I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5955 
To reauthorize subtitle A of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 24, 2018 
Mr. POE of Texas (for himself, Mr. COSTA, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. POLIQUIN, 
Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. MESSER, 
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. 
COHEN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mrs. WAGNER, Mr. DEUTCH, and Mrs. DINGELL) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Work-
force, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 
case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To reauthorize subtitle A of the Victims of Child Abuse 
Act of 1990. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Victims of Child Abuse 
Act Reauthorization Act of 2018’’. 
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SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Section 211 of the Victims of Child 
Abuse Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20301) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2,000,000’’ 
and inserting ‘‘3,300,000’’; 
(2) in paragraph (6)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘improve positive out-
comes for the child,’’ before ‘‘and increase’’; 
and 
(B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a 
semicolon; 
(3) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘could be du-
plicated in many jurisdictions throughout the coun-
try.’’ and inserting ‘‘have expanded dramatically 
throughout the United States; and’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) State chapters of children’s advocacy cen-
ter networks are needed to— 
‘‘(A) assist local communities in coordi-
nating their multidisciplinary child abuse inves-
tigation, prosecution, and intervention services; 
and 
‘‘(B) provide oversight of, and training and 
technical assistance in, the effective delivery of 
evidence-informed programming.’’. 
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(b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 212 of the Victims of 
Child Abuse Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20302) is amended— 
(1) by striking paragraphs (3) and (6); 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), (7), 
(8), and (9) as paragraphs (3), (4), (5), (6), and 
(7), respectively; 
(3) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(4) in paragraph (7), as so redesignated, by 
striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 
and 
(5) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) the term ‘State chapter’ means a member-
ship organization that provides technical assistance, 
training, coordination, grant administration, over-
sight, and support to local children’s advocacy cen-
ters, multidisciplinary teams, and communities work-
ing to implement a multidisciplinary response to 
child abuse in the provision of evidence-informed ini-
tiatives, including mental health counseling, forensic 
interviewing, multidisciplinary team coordination, 
and victim advocacy.’’. 
(c) REGIONAL CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY CENTERS.— 
Section 213 of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 
(34 U.S.C. 20303) is amended— 
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(B) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre-
ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and the 
Director’’; and 
(5) by striking subsections (e) and (f). 
(d) LOCAL CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY CENTERS.—Sec-
tion 214 of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (34 
U.S.C. 20304) is amended— 
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordina-
tion with the Director of the Office of Victims of Crime, 
shall make grants to— 
‘‘(1) develop and enhance multidisciplinary 
child abuse investigations, intervention, and prosecu-
tion; and 
‘‘(2) promote the effective delivery of the evi-
dence-informed Children’s Advocacy Model and the 
multidisciplinary response to child abuse, including 
best practices in programmatic evaluation and finan-
cial oversight of Federal funding.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 
‘‘HUMAN TRAFFICKING
AND’’ before ‘‘CHILD 
PORNOGRAPHY’’; 
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(B) by striking ‘‘with the Director and’’; 
and 
(C) by inserting ‘‘human trafficking and’’ 
before ‘‘child pornography’’; 
(3) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘Director’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘Administrator’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘this section’’ and in-
serting ‘‘subsections (a) and (b)’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘social service’’ and inserting ‘‘child pro-
tective service’’; 
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘the ‘counseling center’ ’’ and inserting ‘‘a 
‘children’s advocacy center’ ’’; 
(iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
‘‘sexual and serious physical abuse and ne-
glect cases to the counseling center’’ and 
inserting ‘‘child abuse cases that meet des-
ignated referral criteria to the children’s 
advocacy center’’; 
(iv) in subparagraph (D)— 
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(I) by striking ‘‘investigative’’ 
and inserting ‘‘forensic’’; and 
(II) by striking ‘‘social service’’ 
and inserting ‘‘child protective serv-
ice’’; 
(v) by striking subparagraph (E); 
(vi) by redesignating subparagraphs 
(F) through (J) as subparagraphs (E) 
through (I), respectively; 
(vii) in subparagraph (E), as so redes-
ignated, by striking ‘‘counseling center’’ 
and inserting ‘‘children’s advocacy center 
or an agency with which there is a linkage 
agreement regarding the delivery of multi-
disciplinary child abuse investigation, pros-
ecution, and intervention services’’; 
(viii) in subparagraph (F), as so re-
designated, by striking ‘‘minimize the 
number of interviews that a child victim 
must attend’’ and inserting ‘‘eliminate du-
plicative forensic interviews with a child 
victim’’; 
(ix) in subparagraph (G), as so redes-
ignated, by striking ‘‘multidisciplinary pro-
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gram’’ and inserting ‘‘children’s advocacy 
center’’; 
(x) in subparagraph (H), as so redes-
ignated, by inserting ‘‘intervention and’’ 
before ‘‘judicial proceedings’’; and 
(xi) in subparagraph (I), as so redes-
ignated, by striking ‘‘Director’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘Administrator’’; 
(4) in subsection (d)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘the Director’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘the Administrator’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘both large and small 
States’’ and inserting ‘‘all States that are eligi-
ble for such grants, including large and small 
States,’’; and 
(5) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) GRANTS TO STATE CHAPTERS FOR ASSISTANCE 
TO LOCAL CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY CENTERS.—In award-
ing grants under this section, the Administrator shall en-
sure that a portion of the grants is distributed to State 
chapters to enable State chapters to provide technical as-
sistance, training, coordination, and oversight to other re-
cipients of grants under this section in providing evidence- 
informed initiatives, including mental health counseling, 
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forensic interviewing, multidisciplinary team coordination, 
and victim advocacy.’’. 
