110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 398

AN ACT

To amend the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence 

Prevention Act to identify and remove barriers to reducing child abuse, to provide for examinations of certain 

children, 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 ‘‘Indian Child Protec5 tion and Family Violence Prevention Act Amendments of 

6 2007’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

2 Section 402 of the Indian Child Protection and Fam3 ily Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3201) is amend4 ed—

5 (1) in subsection (a)—

6 (A) in paragraph (1)—

7 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

8 (E) and (F) as subparagraphs (F) and 

9 (G), respectively; and 

10 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

11 (D) the following: 

12 ‘‘(E) the Federal Government and certain 

13 State governments are responsible for inves14 tigating and prosecuting certain felony crimes, 

15 including child abuse, in Indian country, pursu16 ant to chapter 53 of title 18, United States 

17 Code;’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (2)—

19 (i) in the matter preceding subpara20 graph (A), by striking ‘‘two’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘the’’; 

22 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

23 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

24 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

25 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

26 and’’; and 
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1 (iv) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(C) identify and remove any impediment 

4 to the immediate investigation of incidents of 

5 child abuse in Indian country.’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (b)—

7 (A) by striking paragraph (3) and insert8 ing the following: 

9 ‘‘(3) provide for a background investigation for 

10 any employee or volunteer who has access to chil11 dren;’’; and 

12 (B) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘Area 

13 Office’’ and inserting ‘‘Regional Office’’. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

15 Section 403 of the Indian Child Protection and Fam16 ily Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3202) is amend17 ed—

18 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through 

19 (18) as paragraphs (7) through (19), respectively; 

20 (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(6) ‘final conviction’ means the final judgment 

23 on a verdict or finding of guilty, a plea of guilty, or 

24 a plea of nolo contendere, but does not include a 
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1 final judgment that has been expunged by pardon, 

2 reversed, set aside, or otherwise rendered void;’’; 

3 (3) in paragraph (13) (as redesignated by para4 graph (1)), by striking ‘‘that agency’’ and all that 

5 follows through ‘‘Indian tribe’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

6 Federal, State, or tribal agency’’; 

7 (4) in paragraph (14) (as redesignated by para8 graph (1)), by inserting ‘‘(including a tribal law en9 forcement agency operating pursuant to a grant, 

10 contract, or compact under the Indian Self-Deter11 mination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

12 450 et seq.))’’ after ‘‘State law enforcement agen13 cy’’; 

14 (5) in paragraph (18) (as redesignated by para15 graph (1)), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

16 (6) in paragraph (19) (as redesignated by para17 graph (1)), by striking the period at the end and in18 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(20) ‘telemedicine’ means a telecommuni21 cations link to an end user through the use of eligi22 ble equipment that electronically links health profes23 sionals or patients and health professionals at sepa24 rate sites in order to exchange health care informa25 tion in audio, video, graphic, or other format for the 
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1 purpose of providing improved health care diagnosis 

2 and treatment.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. REPORTING PROCEDURES. 

4 Section 404 of the Indian Child Protection and Fam5 ily Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3203) is amend6 ed—

7 (1) in subsection (c)—

8 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(1) 

9 Within’’ and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than’’; and 

11 (B) in paragraph (2)—

12 (i) by striking ‘‘(2)(A) Any’’ and in13 serting the following: 

14 ‘‘(2) INVESTIGATION OF REPORTS.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any’’; 

16 (ii) in subparagraph (B)—

17 (I) by striking ‘‘(B) Upon’’ and 

18 inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(B) FINAL WRITTEN REPORT.—On’’; and 

20 (II) by inserting ‘‘including any 

21 Federal, State, or tribal final convic22 tion, and provide to the Federal Bu23 reau of Investigation a copy of the re24 port’’ before the period at the end; 

25 and 
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1 (iii) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(C) MAINTENANCE OF FINAL REPORTS.—

4 The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall 

5 maintain a record of each written report sub6 mitted under this subsection or subsection (b) 

7 in a manner in which the report is accessible 

8 to—

9 ‘‘(i) a local law enforcement agency 

10 that requires the information to carry out 

11 an official duty; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) any agency requesting the infor13 mation under section 408. 

