I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3126 

To require certain standards and enforcement provisions to prevent child 

abuse and neglect in residential programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 6, 2011 

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California (for himself and Mrs. MCCARTHY of New 

York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist9 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary for 


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1 Children and Families of the Department of Health 

2 and Human Services. 

3 (2) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi4 vidual who has not attained the age of 18. 

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

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

7 such term in section 3 of the Child Abuse Preven8 tion and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 note). 

9 (4) COVERED PROGRAM.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered pro11 gram’’ means each location of a program oper12 ated by a public or private entity that, with re13 spect to one or more children who are unrelated 

14 to the owner or operator of the program— 

15 (i) provides a residential environment, 

16 such as— 

17 (I) a program with a wilderness 

18 or outdoor experience, expedition, or 

19 intervention; 

20 (II) a boot camp experience or 

21 other experience designed to simulate 

22 characteristics of basic military train23 ing or correctional regimes; 

24 (III) a therapeutic boarding 

25 school; or 


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1 (IV) a behavioral modification 

2 program; and 

3 (ii) operates with a focus on serving 

4 children with— 

5 (I) emotional, behavioral, or men6 tal health problems or disorders; or 

7 (II) problems with alcohol or sub8 stance abuse. 

9 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered pro10 gram’’ does not include— 

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

12 (ii) a foster family home that provides 

13 24-hour substitute care for children placed 

14 away from their parents or guardians and 

15 for whom the State child welfare services 

16 agency has placement and care responsi17 bility and that is licensed and regulated by 

18 the State as a foster family home. 

19 (5) PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY SYSTEM.—The 

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

21 protection and advocacy system established under 

22 section 143 of the Developmental Disabilities Assist23 ance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

24 15043). 


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1 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean2 ing given such term in section 3 of the Child Abuse 

3 Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 

4 note). 

5 SEC. 3. STANDARDS AND ENFORCEMENT. 

6 (a) MINIMUM STANDARDS.— 

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

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the As9 sistant Secretary for Children and Families of the 

10 Department of Health and Human Services shall re11 quire each covered program, in order to provide for 

12 the basic health and safety of children at such a pro13 gram, to meet the following minimum standards: 

14 (A) Child abuse and neglect shall be pro15 hibited. 

16 (B) Disciplinary techniques or other prac17 tices that involve the withholding of essential 

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

19 necessary to maintain physical health, mental 

20 health, and general safety, shall be prohibited. 

21 (C) The protection and promotion of the 

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

23 from physical and mechanical restraints and se24 clusion (as such terms are defined in section 

25 595 of the Public Health Service Act (42 


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

2 same manner as a non-medical, community3 based facility for children and youth is required 

4 to protect and promote the right of its residents 

5 to be free from such restraints and seclusion 

6 under such section 595, including the prohibi7 tions and limitations described in subsection 

8 (b)(3) of such section. 

9 (D) Acts of physical or mental abuse de10 signed to humiliate, degrade, or undermine a 

11 child’s self-respect shall be prohibited. 

12 (E) Each child at such a program shall 

13 have reasonable access to a telephone, and be 

14 informed of their right to such access, for mak15 ing and receiving phone calls with as much pri16 vacy as possible, and shall have access to the 

17 appropriate State or local child abuse reporting 

18 hotline number, and the national hotline num19 ber referred to in subsection (c)(2). 

20 (F) Each staff member, including volun21 teers, at such a program shall be required, as 

22 a condition of employment, to become familiar 

23 with what constitutes child abuse and neglect, 

24 as defined by State law. 


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

3 a condition of employment, to become familiar 

4 with the requirements, including with State law 

5 relating to mandated reporters, and procedures 

6 for reporting child abuse and neglect in the 

7 State in which such a program is located. 

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

9 qualifications and their roles and responsibil10 ities at such program, including medical, emer11 gency response, and mental health training, to 

12 parents or legal guardians of children at such 

13 a program, including providing information on 

14 any staff changes, including changes to any 

15 staff member’s qualifications, roles, or respon16 sibilities, not later than 10 days after such 

17 changes occur. 

