IB 
Union Calendar No. 50 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2480 
[Report No. 116–74] 
To reauthorize the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 2, 2019 
Ms. SCHRIER (for herself, Mr. COMER, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. JOHNSON of South 
Dakota, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, and Ms. 
FOXX of North Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Education and Labor 
MAY 20, 2019 
Additional sponsors: Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. GUTHRIE, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. 
BANKS, Mr. TAYLOR, Mr. MEUSER, Mr. TIMMONS, Mr. MORELLE, Ms. 
WILSON of Florida, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. OMAR, Mr. TRONE, Mr. TAKANO, 
Mr. DESAULNIER, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. WILD, Mr. LEVIN of 
Michigan, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. SMUCKER, Mr. WATKINS, 
Mr. WRIGHT, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. HARDER of California, Ms. SHALALA, 
Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. 
STIVERS, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. BYRNE, Mr. ROONEY of Florida, Mrs. 
MCBATH, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. NOR-
TON, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Ms. PORTER, Ms. 
SCANLON, Ms. FINKENAUER, and Mr. SHERMAN 
MAY 20, 2019 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 2, 2019] 
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A BILL 
To reauthorize the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 
Act, and for other purposes. 
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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 ‘‘Stronger Child Abuse 
Prevention and Treatment Act’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
TITLE I—GENERAL PROGRAM 
Sec. 101. Repeal of findings. 
Sec. 102. Repeal of Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect. 
Sec. 103. National clearinghouse for information relating to child abuse. 
Sec. 104. Research and assistance activities. 
Sec. 105. Grants to States, Indian Tribes or tribal organizations, and public or 
private agencies and organizations. 
Sec. 106. Grants to States for child abuse or neglect prevention and treatment 
programs. 
Sec. 107. Miscellaneous requirements. 
Sec. 108. Reports. 
Sec. 109. Authorization of appropriations. 
Sec. 110. Electronic interstate data exchange system. 
Sec. 111. Technical and conforming amendments. 
TITLE II—COMMUNITY-BASED GRANTS FOR THE PREVENTION OF 
CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT 
Sec. 201. Purpose and authority. 
Sec. 202. Eligibility. 
Sec. 203. Amount of grant. 
Sec. 204. Application. 
Sec. 205. Local program requirements. 
Sec. 206. Performance measures. 
Sec. 207. National network for community-based family resource programs. 
Sec. 208. Definitions. 
Sec. 209. Rule of construction. 
Sec. 210. Authorization of appropriations. 
Sec. 211. Study and report. 
TITLE III—ADOPTION OPPORTUNITIES 
Sec. 301. Purpose. 
Sec. 302. Report and guidance on unregulated custody transfers. 
Sec. 303. Information and services. 
Sec. 304. Study and report on successful adoptions. 
Sec. 305. Authorization of appropriations. 
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TITLE I—GENERAL PROGRAM 
SEC. 101. REPEAL OF FINDINGS. 
Section 2 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat-
ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 note) is repealed. 
SEC. 102. REPEAL OF ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILD ABUSE 
AND NEGLECT. 
Section 102 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat-
ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5102) is repealed. 
SEC. 103. NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR INFORMATION 
RELATING TO CHILD ABUSE. 
Section 103 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat-
ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5104) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting ‘‘early 
learning programs and’’ after ‘‘including’’; 
(2) in subsection (c)(1)(C)— 
(A) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(B) in clause (iv), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(v) the number of child fatalities and 
near fatalities due to maltreatment, as re-
ported by States in accordance with the 
uniform standards established pursuant to 
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subsection (d), and any other relevant infor-
mation related to such fatalities;’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR TRACKING AND RE-
PORTING OF CHILD FATALITIES RESULTING FROM MAL-
TREATMENT.— 
‘‘(1) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later than 
24 months after the date of the enactment of the 
Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, 
the Secretary shall develop and issue final regulations 
establishing uniform standards for the tracking and 
reporting of child fatalities and near-fatalities result-
ing from maltreatment. As a condition on eligibility 
for receipt of funds under section 106, the standards 
established under this paragraph shall be used by 
States for the tracking and reporting of such fatalities 
under subsection (d) of such section. 