14 ‘‘(D) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

15 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

16 subsection, and annually thereafter, the Direc17 tor of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 

18 coordination with the Secretary and the Attor19 ney General, shall submit to the Committees on 

20 Indian Affairs and the Judiciary of the Senate 

21 and the Committees on Natural Resources and 

22 the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a 

23 report on child abuse in Indian country during 

24 the preceding year. 
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1 ‘‘(E) COLLECTION OF DATA.—Not less fre2 quently than once each year, the Secretary, in 

3 consultation with the Secretary of Health and 

4 Human Services, the Attorney General, the Di5 rector of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 

6 and any Indian tribe, shall—

7 ‘‘(i) collect any information con8 cerning child abuse in Indian country (in9 cluding reports under subsection (b)), in10 cluding information relating to, during the 

11 preceding calendar year—

12 ‘‘(I) the number of criminal and 

13 civil child abuse allegations and inves14 tigations in Indian country; 

15 ‘‘(II) the number of child abuse 

16 prosecutions referred, declined, or de17 ferred in Indian country; 

18 ‘‘(III) the number of child vic19 tims who are the subject of reports of 

20 child abuse in Indian country; 

21 ‘‘(IV) sentencing patterns of indi22 viduals convicted of child abuse in In23 dian country; and 
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1 ‘‘(V) rates of recidivism with re2 spect to child abuse in Indian country; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) to the maximum extent prac5 ticable, reduce the duplication of informa6 tion collection under clause (i).’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(e) CONFIDENTIALITY OF CHILDREN.—No local law 

9 enforcement agency or local child protective services agen10 cy shall disclose the name of, or information concerning, 

11 the child to anyone other than—

12 ‘‘(1) a person who, by reason of the participa13 tion of the person in the treatment of the child or 

14 the investigation or adjudication of the allegation, 

15 needs to know the information in the performance of 

16 the duties of the individual; or 

17 ‘‘(2) an officer of any other Federal, State, or 

18 tribal agency that requires the information to carry 

19 out the duties of the officer under section 406. 

20 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

21 of enactment of this subsection, and annually thereafter, 

22 the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Indian 

23 Affairs and the Judiciary of the Senate and the Commit24 tees on Natural Resources and the Judiciary of the House 
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1 of Representatives a report on child abuse in Indian coun2 try during the preceding year. 

3 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec5 essary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 

6 2008 through 2012.’’. 

7 SEC. 5. REMOVAL OF IMPEDIMENTS TO REDUCING CHILD 

8 ABUSE. 

9 Section 405 of the Indian Child Protection and Fam10 ily Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3204) is amended 

11 to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 405. REMOVAL OF IMPEDIMENTS TO REDUCING 

13 CHILD ABUSE. 

14 ‘‘(a) STUDY.—The Secretary, in consultation with 

15 the Attorney General and the Service, shall conduct a 

16 study under which the Secretary shall identify any impedi17 ment to the reduction of child abuse in Indian country 

18 and on Indian reservations. 

19 ‘‘(b) INCLUSIONS.—The study under subsection (a) 

20 shall include a description of—

21 ‘‘(1) any impediment, or recent progress made 

22 with respect to removing impediments, to reporting 

23 child abuse in Indian country; 

24 ‘‘(2) any impediment, or recent progress made 

25 with respect to removing impediments, to Federal, 
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1 State, and tribal investigations and prosecutions of 

2 allegations of child abuse in Indian country; and 

3 ‘‘(3) any impediment, or recent progress made 

4 with respect to removing impediments, to the treat5 ment of child abuse in Indian country. 

