II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2343 

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 

MAY 15, 2014 

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 Mar 15 2010 23:38 May 22, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2343.IS S2343

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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 2012 indicate that 678,810 chil5 dren in the United States were reported as being 

6 victims of child abuse or neglect, and 11,539 of 

7 those children died as a result of such abuse or ne8 glect; 

9 (3) regardless of whether an adult is legally re10 quired to report child abuse and neglect, every adult 

11 who suspects or knows about child abuse or neglect 

12 has a moral duty to report such concerns to the ap13 propriate authorities; and 

14 (4) establishing a Federal standard for the 

15 classes of individuals that State law establishes as 

16 mandated reporters will protect children and ensure 

17 greater consistency among the laws of States, while 

18 allowing States the flexibility to establish additional 

19 classes of individuals as mandated reporters. 

20 SEC. 3. EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGNS AND TRAINING. 

21 The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act is 

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

23 the following: 


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

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

3 to eligible entities to carry out educational campaigns and 

4 provide evidence-based or evidence-informed training re5 garding State laws for mandatory reporting of incidents 

6 of child abuse or neglect. 

7 ‘‘(b) GUIDANCE AND INFORMATION ON BEST PRAC8 TICES.—The Secretary shall develop and disseminate 

9 guidance and information on best practices for— 

10 ‘‘(1) educational campaigns to educate members 

11 of the public about— 

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

13 child abuse or neglect under State law; 

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

15 suspected and known incidents of child abuse or 

16 neglect under State law; and 

17 ‘‘(C) the resources available to struggling 

18 families to help prevent child abuse and neglect; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(2) evidence-based or evidence-informed train21 ing programs to improve such reporting by adults, 

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

23 professional or volunteer capacity. 

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

25 under this section, an entity shall submit an application 

26 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and conVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:38 May 22, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2343.IS S2343

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1 taining such information as the Secretary may require. In 

2 determining whether to make a grant under this section, 

3 the Secretary shall determine whether the educational 

4 campaign or training proposed by the entity uses practices 

5 described in the guidance and information developed 

6 under subsection (b). 

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

8 grant under this section shall use the funds made available 

9 through the grant to carry out an educational campaign, 

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

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

12 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

13 $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2015 and $10,000,000 for each 

14 of fiscal years 2016 through 2019.’’. 

15 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO STATES FOR CHILD ABUSE OR NE16 GLECT PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PRO17 GRAMS. 

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

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

20 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

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

22 an assurance’’ and all that follows through the 

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

24 ‘‘(B) an assurance in the form of a certifi25 cation by the Governor of the State that the 


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

2 or has in effect and is operating a statewide 

3 program, relating to child abuse and neglect 

4 that includes— 

5 ‘‘(i) provisions or procedures for an 

6 individual described in paragraph (5) to re7 port suspected or known incidents of child 

8 abuse or neglect to a State child protective 

9 service agency or to a law enforcement 

10 agency, which shall include a State law for 

11 mandatory reporting of such incidents, to 

12 either type of agency, by any individual de13 scribed in paragraph (5), in accordance 

14 with paragraph (6);’’; 

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

16 and’’ and inserting ‘‘;’’; 

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

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

19 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (G) 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(H) an assurance that the State, in devel22 oping the State plan described in paragraph 

23 (1), has established procedures to ensure co24 ordination between the State law or statewide 

25 program described in subparagraph (B) and 


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1 relevant law enforcement and State or commu2 nity-based victims’ services agencies to ensure 

3 that children who are the victims of acts by a 

4 perpetrator other than a parent or caretaker 

5 that would be considered child abuse or neglect 

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

7 were a parent or caretaker, are referred for ap8 propriate follow-up services, even if such chil9 dren do not qualify for the protections under 

10 such State law or statewide program; and 

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

12 ‘‘(i) take primary responsibility to ac13 cept and investigate reports of known and 

14 suspected child abuse or neglect pertaining 

15 to an incident that occurred in that State, 

16 even if the child or the alleged perpetrator 

17 resides in a different State; 

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

19 primary responsibility to investigate a re20 port as described in clause (i), share the 

21 results of the investigation with the State 

22 where the child resides and with the State 

23 where the alleged perpetrator resides; and 

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

25 the child or alleged perpetrator resides, but 


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1 where the alleged incident did not occur, 

2 establish a plan to assist the State with 

3 primary responsibility for the investiga4 tion.’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(5) INDIVIDUALS REQUIRED TO REPORT SUS7 PECTED OR KNOWN CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT.— 

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

9 a State law for mandatory reporting described in 

10 such paragraph shall require all of the following in11 dividuals to report suspected or known incidents of 

12 child abuse or neglect: 

13 ‘‘(A) Individuals licensed or certified to 

14 practice in any health-related field licensed by 

15 the State, employees of health care facilities or 

16 providers licensed by the State, who are en17 gaged in the admission, examination, care or 

18 treatment of individuals, including mental 

19 health and emergency medical services pro20 viders. 