(e) GRANTS FOR SPECIALIZED TECHNICAL ASSIST-
ANCE AND TRAINING PROGRAMS.—Section 214A of the 
Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20305) 
is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘to attorneys’’ 
and all that follows and inserting the following: 
‘‘to— 
‘‘(1) attorneys and other allied professionals in-
strumental to the criminal prosecution of child abuse 
cases in State or Federal courts, for the purpose of 
improving the quality of criminal prosecution of such 
cases; and 
‘‘(2) child abuse professionals instrumental to 
the protection of children, intervention in child abuse 
cases, and treatment of victims of child abuse, for 
the purpose of— 
‘‘(A) improving the quality of such protec-
tion, intervention, and treatment; and 
‘‘(B) promoting the effective delivery of the 
evidence-informed Children’s Advocacy Model 
and the multidisciplinary response to child 
abuse, including best practices in programmatic 
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evaluation and financial oversight of Federal 
funding.’’; 
(2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(b) GRANTEE ORGANIZATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) PROSECUTORS.—An organization to which 
a grant is made for specific training and technical 
assistance for prosecutors under subsection (a)(1) 
shall be one that has— 
‘‘(A) a broad representation of attorneys 
who prosecute criminal cases in State courts; 
and 
‘‘(B) demonstrated experience in providing 
training and technical assistance for prosecu-
tors. 
‘‘(2) CHILD ABUSE PROFESSIONALS.—An orga-
nization to which a grant is made for specific train-
ing and technical assistance for child abuse profes-
sionals under subsection (a)(2) shall be one that 
has— 
‘‘(A) a diverse portfolio of training and 
technical resources for the diverse professionals 
responding to child abuse, including a digital li-
brary to promote evidence-informed practice; 
and 
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‘‘(B) demonstrated experience in providing 
training and technical assistance for child abuse 
professionals, especially law enforcement offi-
cers, child protective service workers, prosecu-
tors, forensic interviewers, medical profes-
sionals, victim advocates, and mental health 
professionals.’’; and 
(3) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting after 
‘‘shall require’’ the following: ‘‘, in the case of a 
grant made under subsection (a)(1),’’. 
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 
214B of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (34 
U.S.C. 20306) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘sections 213 
and 214’’ and all that follows and inserting the fol-
lowing: ‘‘sections 213 and 214, $19,000,000 for each 
of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘section 
214A’’ and all that follows and inserting the fol-
lowing: ‘‘section 214A, $6,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2019 through 2023.’’. 
(g) TECHNICAL
AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS 
RELATING TO TITLE 34, UNITED STATES CODE.—The 
Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20301 et 
seq.) is amended— 
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(1) in section 212(1) (34 U.S.C. 20302), by 
striking ‘‘(42 U.S.C. 5611(b))’’ and inserting ‘‘(34 
U.S.C. 11111(b))’’; 
(2) 
in 
section 
214(c)(1) 
(34 
U.S.C. 
20304(c)(1)), by striking ‘‘(42 U.S.C. 5665 et seq.)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(34 U.S.C. 11183, 11186)’’; 
(3) 
in 
section 
214A(c)(1) 
(34 
U.S.C. 
20305(c)(1)), by striking ‘‘(42 U.S.C. 5665 et seq.)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(34 U.S.C. 11183, 11186)’’; 
(4) 
in 
section 
217(c)(1) 
(34 
U.S.C. 
20323(c)(1)), by striking ‘‘(42 U.S.C. 5665 et seq.)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(34 U.S.C. 11183, 11186)’’; and 
(5) in section 223(c) (34 U.S.C. 20333(c)), by 
striking ‘‘(42 U.S.C. 5665 et seq.)’’ and inserting 
‘‘(34 U.S.C. 11183, 11186)’’. 
Æ 
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