6 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

7 date of enactment of the Indian Child Protection and 

8 Family Violence Prevention Act Amendments of 2007, the 

9 Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Indian Af10 fairs and the Judiciary of the Senate, and the Committees 

11 on Natural Resources and the Judiciary of the House of 

12 Representatives, a report describing—

13 ‘‘(1) the findings of the study under this sec14 tion; and 

15 ‘‘(2) recommendations for legislative actions, if 

16 any, to reduce instances of child abuse in Indian 

17 country.’’. 

18 SEC. 6. CONFIDENTIALITY. 

19 Section 406 of the Indian Child Protection and Fam20 ily Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3205) is amended 

21 to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 406. CONFIDENTIALITY. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro24 vision of law, any Federal, State, or tribal government 

25 agency that treats or investigates incidents of child abuse 
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1 may provide information and records to an officer of any 

2 other Federal, State, or tribal government agency that re3 quires the information to carry out the duties of the offi4 cer, in accordance with section 552a of title 5, United 

5 States Code, section 361 of the Public Health Service Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 264), the Family Educational Rights and Pri7 vacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. 1232g), part C of title XI 

8 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320d et seq.), and 

9 other applicable Federal law. 

10 ‘‘(b) TREATMENT OF INDIAN TRIBES.—For purposes 

11 of this section, an Indian tribal government shall be con12 sidered to be an entity of the Federal Government.’’. 

13 SEC. 7. WAIVER OF PARENTAL CONSENT. 

14 Section 407 of the Indian Child Protection and Fam15 ily Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3206) is amend16 ed—

17 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘and foren18 sic’’ after ‘‘psychological’’; and 

19 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(c) PROTECTION OF CHILD.—Any examination or 

22 interview of a child who may have been the subject of child 

23 abuse shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) be conducted under such circumstances 

2 and using such safeguards as are necessary to mini3 mize additional trauma to the child; 

4 ‘‘(2) avoid, to the maximum extent practicable, 

5 subjecting the child to multiple interviewers during 

6 the examination and interview processes; and 

7 ‘‘(3) as time permits, be conducted using advice 

8 from, or under the guidance of—

9 ‘‘(A) a local multidisciplinary team estab10 lished under section 411; or 

11 ‘‘(B) if a local multidisciplinary team is 

12 not established under section 411, a multidisci13 plinary team established under section 410.’’. 

14 SEC. 8. CHARACTER INVESTIGATIONS. 

15 Section 408 of the Indian Child Protection and Fam16 ily Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3207) is amend17 ed—

18 (1) in subsection (a)—

19 (A) in paragraph (1)—

20 (i) by inserting ‘‘, including any vol21 untary positions,’’ after ‘‘authorized posi22 tions’’; and 

23 (ii) by striking the comma at the end 

24 and inserting a semicolon; and 

25 (B) in paragraph (2)—
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1 (i) by inserting ‘‘(including in a volun2 teer capacity)’’ after ‘‘considered for em3 ployment’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘, and’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘; and’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘guilty to’’ 

7 and all that follows and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘guilty to, any felony offense under Federal, State, 

9 or tribal law, or 2 or more misdemeanor offenses 

10 under Federal, State, or tribal law, involving—

11 ‘‘(1) a crime of violence; 

12 ‘‘(2) sexual assault; 

13 ‘‘(3) child abuse; 

14 ‘‘(4) molestation; 

15 ‘‘(5) child sexual exploitation; 

16 ‘‘(6) sexual contact; 

17 ‘‘(7) child neglect; 

18 ‘‘(8) prostitution; or 

19 ‘‘(9) another offense against a child.’’; and 

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

21 ‘‘(d) EFFECT ON CHILD PLACEMENT.—An Indian 

22 tribe that submits a written statement to the applicable 

23 State official documenting that the Indian tribe has con24 ducted a background investigation under this section for 

25 the placement of an Indian child in a tribally-licensed or 
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1 tribally-approved foster care or adoptive home, or for an2 other out-of-home placement, shall be considered to have 

3 satisfied the background investigation requirements of any 

4 Federal or State law requiring such an investigation.’’. 

5 SEC. 9. INDIAN CHILD ABUSE TREATMENT GRANT PRO6 GRAM. 

7 Section 409 of the Indian Child Protection and Fam8 ily Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3208) is amended 

9 by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following: 

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

11 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec12 essary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 

13 2008 through 2012.’’. 

