115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2961 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize subtitle A of the Victims of Child Abuse 

Act of 1990. 

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 ‘‘Victims of Child Abuse 

3 Act Reauthorization Act of 2018’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Section 211 of the Victims of Child 

6 Abuse Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20301) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2,000,000’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘3,300,000’’; 

9 (2) in paragraph (6)— 

10 (A) by inserting ‘‘improve positive out11 comes for the child,’’ before ‘‘and increase’’; 

12 and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a 

14 semicolon; 

15 (3) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘could be du16 plicated in many jurisdictions throughout the coun17 try.’’ and inserting ‘‘have expanded dramatically 

18 throughout the United States; and’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(8) State chapters of children’s advocacy cen21 ter networks are needed to— 

22 ‘‘(A) assist local communities in coordi23 nating their multidisciplinary child abuse inves24 tigation, prosecution, and intervention services; 

25 and 
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1 ‘‘(B) provide oversight of, and training and 

2 technical assistance in, the effective delivery of 

3 evidence-informed programming.’’. 

4 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 212 of the Victims of 

5 Child Abuse Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20302) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking paragraphs (3) and (6); 

7 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), (7), 

8 (8), and (9) as paragraphs (3), (4), (5), (6), and 

9 (7), respectively; 

10 (3) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by 

11 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

12 (4) in paragraph (7), as so redesignated, by 

13 striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

14 and 

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

16 ‘‘(8) the term ‘State chapter’ means a member17 ship organization that provides technical assistance, 

18 training, coordination, grant administration, over19 sight, and support to local children’s advocacy cen20 ters, multidisciplinary teams, and communities work21 ing to implement a multidisciplinary response to 

22 child abuse in the provision of evidence-informed ini23 tiatives, including mental health counseling, forensic 

24 interviewing, multidisciplinary team coordination, 

25 and victim advocacy.’’. 
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1 (c) REGIONAL CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY CENTERS.— 

2 Section 213 of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 

3 (34 U.S.C. 20303) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)— 

5 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

6 by striking ‘‘with the Director and’’ 

7 (B) by striking paragraph (2); 

8 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 

9 (4) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; 

10 (D) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 

11 by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

12 (E) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated— 

13 (i) by inserting after ‘‘mental health 

14 care professionals’’ the following: ‘‘, law 

15 enforcement officers, child protective serv16 ice workers, forensic interviewers, prosecu17 tors, and victim advocates,’’; 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘medical’’ each place 

19 that term appears; and 

20 (iii) by striking the period at the end 

21 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (F) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(4) collaborate with State chapters to provide 

24 training, technical assistance, coordination, and 

25 oversight to— 
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1 ‘‘(A) local children’s advocacy centers; and 

2 ‘‘(B) communities that want to develop 

3 local children’s advocacy centers.’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (b)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (i) in the matter preceding subpara7 graph (A), by striking ‘‘, in coordination 

8 with the Director,’’; 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

10 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

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

12 ‘‘the prevention, judicial handling, and 

13 treatment of child abuse and neglect; and’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘multidisciplinary team in15 vestigation, trauma-informed interventions, 

16 and evidence-informed treatment,’’; and 

17 (iv) by striking subparagraph (C); and 

18 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

20 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

21 (i), by striking ‘‘communities’’ and in22 serting ‘‘communities, local children’s 

23 advocacy centers, multidisciplinary 

24 teams, and State chapters’’; 
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1 (II) in clause (i), by inserting 

2 ‘‘and expanding’’ after ‘‘developing’’; 

3 (III) by redesignating clauses (ii) 

4 through (x) as clauses (iii) through 

5 (xi), respectively; 

6 (IV) by inserting after clause (i) 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(ii) in promoting the effective deliv9 ery of the evidence-informed Children’s Ad10 vocacy Model and the multidisciplinary re11 sponse to child abuse, including best prac12 tices in— 

13 ‘‘(I) organizational support and 

14 development; 

15 ‘‘(II) programmatic evaluation; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(III) financial oversight of Fed18 eral funding;’’; 