18 (I) Each staff member at a covered pro19 gram described in subclause (I) or (II) of sec20 tion 2(4)(A)(i) shall be required, as a condition 

21 of employment, to be familiar with the signs, 

22 symptoms, and appropriate responses associated 

23 with heatstroke, dehydration, and hypothermia. 

24 (J) Each staff member, including volun25 teers, shall be required, as a condition of emVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:34 Oct 11, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3126.IH H3126

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1 ployment, to submit to a criminal history check, 

2 including a name-based search of the National 

3 Sex Offender Registry established pursuant to 

4 the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety 

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

6 16901 et seq.), a search of the State criminal 

7 registry or repository in the State in which the 

8 covered program is operating, and a Federal 

9 Bureau of Investigation fingerprint check. An 

10 individual shall be ineligible to serve in a posi11 tion with any contact with children at a covered 

12 program if any such record check reveals a fel13 ony conviction for child abuse or neglect, spous14 al abuse, a crime against children (including 

15 child pornography), or a crime involving vio16 lence, including rape, sexual assault, or homi17 cide, but not including other physical assault or 

18 battery. 

19 (K) Policies and procedures for the provi20 sion of emergency medical care, including poli21 cies for staff protocols for implementing emer22 gency responses. 

23 (L) All promotional and informational ma24 terials produced by such a program shall in25 clude a hyperlink to or the URL address of the 


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1 website created by the Assistant Secretary pur2 suant to subsection (c)(1)(A). 

3 (M) Policies to require parents or legal 

4 guardians of a child attending such a pro5 gram— 

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

7 of any medication the child is taking; 

8 (ii) to be notified within 24 hours of 

9 any changes to the child’s medical treat10 ment and the reason for such change; and 

11 (iii) to be notified within 24 hours of 

12 any missed dosage of prescribed medica13 tion. 

14 (N) Procedures for notifying immediately, 

15 to the maximum extent practicable, but not 

16 later than within 48 hours, parents or legal 

17 guardians with children at such a program of 

18 any— 

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

20 child abuse and neglect; 

21 (ii) violation of the health and safety 

22 standards described in this paragraph; and 

23 (iii) violation of State licensing stand24 ards developed pursuant to section 

25 114(b)(1) of the Child Abuse Prevention 


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1 and Treatment Act, as added by section 7 

2 of this Act. 

3 (O) Other standards the Assistant Sec4 retary determines appropriate to provide for the 

5 basic health and safety of children at such a 

6 program. 

7 (2) REGULATIONS.— 

8 (A) INTERIM REGULATIONS.—Not later 

9 than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

10 of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall pro11 mulgate and enforce interim regulations to 

12 carry out paragraph (1). 

13 (B) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Assistant 

14 Secretary shall, for a 90-day period beginning 

15 on the date of the promulgation of interim reg16 ulations under subparagraph (A) of this para17 graph, solicit and accept public comment con18 cerning such regulations. Such public comment 

19 shall be submitted in written form. 

20 (C) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not later than 

21 90 days after the conclusion of the 90-day pe22 riod referred to in subparagraph (B) of this 

23 paragraph, the Assistant Secretary shall pro24 mulgate and enforce final regulations to carry 

25 out paragraph (1). 


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1 (b) MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT.— 

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

3 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

4 this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall implement an 

5 on-going review process for investigating and evalu6 ating reports of child abuse and neglect at covered 

7 programs received by the Assistant Secretary from 

8 the appropriate State, in accordance with section 

9 114(b)(3) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat10 ment Act, as added by section 7 of this Act. Such 

11 review process shall— 

12 (A) include an investigation to determine if 

13 a violation of the standards required under sub14 section (a)(1) has occurred; 

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

16 performance with respect to appropriateness of 

17 response to and investigation of reports of child 

18 abuse and neglect at covered programs and ap19 propriateness of legal action against responsible 

20 parties in such cases; 

21 (C) be completed not later than 60 days 

22 after receipt by the Assistant Secretary of such 

23 a report; 

24 (D) not interfere with an investigation by 

25 the State or a subdivision thereof; and 


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1 (E) be implemented in each State in which 

2 a covered program operates until such time as 

3 each such State has satisfied the requirements 

4 under section 114(c) of the Child Abuse Pre5 vention and Treatment Act, as added by section 

6 7 of this Act, as determined by the Assistant 

7 Secretary, or two years has elapsed from the 

8 date that such review process is implemented, 

9 whichever is later. 