14 SEC. 10. INDIAN CHILD RESOURCE AND FAMILY SERVICES 

15 CENTERS. 

16 Section 410 of the Indian Child Protection and Fam17 ily Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3209) is amend18 ed—

19 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘area office’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘Regional Office’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘The Sec22 retary’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Human Serv23 ices’’ and inserting ‘‘The Secretary, the Secretary of 

24 Health and Human Services, and the Attorney Gen25 eral’’; 
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1 (3) in subsection (d)—

2 (A) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, 

3 State,’’ after ‘‘Federal’’; and 

4 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘agency 

5 office’’ and inserting ‘‘Regional Office’’; 

6 (4) in subsection (e)—

7 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking the 

8 comma at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

9 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and insert10 ing the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) adolescent mental and behavioral health 

12 (including suicide prevention and treatment);’’; 

13 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking the pe14 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘and sexual as15 sault;’’; and 

16 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(5) criminal prosecution; and 

18 ‘‘(6) medicine.’’; 

19 (5) in subsection (f)—

20 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The 

21 Secretary’’ and all that follows through 

22 ‘‘Human Services’’ and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in con24 sultation with the Service and the Attorney Gen25 eral’’; 
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1 (B) in the second sentence—

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

3 the following 

4 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—Each’’; and 

5 (ii) by striking ‘‘shall consist of 7 

6 members’’ and inserting ‘‘shall be’’; 

7 (C) in the third sentence, by striking 

8 ‘‘Members’’ and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(3) COMPENSATION.—Members’’; and 

10 (D) in the fourth sentence, by striking 

11 ‘‘The advisory’’ and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(4) DUTIES.—Each advisory’’; 

13 (6) in subsection (g)—

14 (A) by striking ‘‘(g)’’ and all that follows 

15 through ‘‘Indian Child Resource’’ and inserting 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(g) APPLICATION OF INDIAN SELF-DETERMINA18 TION AND EDUCATION ASSISTANCE ACT TO CENTERS.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Indian Child Resource’’; 

20 (B) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘Act’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘and Education Assistance Act 

22 (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.)’’; 

23 (C) by striking the second sentence and in24 serting the following: 

25 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN REGIONAL OFFICES.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B), if a Center is located in a 

3 Regional Office of the Bureau that serves more 

4 than 1 Indian tribe, an application to enter into 

5 a grant, contract, or compact under the Indian 

6 Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

7 Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.) to operate the Cen8 ter shall contain a consent form signed by an 

9 official of each Indian tribe to be served under 

10 the grant, contract, or compact. 

11 ‘‘(B) ALASKA REGION.—Notwithstanding 

12 subparagraph (A), for Centers located in the 

13 Alaska Region, an application to enter into a 

14 grant, contract, or compact described in that 

15 subparagraph shall contain a consent form 

16 signed by an official of each Indian tribe or 

17 tribal consortium that is a member of a grant, 

18 contract, or compact relating to an Indian child 

19 protection and family violence prevention pro20 gram under the Indian Self-Determination and 

21 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et 

22 seq.).’’; and 

23 (D) in the third sentence, by striking 

24 ‘‘This section’’ and inserting the following: 

25 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF SECTION.—This section’’; and 
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1 (7) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 

2 following: 

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

4 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec5 essary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 

6 2008 through 2012.’’. 