‘‘(2) MAINTENANCE
OF
STATE
LAW.—Notwith-
standing the uniform standards developed under 
paragraph (1), a State that defines or describes such 
fatalities for any purpose other than tracking and re-
porting under this subsection may continue to use 
that definition or description for such purpose. 
‘‘(3) NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING.—In developing 
regulations under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
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submit such regulations to a negotiated rulemaking 
process, which shall include the participants described 
in paragraph (4). 
‘‘(4) PARTICIPANTS
DESCRIBED.—The partici-
pants described in this paragraph are— 
‘‘(A) State and county officials responsible 
for administering the State plans under this Act 
and parts B and E of title IV of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 670 et seq.); 
‘‘(B) child welfare professionals with field 
experience; 
‘‘(C) child welfare researchers; 
‘‘(D) domestic violence researchers; 
‘‘(E) domestic violence professionals; 
‘‘(F) child development professionals; 
‘‘(G) mental health professionals; 
‘‘(H) pediatric emergency medicine physi-
cians; 
‘‘(I) child abuse pediatricians, as certified 
by the American Board of Pediatrics, who spe-
cialize in treating victims of child abuse; 
‘‘(J) forensic pathologists; 
‘‘(K) public health administrators; 
‘‘(L) public health researchers; 
‘‘(M) law enforcement; 
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‘‘(N) family court judges; 
‘‘(O) prosecutors; 
‘‘(P) medical examiners and coroners; 
‘‘(Q) a representative from the National 
Center for Fatality Review and Prevention; and 
‘‘(R) such other individuals and entities as 
the Secretary determines to be appropriate.’’. 
SEC. 104. RESEARCH AND ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES. 
Section 104 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat-
ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5105) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(1) TOPICS.—The Secretary shall, in consulta-
tion with other Federal agencies and recognized ex-
perts in the field, carry out a continuing inter-
disciplinary program of research, including longitu-
dinal research, that is designed to provide informa-
tion needed to improve primary prevention of child 
abuse and neglect, better protect children from child 
abuse or neglect, and improve the well-being of vic-
tims of child abuse or neglect, with at least a portion 
of such research being field initiated. Such research 
program may focus on— 
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‘‘(A) disseminating evidence-based treat-
ment directed to individuals and families experi-
encing trauma due to child abuse and neglect, 
including efforts to improve the scalability of the 
treatments and programs being researched; 
‘‘(B) developing a set of evidence-based ap-
proaches to support child and family well-being 
and developing ways to identify, relieve, and 
mitigate stressors affecting families in rural, 
urban, and suburban communities; 
‘‘(C) establishing methods to promote racial 
equity in the child welfare system, including a 
focus on how neglect is defined, how services are 
provided, and the unique impact on Native 
American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 
communities; 
‘‘(D) improving service delivery or outcomes 
for child welfare service agencies engaged with 
families experiencing domestic violence, sub-
stance use disorder, or other complex needs; 
‘‘(E) the extent to which the number of un-
substantiated, unfounded, and false reported 
cases of child abuse or neglect have contributed 
to the inability of a State to respond effectively 
to serious cases of child abuse or neglect; 
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‘‘(F) the extent to which the lack of ade-
quate resources and the lack of adequate profes-
sional development of individuals required by 
law to report suspected cases of child abuse and 
neglect have contributed to the inability of a 
State to respond effectively to serious cases of 
child abuse and neglect; 
‘‘(G) the extent to which unsubstantiated re-
ports return as more serious cases of child abuse 
or neglect; 
‘‘(H) the incidence and outcomes of child 
abuse and neglect allegations reported within the 
context of divorce, custody, or other family court 
proceedings, and the interaction between family 
courts and the child protective services system; 
‘‘(I) the information on the national inci-
dence of child abuse and neglect specified in 
clauses (i) through (xi) of subparagraph (J); and 
‘‘(J) the national incidence of child abuse 
and neglect, including— 
‘‘(i) the extent to which incidents of 
child abuse and neglect are increasing or 
decreasing in number and severity; 
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‘‘(ii) the incidence of substantiated and 