19 (V) in clause (iii), as so redesig20 nated, by striking ‘‘a freestanding fa21 cility where interviews of and services 

22 for abused children can be provided’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘child-friendly facilities 

24 for the investigation of, assessment of, 

25 and intervention in abuse’’; and 
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1 (VI) in clause (iv), as so redesig2 nated, by striking ‘‘multiple’’ and in3 serting ‘‘duplicative’’; and 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

5 ‘‘and interested communities’’ after ‘‘advo6 cacy centers’’; 

7 (3) in subsection (c)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ‘‘re9 medial counseling to’’ and inserting ‘‘evidence10 informed services for’’; 

11 (B) in paragraph (3)(A)(ii), by striking 

12 ‘‘multidisciplinary child abuse program’’ and in13 serting ‘‘children’s advocacy center’’; and 

14 (C) in paragraph (4)(B)— 

15 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

16 by striking ‘‘, in coordination with the Di17 rector,’’; 

18 (ii) by striking clause (iii); and 

19 (iii) by redesignating clauses (iv) and 

20 (v) as clauses (iii) and (iv), respectively; 

21 (4) in subsection (d)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, in co23 ordination with the Director,’’; 
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1 (B) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre2 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and the 

3 Director’’; and 

4 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘DIS5 CONTINUATION OF FUNDING.—’’ and all that 

6 follows through ‘‘Upon discontinuation’’ and in7 serting the following: ‘‘DISCONTINUATION OF

8 FUNDING.—Upon discontinuation’’; and 

9 (5) by striking subsections (e) and (f). 

10 (d) LOCAL CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY CENTERS.—Sec11 tion 214 of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (34 

12 U.S.C. 20304) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordina16 tion with the Director of the Office of Victims of Crime, 

17 shall make grants to— 

18 ‘‘(1) develop and enhance multidisciplinary 

19 child abuse investigations, intervention, and prosecu20 tion; and 

21 ‘‘(2) promote the effective delivery of the evi22 dence-informed Children’s Advocacy Model and the 

23 multidisciplinary response to child abuse, including 

24 best practices in programmatic evaluation and finan25 cial oversight of Federal funding.’’; 
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1 (2) in subsection (b)— 

2 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

3 ‘‘HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND’’ before ‘‘CHILD

4 PORNOGRAPHY’’; 

5 (B) by striking ‘‘with the Director and’’; 

6 and 

7 (C) by inserting ‘‘human trafficking and’’ 

8 before ‘‘child pornography’’; 

9 (3) in subsection (c)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘Director’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘Administrator’’; and 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘this section’’ and in14 serting ‘‘subsections (a) and (b)’’; and 

15 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

17 ‘‘social service’’ and inserting ‘‘child pro18 tective service’’; 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

20 ‘‘the ‘counseling center’ ’’ and inserting ‘‘a 

21 ‘children’s advocacy center’ ’’; 

22 (iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

23 ‘‘sexual and serious physical abuse and ne24 glect cases to the counseling center’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘child abuse cases that meet des-
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1 ignated referral criteria to the children’s 

2 advocacy center’’; 

3 (iv) in subparagraph (D)— 

4 (I) by striking ‘‘investigative’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘forensic’’; and 

6 (II) by striking ‘‘social service’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘child protective serv8 ice’’; 

9 (v) by striking subparagraph (E); 

10 (vi) by redesignating subparagraphs 

11 (F) through (J) as subparagraphs (E) 

12 through (I), respectively; 

13 (vii) in subparagraph (E), as so redes14 ignated, by striking ‘‘counseling center’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘children’s advocacy center 

16 or an agency with which there is a linkage 

17 agreement regarding the delivery of multi18 disciplinary child abuse investigation, pros19 ecution, and intervention services’’; 

20 (viii) in subparagraph (F), as so re21 designated, by striking ‘‘minimize the 

22 number of interviews that a child victim 

23 must attend’’ and inserting ‘‘eliminate du24 plicative forensic interviews with a child 