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

22 have direct contact with children, including 

23 teachers, administrators, and independent con24 tractors. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Peace officers and law enforcement 

2 personnel. 

3 ‘‘(D) Clergy, including Christian Science 

4 practitioners, except where prohibited on ac5 count of clergy-penitent privilege. 

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

7 and employees. 

8 ‘‘(F) Employees of social services agencies 

9 who have direct contact with children in the 

10 course of employment. 

11 ‘‘(G) Foster parents. 

12 ‘‘(H) Court appointed special advocates 

13 (employees and volunteers). 

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

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

16 on the basis of the individual’s role as an inte17 gral part of a regularly scheduled program, ac18 tivity, or service, accepts responsibility for a 

19 child. 

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

21 State law or statewide program may require. 

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

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

24 for mandatory reporting described in such para25 graph shall require such individuals to report susVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:38 May 22, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2343.IS S2343

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1 pected or known incidents of child abuse or neglect 

2 directly to the appropriate law enforcement or child 

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

4 if applicable, to the individual’s supervisor or em5 ployer.’’. 

6 SEC. 5. APPROACHES AND TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE RE7 PORTING. 

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

9 Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5107c(b)) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (4)— 

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

13 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

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

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

16 with children in a professional or volunteer ca17 pacity, to report suspected and known incidents 

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

19 and 

20 (2) in paragraph (5), by inserting before the pe21 riod ‘‘and the training described in paragraph 

22 (4)(C)’’. 

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

24 such Act (42 U.S.C. 5107c(d)) is amended— 


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

2 end; 

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

4 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol6 lowing: 

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

8 who work with children in a professional or volun9 teer capacity, to report suspected and known inci10 dents of child abuse or neglect under State law.’’. 

11 (c) ADOPTION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—Section 

12 107(e)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5107c(e)(1)) is amend13 ed— 

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

15 the end; 

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

17 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(D) experimental, model, and demonstra20 tion programs for testing innovative approaches 

21 and techniques that may improve reporting of 

22 and response to suspected and known incidents 

23 of child abuse or neglect by adults to the State 

24 child protective service agencies or to law en25 forcement agencies.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. GENERAL PROGRAM GRANTS. 

2 Section 108 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 

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

4 at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(f) MANDATORY REPORTING.—To be eligible to re6 ceive any form of financial assistance under this title, a 

7 State shall include in the corresponding plan or applica8 tion an assurance that the State has in effect a State law 

9 for mandatory reporting described in section 

10 106(b)(2)(B)(i).’’. 

11 SEC. 7. REPORTS. 

12 Section 110 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 

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

14 at the end the following: 

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

16 REPORTING LAWS.— 

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

18 date of enactment of the Speak Up to Protect Every 

19 Abused Kid Act, the Secretary shall collect informa20 tion on and otherwise study the efforts of States re21 lating to State laws for mandatory reporting of inci22 dents of child abuse or neglect, in order to assess 

23 the implementation of the amendments made by that 

24 Act. 

25 ‘‘(2) REPORT.— 


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

2 after the date of enactment of the Speak Up to 

3 Protect Every Abused Kid Act, the Secretary 

4 shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

5 Congress a report containing the findings of the 

6 study under paragraph (1). 

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

8 under subparagraph (A) shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) provide an update on— 

10 ‘‘(I) implementation of State laws 

11 for mandatory reporting described in 

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

13 ‘‘(II) State efforts to improve re14 porting on, and responding to reports 

15 of, child abuse or neglect; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) include data regarding any 

17 changes in the rate of substantiated child 

18 abuse reports and changes in the rate of 

19 child abuse fatalities since the date of en20 actment of the Speak Up to Protect Every 

21 Abused Kid Act.’’. 

22 SEC. 8. COMMUNITY-BASED GRANTS. 

23 Section 204 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 

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


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

2 end; 

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

4 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

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

7 a State law for mandatory reporting described in 

8 section 106(b)(2)(B)(i).’’. 

9 SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

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

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

12 Act. 

13 (b) MANDATORY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The 

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

15 to the corresponding plans and applications submitted 

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

17 of this Act. 

Æ 


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