unsubstantiated reported child abuse and 
neglect cases; 
‘‘(iii) the number of substantiated cases 
that result in a judicial finding of child 
abuse or neglect or related criminal court 
convictions; 
‘‘(iv) the extent to which the number of 
unsubstantiated, unfounded and false re-
ported cases of child abuse or neglect have 
contributed to the inability of a State to re-
spond effectively to serious cases of child 
abuse or neglect; 
‘‘(v) the extent to which the lack of ade-
quate resources and the lack of adequate 
education of individuals required by law to 
report suspected cases of child abuse and ne-
glect have contributed to the inability of a 
State to respond effectively to serious cases 
of child abuse and neglect; 
‘‘(vi) the number of unsubstantiated, 
false, or unfounded reports that have re-
sulted in a child being placed in substitute 
care, and the duration of such placement; 
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‘‘(vii) the extent to which unsubstan-
tiated reports return as more serious cases 
of child abuse or neglect; 
‘‘(viii) the incidence and prevalence of 
physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and 
physical and emotional neglect in substitute 
care; 
‘‘(ix) the incidence and prevalence of 
child maltreatment by a wide array of de-
mographic characteristics such as age, sex, 
race, family structure, household relation-
ship (including the living arrangement of 
the resident parent and family size), school 
enrollment and education attainment, dis-
ability, grandparents as caregivers, labor 
force status, work status in previous year, 
and income in previous year; 
‘‘(x) the extent to which reports of sus-
pected or known instances of child abuse or 
neglect involving a potential combination of 
jurisdictions, such as intrastate, interstate, 
Federal-State, and State-Tribal, are being 
screened out solely on the basis of the cross- 
jurisdictional complications; and 
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‘‘(xi) the incidence and outcomes of 
child abuse and neglect allegations reported 
within the context of divorce, custody, or 
other family court proceedings, and the 
interaction between family courts and the 
child protective services system.’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘para-
graph (1)(O)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)(J)’’; 
(C) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(3) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years 
after the date of the enactment of the Stronger 
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, the 
Secretary shall prepare and submit to the Com-
mittee on Education and Labor of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate a 
report that contains the results of the research 
conducted under paragraph (2). 
‘‘(B) NATIONAL INCIDENCE.—The Secretary 
shall ensure that research conducted, and data 
collected, under paragraph (1)(J) are reported in 
a way that will allow longitudinal comparisons 
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as well as comparisons to the national incidence 
studies conducted under this title.’’; and 
(D) by striking the second paragraph (4); 
(2) in subsection (b), by amending paragraph 
(2) to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) AREAS OF EMPHASIS.—Such technical as-
sistance— 
‘‘(A) shall focus on— 
‘‘(i) implementing strategies that can 
leverage 
existing 
community-based 
and 
State funded resources to prevent child 
abuse and neglect and providing education 
for individuals involved in prevention ac-
tivities; 
‘‘(ii) reducing racial bias in child wel-
fare systems, including how such systems 
interact with health, law enforcement, and 
education systems; 
‘‘(iii) promoting best practices for fam-
ilies experiencing domestic violence, sub-
stance use disorder, or other complex needs; 
and 
‘‘(iv) providing professional develop-
ment and other technical assistance to child 
welfare agencies to improve the under-
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standing of and to help address the effects 
of trauma and adverse childhood experi-
ences in parents and children in contact 
with the child welfare system; and 
‘‘(B) may include the identification of— 
‘‘(i) various methods and procedures 
for the investigation, assessment, and pros-
ecution of child physical and sexual abuse 
cases; 
‘‘(ii) ways to mitigate psychological 
trauma to the child victim; 
‘‘(iii) effective programs carried out by 
the States under titles I and II; and 
‘‘(iv) effective approaches being utilized 
to link child protective service agencies with 
health care, mental health care, and devel-
opmental services and early intervention to 
improve forensic diagnosis and health eval-
uations, and barriers and shortages to such 
linkages.’’; 
(3) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (3); 
and 
(4) by striking subsection (e). 
