(2) 

3 with other appropriate National, State, and regional 

4 hotlines, and, as appropriate and practicable, with 

5 other hotlines that might receive calls about child 

6 abuse and neglect at covered programs. 

7 SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. 

8 If the Assistant Secretary determines that a violation 

9 of subsection (a)(1) of section 3 has not been remedied 

10 through the enforcement process described in subsection 

11 (b)(2) of such section, the Assistant Secretary shall refer 

12 such violation to the Attorney General for appropriate ac13 tion. Regardless of whether such a referral has been made, 

14 the Attorney General may, sua sponte, file a complaint 

15 in any court of competent jurisdiction seeking equitable 

16 relief or any other relief authorized by this Act for such 

17 violation. 

18 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

19 Not later than one year after the date of the enact20 ment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

21 of Health and Human Services, in coordination with the 

22 Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on Edu23 cation and Labor of the House of Representatives and the 

24 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 

25 the Senate, a report on the activities carried out by the 


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1 Assistant Secretary and the Attorney General under this 

2 Act, including— 

3 (1) a summary of findings from on-going re4 views conducted by the Assistant Secretary pursuant 

5 to section 3(b)(1), including a description of the 

6 number and types of covered programs investigated 

7 by the Assistant Secretary pursuant to such section; 

8 (2) a description of types of violations of health 

9 and safety standards found by the Assistant Sec10 retary and any penalties assessed; 

11 (3) a summary of State progress in meeting the 

12 requirements of this Act, including the requirements 

13 under section 114 of the Child Abuse Prevention 

14 and Treatment Act, as added by section 7 of this 

15 Act; 

16 (4) a summary of the Secretary’s oversight ac17 tivities and findings conducted pursuant to sub18 section (d) of such section 114; and 

19 (5) a description of the activities undertaken by 

20 the national toll-free telephone hotline established 

21 pursuant to section 3(c)(2). 

22 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec24 retary of Health and Human Services $15,000,000 for 

25 each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014 to carry out this 


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1 Act (excluding the amendment made by section 7 of this 

2 Act and section 8 of this Act). 

3 SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR 

4 GRANTS TO STATES TO PREVENT CHILD 

5 ABUSE AND NEGLECT AT RESIDENTIAL PRO6 GRAMS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Child Abuse Preven8 tion and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 114. ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR 

11 GRANTS TO STATES TO PREVENT CHILD 

12 ABUSE AND NEGLECT AT RESIDENTIAL PRO13 GRAMS. 

14 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) CHILD.—The term ‘child’ means an indi16 vidual who has not attained the age of 18. 

17 ‘‘(2) COVERED PROGRAM.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered 

19 program’ means each location of a program op20 erated by a public or private entity that, with 

21 respect to one or more children who are unre22 lated to the owner or operator of the program— 

23 ‘‘(i) provides a residential environ24 ment, such as— 


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1 ‘‘(I) a program with a wilderness 

2 or outdoor experience, expedition, or 

3 intervention; 

4 ‘‘(II) a boot camp experience or 

5 other experience designed to simulate 

6 characteristics of basic military train7 ing or correctional regimes; 

8 ‘‘(III) a therapeutic boarding 

9 school; or 

10 ‘‘(IV) a behavioral modification 

11 program; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) operates with a focus on serving 

13 children with— 

14 ‘‘(I) emotional, behavioral, or 

15 mental health problems or disorders; 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(II) problems with alcohol or 

18 substance abuse. 

19 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘covered pro20 gram’ does not include— 

21 ‘‘(i) a hospital licensed by the State; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(ii) a foster family home that pro24 vides 24-hour substitute care for children 

25 place away from their parents or guardians 


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1 and for whom the State child welfare serv2 ices agency has placement and care respon3 sibility and that is licensed and regulated 

4 by the State as a foster family home. 

5 ‘‘(3) PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY SYSTEM.— 

6 The term ‘protection and advocacy system’ means a 

7 protection and advocacy system established under 

8 section 143 of the Developmental Disabilities Assist9 ance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

10 15043). 