25 victim’’; 
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1 (ix) in subparagraph (G), as so redes2 ignated, by striking ‘‘multidisciplinary pro3 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘children’s advocacy 

4 center’’; 

5 (x) in subparagraph (H), as so redes6 ignated, by inserting ‘‘intervention and’’ 

7 before ‘‘judicial proceedings’’; and 

8 (xi) in subparagraph (I), as so redes9 ignated, by striking ‘‘Director’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘Administrator’’; 

11 (4) in subsection (d)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘the Director’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘the Administrator’’; and 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘both large and small 

15 States’’ and inserting ‘‘all States that are eligi16 ble for such grants, including large and small 

17 States,’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(f) GRANTS TO STATE CHAPTERS FOR ASSISTANCE

20 TO LOCAL CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY CENTERS.—In award21 ing grants under this section, the Administrator shall en22 sure that a portion of the grants is distributed to State 

23 chapters to enable State chapters to provide technical as24 sistance, training, coordination, and oversight to other re25 cipients of grants under this section in providing evidence- 
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1 informed initiatives, including mental health counseling, 

2 forensic interviewing, multidisciplinary team coordination, 

3 and victim advocacy.’’. 

4 (e) GRANTS FOR SPECIALIZED TECHNICAL ASSIST5 ANCE AND TRAINING PROGRAMS.—Section 214A of the 

6 Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20305) 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘to attorneys’’ 

9 and all that follows and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘to— 

11 ‘‘(1) attorneys and other allied professionals in12 strumental to the criminal prosecution of child abuse 

13 cases in State or Federal courts, for the purpose of 

14 improving the quality of criminal prosecution of such 

15 cases; and 

16 ‘‘(2) child abuse professionals instrumental to 

17 the protection of children, intervention in child abuse 

18 cases, and treatment of victims of child abuse, for 

19 the purpose of— 

20 ‘‘(A) improving the quality of such protec21 tion, intervention, and treatment; and 

22 ‘‘(B) promoting the effective delivery of the 

23 evidence-informed Children’s Advocacy Model 

24 and the multidisciplinary response to child 

25 abuse, including best practices in programmatic 
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1 evaluation and financial oversight of Federal 

2 funding.’’; 

3 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(b) GRANTEE ORGANIZATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) PROSECUTORS.—An organization to which 

7 a grant is made for specific training and technical 

8 assistance for prosecutors under subsection (a)(1) 

9 shall be one that has— 

10 ‘‘(A) a broad representation of attorneys 

11 who prosecute criminal cases in State courts; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) demonstrated experience in providing 

14 training and technical assistance for prosecu15 tors. 

16 ‘‘(2) CHILD ABUSE PROFESSIONALS.—An orga17 nization to which a grant is made for specific train18 ing and technical assistance for child abuse profes19 sionals under subsection (a)(2) shall be one that 

20 has— 

21 ‘‘(A) a diverse portfolio of training and 

22 technical resources for the diverse professionals 

23 responding to child abuse, including a digital li24 brary to promote evidence-informed practice; 

25 and 
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1 ‘‘(B) demonstrated experience in providing 

2 training and technical assistance for child abuse 

3 professionals, especially law enforcement offi4 cers, child protective service workers, prosecu5 tors, forensic interviewers, medical profes6 sionals, victim advocates, and mental health 

7 professionals.’’; and 

8 (3) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting after 

9 ‘‘shall require’’ the following: ‘‘, in the case of a 

10 grant made under subsection (a)(1),’’. 

11 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

12 214B of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (34 

13 U.S.C. 20306) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘sections 213 

15 and 214’’ and all that follows and inserting the fol16 lowing: ‘‘sections 213 and 214, $16,000,000 for each 

17 of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘section 

19 214A’’ and all that follows and inserting the fol20 lowing: ‘‘section 214A, $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 

21 years 2019 through 2023.’’. 