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

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

12 Assistant Secretary shall promulgate regulations es13 tablishing civil penalties for violations of the stand14 ards required under subsection (a)(1). The regula15 tions establishing such penalties shall incorporate 

16 the following: 

17 (A) Any owner or operator of a covered 

18 program at which the Assistant Secretary has 

19 found a violation of the standards required 

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

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

22 (B) All penalties collected under this sub23 section shall be deposited in the appropriate ac24 count of the Treasury of the United States. 


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1 (c) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The Assist2 ant Secretary shall establish, maintain, and disseminate 

3 information about the following: 

4 (1) Websites made available to the public that 

5 contain, at a minimum, the following: 

6 (A) The name and each location of each 

7 covered program, and the name of each owner 

8 and operator of each such program, operating 

9 in each State, and information regarding— 

10 (i) each such program’s history of vio11 lations of— 

12 (I) regulations promulgated pur13 suant to subsection (a); and 

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

15 Child Abuse Prevention and Treat16 ment Act, as added by section 7 of 

17 this Act; 

18 (ii) each such program’s current sta19 tus with the State licensing requirements 

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

21 Prevention and Treatment Act, as added 

22 by section 7 of this Act; 

23 (iii) any deaths that occurred to a 

24 child while under the care of such a pro25 gram, including any such deaths that ocVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:34 Oct 11, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3126.IH H3126

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1 curred in the five-year period immediately 

2 preceding the date of the enactment of this 

3 Act, and including the cause of each such 

4 death; 

5 (iv) owners or operators of a covered 

6 program that was found to be in violation 

7 of the standards required under subsection 

8 (a)(1), or a violation of the licensing stand9 ards developed pursuant to section 

10 114(b)(1) of the Child Abuse Prevention 

11 and Treatment Act, as added by section 7 

12 of this Act, and who subsequently own or 

13 operate another covered program; and 

14 (v) any penalties levied under sub15 section (b)(2) and any other penalties lev16 ied by the State, against each such pro17 gram. 

18 (B) Information on best practices for help19 ing adolescents with mental health disorders, 

20 conditions, behavioral challenges, or alcohol or 

21 substance abuse, including information to help 

22 families access effective resources in their com23 munities. 

24 (2) A national toll-free telephone hotline to re25 ceive complaints of child abuse and neglect at covVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:34 Oct 11, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3126.IH H3126

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1 ered programs and violations of the standards re2 quired under subsection (a)(1). 

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

4 a process to— 

5 (1) ensure complaints of child abuse and ne6 glect received by the hotline established pursuant to 

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

8 with expertise in evaluating such types of com9 plaints; 

10 (2) immediately notify the State, appropriate 

11 local law enforcement, and the appropriate protec12 tion and advocacy system of any credible complaint 

13 of child abuse and neglect at a covered program re14 ceived by the hotline; 

15 (3) investigate any such credible complaint not 

16 later than 30 days after receiving such complaint to 

17 determine if a violation of the standards required 

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

19 (4) ensure the collaboration and cooperation of 

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

21 with other appropriate National, State, and regional 

22 hotlines, and, as appropriate and practicable, with 

23 other hotlines that might receive calls about child 

24 abuse and neglect at covered programs. 


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1 SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. 

2 If the Assistant Secretary determines that a violation 

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

4 through the enforcement process described in subsection 

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

6 such violation to the Attorney General for appropriate ac7 tion. Regardless of whether such a referral has been made, 

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

9 in any court of competent jurisdiction seeking equitable 

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

11 violation. 