11 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible to 

12 receive a grant under section 106, a State shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) not later than three years after the date 

14 of the enactment of this section, develop policies and 

15 procedures to prevent child abuse and neglect at cov16 ered programs operating in such State, including 

17 having in effect health and safety licensing require18 ments applicable to and necessary for the operation 

19 of each location of such covered programs that in20 clude, at a minimum— 

21 ‘‘(A) standards that meet or exceed the 

22 standards required under section 3(a)(1) of the 

23 Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for 

24 Teens Act of 2009; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the provision of essential food, water, 

2 clothing, shelter, and medical care necessary to 

3 maintain physical health, mental health, and 

4 general safety of children at such programs; 

5 ‘‘(C) policies for emergency medical care 

6 preparedness and response, including minimum 

7 staff training and qualifications for such re8 sponses; and 

9 ‘‘(D) notification to appropriate staff at 

10 covered programs if their position of employ11 ment meets the definition of mandated reporter, 

12 as defined by the State; 

13 ‘‘(2) develop policies and procedures to monitor 

14 and enforce compliance with the licensing require15 ments developed in accordance with paragraph (1), 

16 including— 

17 ‘‘(A) designating an agency to be respon18 sible, in collaboration and consultation with 

19 State agencies providing human services (in20 cluding child protective services, and services to 

21 children with emotional, psychological, develop22 mental, or behavioral dysfunctions, impair23 ments, disorders, or alcohol or substance 

24 abuse), State law enforcement officials, the ap25 propriate protection and advocacy system, and 


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1 courts of competent jurisdiction, for monitoring 

2 and enforcing such compliance; 

3 ‘‘(B) establishing a State licensing applica4 tion process through which any individual seek5 ing to operate a covered program would be re6 quired to disclose all previous substantiated re7 ports of child abuse and neglect and all child 

8 deaths at any businesses previously or currently 

9 owned or operated by such individual, except 

10 that substantiated reports of child abuse and 

11 neglect may remain confidential and all reports 

12 shall not contain any personally identifiable in13 formation relating to the identity of individuals 

14 who were the victims of such child abuse and 

15 neglect; 

16 ‘‘(C) conducting unannounced site inspec17 tions not less often than once every two years 

18 at each location of a covered program; 

19 ‘‘(D) creating a non-public database, to be 

20 integrated with the annual State data reports 

21 required under section 106(d), of reports of 

22 child abuse and neglect at covered programs op23 erating in the State, except that such reports 

24 shall not contain any personally identifiable in25 formation relating to the identity of individuals 


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1 who were the victims of such child abuse and 

2 neglect; and 

3 ‘‘(E) implementing a policy of graduated 

4 sanctions, including fines and suspension and 

5 revocation of licences, against covered programs 

6 operating in the State that are out of compli7 ance with such health and safety licensing re8 quirements; 

9 ‘‘(3) if the State is not yet satisfying the re10 quirements of this subsection, in accordance with a 

11 determination made pursuant to subsection (c), de12 velop policies and procedures for notifying the Sec13 retary and the appropriate protection and advocacy 

14 system of any report of child abuse and neglect at 

15 a covered program operating in the State not later 

16 than 30 days after the appropriate State entity, or 

17 subdivision thereof, determines such report should 

18 be investigated and not later than 48 hours in the 

19 event of a fatality; 

20 ‘‘(4) if the Secretary determines that the State 

21 is satisfying the requirements of this subsection, in 

22 accordance with a determination made pursuant to 

23 subsection (c), develop policies and procedures for 

24 notifying the Secretary if— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the State determines there is evidence 

2 of a pattern of violations of the standards re3 quired under paragraph (1) at a covered pro4 gram operating in the State or by an owner or 

5 operator of such a program; or 

6 ‘‘(B) there is a child fatality at a covered 

7 program operating in the State; 

8 ‘‘(5) develop policies and procedures for estab9 lishing and maintaining a publicly available database 

10 of all covered programs operating in the State, in11 cluding the name and each location of each such 