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SEC. 105. GRANTS TO STATES, INDIAN TRIBES OR TRIBAL 
ORGANIZATIONS, AND PUBLIC OR PRIVATE 
AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS. 
Section 105 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat-
ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by redesignating paragraph (7) as 
paragraph (11); 
(B) by striking paragraphs (1) through (6) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) PREVENTION
SERVICES.—The Secretary 
may award grants under this subsection to entities to 
establish or expand prevention services that reduce 
incidences of child maltreatment and strengthen fami-
lies. 
‘‘(2) TRAUMATIC STRESS.—The Secretary may 
award grants under this subsection to entities to ad-
dress instances of traumatic stress in families due to 
child abuse and neglect, especially for families with 
complex needs or families that exhibit high levels of 
adverse childhood experiences. 
‘‘(3) 
PROMOTING
A
HIGH-QUALITY
WORK-
FORCE.—The Secretary may award grants under this 
subsection to entities to carry out programs or strate-
gies that promote a high-quality workforce in the 
child welfare system through–— 
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‘‘(A) improvements to recruitment, support, 
or retention efforts; or 
‘‘(B) education for professionals and para-
professionals in the prevention, identification, 
and treatment of child abuse and neglect. 
‘‘(4) IMPROVING COORDINATION.—The Secretary 
may award grants under this subsection to entities to 
carry out activities to improve intrastate coordina-
tion within the child welfare system. Such activities 
may include— 
‘‘(A) aligning information technology sys-
tems; 
‘‘(B) improving information sharing re-
garding child and family referrals; or 
‘‘(C) creating collaborative voluntary part-
nerships among public and private agencies, the 
State’s child protective services, local social serv-
ice agencies, community-based family support 
programs, State and local legal agencies, devel-
opmental disability agencies, substance use dis-
order treatment providers, health care providers 
and agencies, domestic violence prevention pro-
grams, mental health services, schools and early 
learning providers, religious entities, and other 
community-based programs. 
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‘‘(5) PRIMARY PREVENTION.—The Secretary may 
award grants under this subsection to entities to 
carry out or expand primary prevention programs or 
strategies that address family or community protec-
tive factors. 
‘‘(6) NEGLECT DUE TO ECONOMIC INSECURITY.— 
The Secretary may award grants under this sub-
section to entities to carry out programs or strategies 
that reduce findings of child neglect due in full or in 
part to family economic insecurity. 
‘‘(7) EDUCATION OF MANDATORY REPORTERS.— 
The Secretary may award grants under this sub-
section to entities for projects that involve research- 
based strategies for innovative education of mandated 
child abuse and neglect reporters, and for victims to 
understand mandatory reporting. 
‘‘(8) SENTINEL INJURIES.—The Secretary may 
award grants under this subsection to entities to iden-
tify and test effective practices to improve early detec-
tion and management of injuries indicative of poten-
tial abuse in infants to prevent future cases of child 
abuse and related fatalities. 
‘‘(9) 
INNOVATIVE
PARTNERSHIPS.—The 
Sec-
retary may award grants under this subsection to en-
tities to carry out innovative programs or strategies 
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to coordinate the delivery of services to help reduce 
child abuse and neglect via partnerships among 
health, mental health, education (including early 
learning and care programs as appropriate), and 
child welfare agencies and providers. 
‘‘(10) REDUCING
CHILD
ABUSE
AND
NEGLECT 
DUE TO THE SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER OF A PARENT 
OR CAREGIVER.—The Secretary may award grants 
under this subsection to entities to carry out activities 
to reduce child abuse and neglect due to the substance 
use disorder of a parent or caregiver.’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(12) NATIONAL CHILD ABUSE HOTLINE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may 
award a grant under this subsection to a non-
profit entity to provide for the ongoing operation 
of a 24-hour, national, toll-free telephone hotline 
to provide information and assistance to youth 
victims of child abuse or neglect, parents, care-
givers, mandated reporters, and other concerned 
community members, including through alter-
native modalities for communications (such as 
texting or chat services) with such victims and 
other information seekers. 