12 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

13 Not later than one year after the date of the enact14 ment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

15 of Health and Human Services, in coordination with the 

16 Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on Edu17 cation and Labor of the House of Representatives and the 

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

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

20 Assistant Secretary and the Attorney General under this 

21 Act, including— 

22 (1) a summary of findings from on-going re23 views conducted by the Assistant Secretary pursuant 

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

25 number and types of covered programs investigated 

26 by the Assistant Secretary pursuant to such section; 


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

2 and safety standards found by the Assistant Sec3 retary and any penalties assessed; 

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

5 requirements of this Act, including the requirements 

6 under section 114 of the Child Abuse Prevention 

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

8 Act; 

9 (4) a summary of the Secretary’s oversight ac10 tivities and findings conducted pursuant to sub11 section (d) of such section 114; and 

12 (5) a description of the activities undertaken by 

13 the national toll-free telephone hotline established 

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

15 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec17 retary of Health and Human Services $15,000,000 for 

18 each of fiscal years 2012 through 2016 to carry out this 

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

20 Act and section 8 of this Act). 


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1 SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR 

2 GRANTS TO STATES TO PREVENT CHILD 

3 ABUSE AND NEGLECT AT RESIDENTIAL PRO4 GRAMS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Child Abuse Preven6 tion and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) is 

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

8 ‘‘SEC. 114. ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR 

9 GRANTS TO STATES TO PREVENT CHILD 

10 ABUSE AND NEGLECT AT RESIDENTIAL PRO11 GRAMS. 

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

13 ‘‘(1) CHILD.—The term ‘child’ means an indi14 vidual who has not attained the age of 18. 

15 ‘‘(2) COVERED PROGRAM.— 

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

17 program’ means each location of a program op18 erated by a public or private entity that, with 

19 respect to one or more children who are unre20 lated to the owner or operator of the program— 

21 ‘‘(i) provides a residential environ22 ment, such as— 

23 ‘‘(I) a program with a wilderness 

24 or outdoor experience, expedition, or 

25 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 

12 mental health problems or disorders; 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(II) problems with alcohol or 

15 substance abuse. 

16 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘covered pro17 gram’ does not include— 

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

19 or 

20 ‘‘(ii) a foster family home that pro21 vides 24-hour substitute care for children 

22 placed away from their parents or guard23 ians and for whom the State child welfare 

24 services agency has placement and care reVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:34 Oct 11, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3126.IH H3126

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1 sponsibility and that is licensed and regu2 lated by the State as a foster family home. 

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

4 The term ‘protection and advocacy system’ means a 

5 protection and advocacy system established under 

6 section 143 of the Developmental Disabilities Assist7 ance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

8 15043). 

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

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

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

12 of the enactment of this section, develop policies and 

13 procedures to prevent child abuse and neglect at cov14 ered programs operating in such State, including 

15 having in effect health and safety licensing require16 ments applicable to and necessary for the operation 

17 of each location of such covered programs that in18 clude, at a minimum— 

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

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

21 Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for 

22 Teens Act of 2011; 

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

24 clothing, shelter, and medical care necessary to 


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1 maintain physical health, mental health, and 

2 general safety of children at such programs; 

3 ‘‘(C) policies for emergency medical care 

4 preparedness and response, including minimum 

5 staff training and qualifications for such re6 sponses; and 

7 ‘‘(D) notification to appropriate staff at 

8 covered programs if their position of employ9 ment meets the definition of mandated reporter, 

10 as defined by the State; 

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

12 and enforce compliance with the licensing require13 ments developed in accordance with paragraph (1), 

14 including— 

15 ‘‘(A) designating an agency to be respon16 sible, in collaboration and consultation with 

17 State agencies providing human services (in18 cluding child protective services, and services to 

19 children with emotional, psychological, develop20 mental, or behavioral dysfunctions, impair21 ments, disorders, or alcohol or substance 

22 abuse), State law enforcement officials, the ap23 propriate protection and advocacy system, and 

24 courts of competent jurisdiction, for monitoring 

25 and enforcing such compliance; 


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1 ‘‘(B) establishing a State licensing applica2 tion process through which any individual seek3 ing to operate a covered program would be re4 quired to disclose all previous substantiated re5 ports of child abuse and neglect and all child 