12 program and the name of the owner and operator of 

13 each such program, information on reports of sub14 stantiated child abuse and neglect at such programs 

15 (except that such reports shall not contain any per16 sonally identifiable information relating to the iden17 tity of individuals who were the victims of such child 

18 abuse and neglect and that such database shall in19 clude and provide the definition of ‘substantiated’ 

20 used in compiling the data in cases that have not 

21 been finally adjudicated), violations of standards re22 quired under paragraph (1), and all penalties levied 

23 against such programs; 

24 ‘‘(6) annually submit to the Secretary a report 

25 that includes— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the name and each location of all cov2 ered programs, including the names of the own3 ers and operators of such programs, operating 

4 in the State, and any violations of State licens5 ing requirements developed pursuant to sub6 section (b)(1); and 

7 ‘‘(B) a description of State activities to 

8 monitor and enforce such State licensing re9 quirements, including the names of owners and 

10 operators of each covered program that under11 went a site inspection by the State, and a sum12 mary of the results and any actions taken; and 

13 ‘‘(7) if the Secretary determines that the State 

14 is satisfying the requirements of this subsection, in 

15 accordance with a determination made pursuant to 

16 subsection (c), develop policies and procedures to re17 port to the appropriate protection and advocacy sys18 tem any case of the death of an individual under the 

19 control or supervision of a covered program not later 

20 than 48 hours after the State is informed of such 

21 death. 

22 ‘‘(c) SECRETARIAL DETERMINATION.—The Secretary 

23 shall not determine that a State’s licensing requirements, 

24 monitoring, and enforcement of covered programs operVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:41 Feb 25, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H911.RFS H911

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1 ating in the State satisfy the requirements of this sub2 section (b) unless— 

3 ‘‘(1) the State implements licensing require4 ments for such covered programs that meet or ex5 ceed the standards required under subsection (b)(1); 

6 ‘‘(2) the State designates an agency to be re7 sponsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance 

8 with such licensing requirements; 

9 ‘‘(3) the State conducts unannounced site in10 spections of each location of such covered programs 

11 not less often than once every two years; 

12 ‘‘(4) the State creates a non-public database of 

13 such covered programs, to include information on re14 ports of child abuse and neglect at such programs 

15 (except that such reports shall not contain any per16 sonally identifiable information relating to the iden17 tity of individuals who were the victims of such child 

18 abuse and neglect); 

19 ‘‘(5) the State implements a policy of graduated 

20 sanctions, including fines and suspension and rev21 ocation of licenses against such covered programs 

22 that are out of compliance with the health and safe23 ty licensing requirements under subsection (b)(1); 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(6) after a review of assessments conducted 

2 under section 3(b)(2)(B) of the Stop Child Abuse in 

3 Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2009, the 

4 Secretary determines the State is appropriately in5 vestigating and responding to allegations of child 

6 abuse and neglect at such covered programs. 

7 ‘‘(d) OVERSIGHT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning two years after 

9 the date of the enactment of the Stop Child Abuse 

10 in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2009, the 

11 Secretary shall implement a process for continued 

12 monitoring of each State that is determined to be 

13 satisfying the licensing, monitoring, and enforcement 

14 requirements of subsection (b), in accordance with a 

15 determination made pursuant to subsection (c), with 

16 respect to the performance of each such State re17 garding— 

18 ‘‘(A) preventing child abuse and neglect at 

19 covered programs operating in each such State; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) enforcing the licensing standards de22 scribed in subsection (b)(1). 