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‘‘(B) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants de-
scribed in this paragraph, the Secretary shall 
give priority to applicants with experience in 
operating a hotline that provides assistance to 
victims of child abuse, parents, caregivers, and 
mandated reporters. 
‘‘(C) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to re-
ceive a grant described in this paragraph, a non-
profit entity shall submit an application to the 
Secretary that shall— 
‘‘(i) contain such assurances and infor-
mation, be in such form, and be submitted 
in such manner, as the Secretary shall pre-
scribe; 
‘‘(ii) include a complete description of 
the entity’s plan for the operation of a na-
tional child abuse hotline, including de-
scriptions of— 
‘‘(I) the professional development 
program for hotline personnel, includ-
ing technology professional develop-
ment to ensure that all persons affili-
ated with the hotline are able to effec-
tively operate any technological sys-
tems used by the hotline; 
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‘‘(II) the qualifications for hotline 
personnel; 
‘‘(III) the methods for the cre-
ation, maintenance, and updating of a 
comprehensive list of prevention and 
treatment service providers; 
‘‘(IV) a plan for publicizing the 
availability of the hotline throughout 
the United States; 
‘‘(V) a plan for providing service 
to non-English speaking callers, in-
cluding service through hotline per-
sonnel who have non-English language 
capability; 
‘‘(VI) a plan for facilitating ac-
cess to the hotline and alternative mo-
dality services by persons with hearing 
impairments and disabilities; 
‘‘(VII) a plan for providing crisis 
counseling, general assistance, and re-
ferrals to youth victims of child abuse; 
and 
‘‘(VIII) a plan to offer alternative 
services to calling, such as texting or 
live chat; 
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‘‘(iii) demonstrate that the entity has 
the capacity and the expertise to maintain 
a child abuse hotline and a comprehensive 
list of service providers; 
‘‘(iv) demonstrate the ability to provide 
information and referrals for contacts, di-
rectly connect contacts to service providers, 
and employ crisis interventions; 
‘‘(v) demonstrate that the entity has a 
commitment to providing services to indi-
viduals in need; and 
‘‘(vi) demonstrate that the entity com-
plies with State privacy laws and has es-
tablished quality assurance practices.’’; and 
(2) by striking subsections (b) and (c) and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(b) GOALS AND PERFORMANCE.—The Secretary shall 
ensure that each entity receiving a grant under this sec-
tion— 
‘‘(1) establishes quantifiable goals for the out-
come of the project funded with the grant; and 
‘‘(2) adequately measures the performance of the 
project relative to such goals. 
‘‘(c) PERFORMANCE REPORT REQUIRED.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each entity that receives a 
grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary 
a performance report that includes— 
‘‘(A) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the 
project funded with the grant relative to the 
goals established for such project under sub-
section (b)(1); and 
‘‘(B) data supporting such evaluation. 
‘‘(2) SUBMISSION.—The report under paragraph 
(1) shall be submitted to the Secretary at such time, 
in such manner, and containing such information as 
the Secretary may require. 
‘‘(d) CONTINUING GRANTS.—The Secretary may only 
award a continuing grant to an entity under this section 
if such entity submits a performance report required under 
subsection (c) that demonstrates effectiveness of the project 
funded.’’. 
SEC. 106. GRANTS TO STATES FOR CHILD ABUSE OR NE-
GLECT PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PRO-
GRAMS. 
(a) DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATION GRANTS.—Sub-
section (a) of section 106 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a) is amended to read as 
follows: 
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‘‘(a) DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATION GRANTS.—The 
Secretary shall make grants to the States, from allotments 
under subsection (f) for each State that applies for a grant 
under this section, for purposes of assisting the States in 
improving and implementing a child protective services sys-
tem that is family-centered, integrates community services, 
and is capable of providing rapid response to high-risk 
cases, by carrying out the following: 
‘‘(1) Conducting the intake, assessment, screen-
ing, and investigation of reports of child abuse or ne-
glect. 