6 deaths at any businesses previously or currently 

7 owned or operated by such individual, except 

8 that substantiated reports of child abuse and 

9 neglect may remain confidential and all reports 

10 shall not contain any personally identifiable in11 formation relating to the identity of individuals 

12 who were the victims of such child abuse and 

13 neglect; 

14 ‘‘(C) conducting unannounced site inspec15 tions not less often than once every two years 

16 at each location of a covered program; 

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

18 integrated with the annual State data reports 

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

20 child abuse and neglect at covered programs op21 erating in the State, except that such reports 

22 shall not contain any personally identifiable in23 formation relating to the identity of individuals 

24 who were the victims of such child abuse and 

25 neglect; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) implementing a policy of graduated 

2 sanctions, including fines and suspension and 

3 revocation of licences, against covered programs 

4 operating in the State that are out of compli5 ance with such health and safety licensing re6 quirements; 

7 ‘‘(3) if the State is not yet satisfying the re8 quirements of this subsection, in accordance with a 

9 determination made pursuant to subsection (c), de10 velop policies and procedures for notifying the Sec11 retary and the appropriate protection and advocacy 

12 system of any report of child abuse and neglect at 

13 a covered program operating in the State not later 

14 than 30 days after the appropriate State entity, or 

15 subdivision thereof, determines such report should 

16 be investigated and not later than 48 hours in the 

17 event of a fatality; 

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

19 is satisfying the requirements of this subsection, in 

20 accordance with a determination made pursuant to 

21 subsection (c), develop policies and procedures for 

22 notifying the Secretary if— 

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

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1 gram operating in the State or by an owner or 

2 operator of such a program; or 

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

4 program operating in the State; 

5 ‘‘(5) develop policies and procedures for estab6 lishing and maintaining a publicly available database 

7 of all covered programs operating in the State, in8 cluding the name and each location of each such 

9 program and the name of the owner and operator of 

10 each such program, information on reports of sub11 stantiated child abuse and neglect at such programs 

12 (except that such reports shall not contain any per13 sonally identifiable information relating to the iden14 tity of individuals who were the victims of such child 

15 abuse and neglect and that such database shall in16 clude and provide the definition of ‘substantiated’ 

17 used in compiling the data in cases that have not 

18 been finally adjudicated), violations of standards re19 quired under paragraph (1), and all penalties levied 

20 against such programs; 

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

22 that includes— 

23 ‘‘(A) the name and each location of all cov24 ered programs, including the names of the own25 ers and operators of such programs, operating 


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1 in the State, and any violations of State licens2 ing requirements developed pursuant to sub3 section (b)(1); and 

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

5 monitor and enforce such State licensing re6 quirements, including the names of owners and 

7 operators of each covered program that under8 went a site inspection by the State, and a sum9 mary of the results and any actions taken; and 

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

11 is satisfying the requirements of this subsection, in 

12 accordance with a determination made pursuant to 

13 subsection (c), develop policies and procedures to re14 port to the appropriate protection and advocacy sys15 tem any case of the death of an individual under the 

16 control or supervision of a covered program not later 

17 than 48 hours after the State is informed of such 

18 death. 

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

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

21 monitoring, and enforcement of covered programs oper22 ating in the State satisfy the requirements of subsection 

23 (b) unless— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the State implements licensing require2 ments for such covered programs that meet or ex3 ceed the standards required under subsection (b)(1); 

4 ‘‘(2) the State designates an agency to be re5 sponsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance 

6 with such licensing requirements; 

7 ‘‘(3) the State conducts unannounced site in8 spections of each location of such covered programs 

9 not less often than once every two years; 

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

11 such covered programs, to include information on re12 ports of child abuse and neglect at such programs 

13 (except that such reports shall not contain any per14 sonally identifiable information relating to the iden15 tity of individuals who were the victims of such child 

16 abuse and neglect); 

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

18 sanctions, including fines and suspension and rev19 ocation of licenses against such covered programs 

20 that are out of compliance with the health and safe21 ty licensing requirements under subsection (b)(1); 

22 and 

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

24 under section 3(b)(1)(B) of the Stop Child Abuse in 

25 Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2011, the 


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1 Secretary determines the State is appropriately in2 vestigating and responding to allegations of child 

3 abuse and neglect at such covered programs. 