22 (g) ACCOUNTABILITY.—Section 214C of the Victims 

23 of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20307) is amend24 ed— 
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘All grants awarded’’ and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—All grants awarded’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(b) REPORTING.—Not later than March 1 of each 

6 year, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee 

7 on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the 

8 Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report that— 

9 ‘‘(1) summarizes the efforts of the Adminis10 trator to monitor and evaluate the regional chil11 dren’s advocacy program activities under section 

12 213(d); 

13 ‘‘(2) describes— 

14 ‘‘(A) the method by which amounts are al15 located to grantees and subgrantees under this 

16 subtitle, including to local children’s advocacy 

17 centers, State chapters, and regional children’s 

18 advocacy program centers; and 

19 ‘‘(B) steps the Attorney General has taken 

20 to minimize duplication and overlap in the 

21 awarding of amounts under this subtitle; and 

22 ‘‘(3) analyzes the extent to which both rural 

23 and urban populations are served under the regional 

24 children’s advocacy program.’’. 
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1 (h) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS

2 RELATING TO TITLE 34, UNITED STATES CODE.—The 

3 Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20301 et 

4 seq.) is amended— 

5 (1) in section 212(1) (34 U.S.C. 20302), by 

6 striking ‘‘(42 U.S.C. 5611(b))’’ and inserting ‘‘(34 

7 U.S.C. 11111(b))’’; 

8 (2) in section 214(c)(1) (34 U.S.C. 

9 20304(c)(1)), by striking ‘‘(42 U.S.C. 5665 et seq.)’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘(34 U.S.C. 11183, 11186)’’; 

11 (3) in section 214A(c)(1) (34 U.S.C. 

12 20305(c)(1)), by striking ‘‘(42 U.S.C. 5665 et seq.)’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘(34 U.S.C. 11183, 11186)’’; 

14 (4) in section 217(c)(1) (34 U.S.C. 

15 20323(c)(1)), by striking ‘‘(42 U.S.C. 5665 et seq.)’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘(34 U.S.C. 11183, 11186)’’; and 

17 (5) in section 223(c) (34 U.S.C. 20333(c)), by 

18 striking ‘‘(42 U.S.C. 5665 et seq.)’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘(34 U.S.C. 11183, 11186)’’. 

20 SEC. 3. IMMUNITY PROTECTIONS FOR REPORTERS OF 

21 CHILD ABUSE. 

22 (a) STATE PLANS.—Section 106(b)(2)(B)(vii) of the 

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

24 5106a(b)(2)(B)(vii)) is amended to read as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(vii) provisions for immunity from 

2 civil or criminal liability under State and 

3 local laws and regulations for individuals 

4 making good faith reports of suspected or 

5 known instances of child abuse or neglect, 

6 or who otherwise provide information or 

7 assistance, including medical evaluations or 

8 consultations, in connection with a report, 

9 investigation, or legal intervention pursu10 ant to a good faith report of child abuse or 

11 neglect;’’. 

12 (b) FEDERAL IMMUNITY.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

14 provision of law, any individual making a good faith 

15 report to appropriate authorities of a suspected or 

16 known instance of child abuse or neglect, or who 

17 otherwise, in good faith, provides information or as18 sistance, including medical evaluations or consulta19 tions, in connection with a report, investigation, or 

20 legal intervention pursuant to a good faith report of 

21 child abuse or neglect shall not be subject to civil li22 ability or criminal prosecution, under any Federal 

23 law, rising from making such report or providing 

24 such information or assistance. 
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1 (2) PRESUMPTION OF GOOD FAITH.—In a Fed2 eral civil action or criminal prosecution brought 

3 against a person based on the person’s reporting a 

4 suspected or known instance of child abuse or ne5 glect, or providing information or assistance with re6 spect to such a report, as described in paragraph 

7 (1), there shall be a presumption that the person 

8 acted in good faith. 

9 (3) COSTS.—If the defendant prevails in a Fed10 eral civil action described in paragraph (2), the 

11 court may award costs and reasonable attorney’s 

12 fees incurred by the defendant. 

Passed the Senate December 11, 2018. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2961 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize subtitle A of the Victims of Child 

Abuse Act of 1990.