7 SEC. 11. USE OF TELEMEDICINE. 

8 The Indian Child Protection and Family Violence 

9 Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.) is amended by 

10 adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 412. USE OF TELEMEDICINE. 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF MEDICAL OR BEHAVIORAL

13 HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.—In this section, the term ‘med14 ical or behavioral health professional’ means an employee 

15 or volunteer of an organization that provides a service as 

16 part of a comprehensive service program that combines—

17 ‘‘(1) substance abuse (including abuse of alco18 hol, drugs, inhalants, and tobacco) prevention and 

19 treatment; and 

20 ‘‘(2) mental health treatment. 

21 ‘‘(b) CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS.—The Service is 

22 authorized to enter into any contract or agreement for the 

23 use of telemedicine with a public or private university or 

24 facility, including a medical university or facility, or any 

25 private medical or behavioral health professional, with ex-
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1 perience relating to pediatrics, including the diagnosis and 

2 treatment of child abuse, to assist the Service with respect 

3 to—

4 ‘‘(1) the diagnosis and treatment of child abuse; 

5 or 

6 ‘‘(2) methods of training Service personnel in 

7 diagnosing and treating child abuse. 

8 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.—In carrying out subsection 

9 (b), the Service shall, to the maximum extent prac10 ticable—

11 ‘‘(1) use existing telemedicine infrastructure; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(2) give priority to Service units and medical 

14 facilities operated pursuant to grants, contracts, or 

15 compacts under the Indian Self-Determination and 

16 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.) 

17 that are located in, or providing service to, remote 

18 areas of Indian country. 

19 ‘‘(d) INFORMATION AND CONSULTATION.—On re20 ceipt of a request, for purposes of this section, the Service 

21 may provide to public and private universities and facili22 ties, including medical universities and facilities, and med23 ical or behavioral health professionals described in sub24 section (b) any information or consultation on the treat-
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1 ment of Indian children who have, or may have, been sub2 ject to abuse or neglect. 

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

4 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec5 essary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 

6 2008 through 2012.’’. 

7 SEC. 12. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

8 (a) OFFENSES COMMITTED WITHIN INDIAN COUN9 TRY.—Section 1153(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 

10 amended by striking ‘‘felony child abuse or neglect’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘felony child abuse, felony child neglect’’. 

12 (b) REPORTING OF CHILD ABUSE.—Section 1169 of 

13 title 18, United States Code, is amended—

14 (1) in subsection (a)(1)—

15 (A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘or 

16 volunteering for’’ after ‘‘employed by’’; 

17 (B) in subparagraph (D)—

18 (i) by inserting ‘‘or volunteer’’ after 

19 ‘‘child day care worker’’; and 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘worker in a group 

21 home’’ and inserting ‘‘worker or volunteer 

22 in a group home’’; 

23 (C) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘or 

24 psychological assistant,’’ and inserting ‘‘psycho25 logical or psychiatric assistant, or person em-
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1 ployed in the mental or behavioral health pro2 fession;’’; 

3 (D) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

4 ‘‘child’’ and inserting ‘‘individual’’; 

5 (E) by striking subparagraph (G), and in6 serting the following: 

7 ‘‘(G) foster parent; or’’; and 

8 (F) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘law 

9 enforcement officer, probation officer’’ and in10 serting ‘‘law enforcement personnel, probation 

11 officer, criminal prosecutor’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (c), by striking paragraphs (3) 

13 and (4) and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(3) ‘local child protective services agency’ has 

15 the meaning given the term in section 403 of the In16 dian Child Protection and Family Violence Preven17 tion Act (25 U.S.C. 3202); and 

18 ‘‘(4) ‘local law enforcement agency’ has the 

19 meaning given the term in section 403 of that Act.’’. 

Passed the Senate May 25, 2007. 

Attest:

Secretary. 
110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 398

AN ACT

To amend the Indian Child Protection and Family 

purposes.examinations of certain children, and for other barriers to reducing child abuse, to provide for Violence Prevention Act to identify and remove