4 ‘‘(d) OVERSIGHT.— 

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

6 the date of the enactment of the Stop Child Abuse 

7 in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2011, the 

8 Secretary shall implement a process for continued 

9 monitoring of each State that is determined to be 

10 satisfying the licensing, monitoring, and enforcement 

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

12 determination made pursuant to subsection (c), with 

13 respect to the performance of each such State re14 garding— 

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

16 covered programs operating in each such State; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(B) enforcing the licensing standards de19 scribed in subsection (b)(1). 

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

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

22 a minimum— 

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

24 days after receipt by the Secretary of a report 

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


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1 abuse and neglect at a covered program oper2 ating in the State, and submission of findings 

3 to appropriate law enforcement or other local 

4 entity where necessary, if the report indicates— 

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

6 or 

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

8 violations of the standards required under 

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

10 owner or operator of such program; 

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

12 cases of reports of child abuse and neglect in13 vestigated at covered programs operating in the 

14 State to assess the State’s performance with re15 spect to the appropriateness of response to and 

16 investigation of reports of child abuse and ne17 glect at covered programs and the appropriate18 ness of legal actions taken against responsible 

19 parties in such cases; and 

20 ‘‘(C) unannounced site inspections of cov21 ered programs operating in the State to mon22 itor compliance with the standards required 

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

24 Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2011. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ENFORCEMENT.—If the Secretary deter2 mines, pursuant to an evaluation under this sub3 section, that a State is not adequately implementing, 

4 monitoring, and enforcing the licensing requirements 

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

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

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

8 of each instance there is a report to be inves9 tigated of child abuse and neglect at a covered 

10 program operating in the State; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the Secretary and the appropriate 

12 local agency shall jointly investigate such re13 port.’’. 

14 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

15 112(a)(1) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 5106h(a)(1)) is amended by striking 

17 ‘‘$120,000,000’’ and all that follows through the period 

18 and inserting ‘‘$235,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 

19 through 2016.’’. 

20 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

21 (1) COORDINATION WITH AVAILABLE RE22 SOURCES.—Section 103(c)(1)(D) of the Child Abuse 

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

24 5104(c)(1)(D)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘spe25 cific’’ the following: ‘‘(including reports of child 


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1 abuse and neglect occurring at covered programs 

2 (except that such reports shall not contain any per3 sonally identifiable information relating to the iden4 tity of individuals who were the victims of such child 

5 abuse and neglect), as such term is defined in sec6 tion 114)’’. 

7 (2) FURTHER REQUIREMENT.—Section 

8 106(b)(1) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat9 ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)(1)) is amended by 

10 adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

11 ‘‘(D) FURTHER REQUIREMENT.—To be eli12 gible to receive a grant under this section, a 

13 State shall comply with the requirements under 

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

15 plan submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) a 

16 description of the activities the State will carry 

17 out to comply with the requirements under such 

18 section 114(b).’’. 

19 (3) ANNUAL STATE DATA REPORTS.—Section 

20 106(d) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat21 ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(d)) is amended— 

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

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

24 reports of child abuse and neglect occurring at 

25 covered programs (except that such reports 


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1 shall not contain any personally identifiable in2 formation relating to the identity of individuals 

3 who were the victims of such child abuse and 

4 neglect), as such term is defined in section 

5 114)’’; and 

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

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

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

9 term is defined in section 114’’. 

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

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

12 5101 note) is amended by inserting after the item relating 

13 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.’’. 

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

15 PROGRAMS. 

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

17 Services shall conduct a study, in consultation with rel18 evant agencies and experts, to examine the outcomes for 

19 children in both private and public covered programs 

20 under this Act encompassing a broad representation of 

21 treatment facilities and geographic regions. 

22 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary of Health and Human 

23 Services shall submit to the Committee on Education and 

24 the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the 


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

2 the Senate a report that contains the results of the study 

3 conducted under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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