‘‘(2) Ensuring that reports concerning a child’s 
living arrangements or subsistence needs are ad-
dressed through services or benefits and that no child 
is separated from such child’s parent for reasons of 
poverty. 
‘‘(3) Creating and improving the use of multi-
disciplinary teams and interagency, intra-agency, 
interstate, and intrastate protocols to enhance fair in-
vestigations; and improving legal preparation and 
representation. 
‘‘(4) Complying with the assurances in section 
106(b)(2). 
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‘‘(5) Establishing State and local networks of 
child and family service providers that support child 
and family well-being, which shall— 
‘‘(A) include child protective services, as 
well as agencies and service providers, that ad-
dress 
family-strengthening, 
parenting 
skills, 
child development, early childhood care and 
learning, child advocacy, public health, mental 
health, substance use disorder treatment, domes-
tic violence, developmental disabilities, housing, 
juvenile justice, elementary and secondary edu-
cation, and child placement; and 
‘‘(B) address instances of child abuse and 
neglect by incorporating evaluations that assess 
the development of a child, including language 
and communication, cognitive, physical, and so-
cial and emotional development, the need for 
mental health services, including trauma-related 
services, trauma-informed care, and parental 
needs. 
‘‘(6) Ensuring child protective services is ad-
dressing the safety of children and responding to par-
ent and family needs, which shall include— 
‘‘(A) family-oriented efforts that emphasize 
case assessment and follow up casework focused 
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on child safety and child and parent well-being, 
which may include— 
‘‘(i) ensuring parents and children un-
dergo physical and mental health assess-
ments, as appropriate, and ongoing develop-
mental monitoring; 
‘‘(ii) multidisciplinary approaches to 
assessing family needs and connecting the 
family with services, including prevention 
services under section 471 of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 671); 
‘‘(iii) organizing a treatment team 
with the goal of preventing child abuse and 
neglect, and improving parent and child 
well-being; 
‘‘(iv) case monitoring that supports 
child well-being; and 
‘‘(v) differential response efforts; and 
‘‘(B) establishing and maintaining a rapid 
response system that responds promptly to all re-
ports of child abuse or neglect, with special at-
tention to cases involving children under 3 years 
of age. 
‘‘(7) Educating caseworkers, community service 
providers, attorneys, health care professionals, par-
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ents, and others engaged in the prevention, interven-
tion, and treatment of child abuse and neglect, which 
shall include education on— 
‘‘(A) practices that help ensure child safety 
and well-being; 
‘‘(B) approaches to family-oriented preven-
tion, intervention, and treatment of child abuse 
and neglect; 
‘‘(C) early childhood, child, and adolescent 
development, and the impact of adverse child-
hood experiences on such development; 
‘‘(D) the relationship between child abuse 
and domestic violence, and support for non-abus-
ing parents; 
‘‘(E) strategies to work with families im-
pacted by substance use disorder and mental 
health issues (and, when appropriate, be coordi-
nated with prevention efforts funded under sec-
tion 471 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
671)); 
‘‘(F) effective use of multiple services to ad-
dress family and child needs, including needs re-
sulting from trauma; 
‘‘(G) efforts to improve family and child 
well-being; 
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‘‘(H) support for child welfare workers af-
fected by secondary trauma; and 
‘‘(I) supporting families and caregivers to 
combat and prevent unsubstantiated, unfounded, 
or false reports, including through education on 
the rights of families and caregivers. 
‘‘(8) Creating or improving data systems that 
allow for— 
‘‘(A) the identification of cases requiring 
prompt responses; 
‘‘(B) real-time case monitoring that tracks 
assessments, service referrals, follow-up, case re-
views, and progress toward parent and child 
goals; and 
‘‘(C) sharing basic identifying data with 
law enforcement, as necessary. 