23 ‘‘(2) EVALUATIONS.—The process required 

24 under paragraph (1) shall include in each State, at 

25 a minimum— 


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1 ‘‘(A) an investigation not later than 60 

2 days after receipt by the Secretary of a report 

3 from a State, or a subdivision thereof, of child 

4 abuse and neglect at a covered program oper5 ating in the State, and submission of findings 

6 to appropriate law enforcement or other local 

7 entity where necessary, if the report indicates— 

8 ‘‘(i) a child fatality at such program; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(ii) there is evidence of a pattern of 

11 violations of the standards required under 

12 subsection (b)(1) at such program or by an 

13 owner or operator of such program; 

14 ‘‘(B) an annual review by the Secretary of 

15 cases of reports of child abuse and neglect in16 vestigated at covered programs operating in the 

17 State to assess the State’s performance with re18 spect to the appropriateness of response to and 

19 investigation of reports of child abuse and ne20 glect at covered programs and the appropriate21 ness of legal actions taken against responsible 

22 parties in such cases; and 

23 ‘‘(C) unannounced site inspections of cov24 ered programs operating in the State to mon25 itor compliance with the standards required 


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1 under section 3(a) of the Stop Child Abuse in 

2 Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2009. 

3 ‘‘(3) ENFORCEMENT.—If the Secretary deter4 mines, pursuant to an evaluation under this sub5 section, that a State is not adequately implementing, 

6 monitoring, and enforcing the licensing requirements 

7 of subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall require, for 

8 a period of not less than one year, that— 

9 ‘‘(A) the State shall inform the Secretary 

10 of each instance there is a report to be inves11 tigated of child abuse and neglect at a covered 

12 program operating in the State; and 

13 ‘‘(B) the Secretary and the appropriate 

14 local agency shall jointly investigate such re15 port.’’. 

16 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

17 112(a)(1) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 

18 Act (42 U.S.C. 5106h(a)(1)) is amended by inserting be19 fore the period at the end the following: ‘‘, and 

20 $235,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 

21 2014’’. 

22 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (1) COORDINATION WITH AVAILABLE RE24 SOURCES.—Section 103(c)(1)(D) of the Child Abuse 

25 Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 


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HR 911 RFS 

1 5104(c)(1)(D)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘spe2 cific’’ the following: ‘‘(including reports of child 

3 abuse and neglect occurring at covered programs 

4 (except that such reports shall not contain any per5 sonally identifiable information relating to the iden6 tity of individuals who were the victims of such child 

7 abuse and neglect), as such term is defined in sec8 tion 114)’’. 

9 (2) FURTHER REQUIREMENT.—Section 

10 106(b)(1) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat11 ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)(1)) is amended by 

12 adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

13 ‘‘(C) FURTHER REQUIREMENT.—To be eli14 gible to receive a grant under this section, a 

15 State shall comply with the requirements under 

16 section 114(b) and shall include in the State 

17 plan submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) a 

18 description of the activities the State will carry 

19 out to comply with the requirements under such 

20 section 114(b).’’. 

21 (3) ANNUAL STATE DATA REPORTS.—Section 

22 106(d) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat23 ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(d)) is amended— 

24 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting before 

25 the period at the end the following: ‘‘(including 


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HR 911 RFS 

1 reports of child abuse and neglect occurring at 

2 covered programs (except that such reports 

3 shall not contain any personally identifiable in4 formation relating to the identity of individuals 

5 who were the victims of such child abuse and 

6 neglect), as such term is defined in section 

7 114)’’; and 

8 (B) in paragraph (6), by inserting before 

9 the period at the end the following: ‘‘or who 

10 were in the care of a covered program, as such 

11 term is defined in section 114’’. 

12 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 1(b) of the 

13 Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 5101 note) is amended by inserting after the item relating 

15 to section 113 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 114. Additional eligibility requirements for grants to States to prevent 

child abuse and neglect at residential programs.’’. 

16 SEC. 8. STUDY AND REPORT ON OUTCOMES IN COVERED 

17 PROGRAMS. 

18 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Health and Human 

19 Services shall conduct a study, in consultation with rel20 evant agencies and experts, to examine the outcomes for 

21 children in both private and public covered programs 

22 under this Act encompassing a broad representation of 

23 treatment facilities and geographic regions. 


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1 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to the 

2 Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Rep3 resentatives and the Committee on Health, Education, 

4 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report that contains 

5 the results of the study conducted under subsection (a). 

Passed the House of Representatives February 23, 

2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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