‘‘(9) Improving the general child protective sys-
tem by developing, improving, and implementing 
safety assessment tools, providing that such tools, pro-
tocols, and systems shall not authorize the separation 
of any child from the legal parent or guardian of such 
child solely on the basis of poverty, or without a judi-
cial order, except in the case of imminent harm.’’. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 
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(1) STATE
PLAN.—Paragraph (1) of section 
106(b) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)) is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(1) STATE PLAN.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive 
a grant under this section, a State shall submit 
to the Secretary a State plan that— 
‘‘(i) specifies how the grant will be 
used, and the State’s strategic plan, to treat 
child abuse and neglect and enhance com-
munity-based, 
prevention-centered 
ap-
proaches that attempt to prevent child abuse 
and neglect while strengthening and sup-
porting families whenever possible; and 
‘‘(ii) meets the requirements of this 
subsection. 
‘‘(B) COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION.— 
‘‘(i) COORDINATION.—Each State, to 
the maximum extent practicable, shall co-
ordinate its State plan under this sub-
section with its State plan under part B of 
title IV of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 621 et seq.) relating to child and 
family services and, in States electing to 
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provide services under part E of title IV of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et 
seq.) relating to foster care prevention serv-
ices, its State plan under such part E. 
‘‘(ii) CONSULTATION.—In developing a 
State plan under this subsection, a State 
shall consult with community-based preven-
tion and service agencies, parents and fami-
lies affected by child abuse or neglect in the 
State, law enforcement, family court judges, 
prosecutors who handle criminal child abuse 
cases, and medical professionals engaged in 
the treatment of child abuse and neglect. 
‘‘(C) 
DURATION
AND
SUBMISSION
OF 
PLAN.—Each State plan shall— 
‘‘(i) be submitted not less than every 5 
years; and 
‘‘(ii) if necessary, revised by the State 
to inform the Secretary of any substantive 
changes, including— 
‘‘(I) any changes to State law or 
regulations, relating to the prevention 
of child abuse and neglect that may af-
fect the eligibility of the State under 
this section; or 
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‘‘(II) any changes in the State’s 
activities, 
strategies, 
or 
programs 
under this section.’’. 
(2) CONTENTS.—Paragraph (2) of section 106(b) 
of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 
U.S.C. 5106a(b)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—A State plan submitted under 
paragraph (1) shall contain a description of the ac-
tivities that the State will carry out using amounts 
received under the grant to achieve the objectives of 
this title, including— 
‘‘(A) an assurance in the form of a certifi-
cation by the Governor of the State that the 
State has in effect and is enforcing a State law, 
or has in effect and is operating a statewide pro-
gram, relating to child abuse and neglect that in-
cludes— 
‘‘(i) provisions or procedures for an in-
dividual to report known and suspected in-
stances of child abuse and neglect, including 
a State law for mandatory reporting by in-
dividuals required to report such instances; 
‘‘(ii) procedures for the immediate 
screening, risk and safety assessment, and 
prompt investigation of such reports of al-
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leged abuse and neglect in order to ensure 
the well-being and safety of children; 
‘‘(iii) procedures for immediate steps 
to be taken to ensure and protect the safety 
of a victim of child abuse or neglect and of 
any other child under the same care who 
may also be in danger of child abuse or ne-
glect and ensuring their placement in a safe 
environment; 
‘‘(iv) methods to preserve the confiden-
tiality of all records in order to protect the 
rights of the child and of the child’s parents 
or guardians, including requirements ensur-
ing that reports and records made and 
maintained pursuant to the purposes of this 
Act shall only be made available to— 
‘‘(I) individuals who are the sub-
ject of the report; 
‘‘(II) Federal, State, or local gov-
ernment entities, or any agent of such 
entities, as described in clause (xi) of 
this subparagraph; 
‘‘(III) child abuse citizen review 
panels; 
‘‘(IV) child fatality review panels; 
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‘‘(V) a grand jury or court, upon 
a finding that information in the 
record is necessary for the determina-
tion of an issue before the court or 
grand jury; and 
‘‘(VI) other entities or classes of 
individuals statutorily authorized by 
the State to receive such information 
pursuant to a legitimate State purpose; 
‘‘(v) provisions and procedures requir-
ing that in every case involving a victim of 
child abuse or neglect which results in a ju-
dicial proceeding, a guardian ad litem, who 
has received education appropriate to the 
role, including education in early childhood, 
child, and adolescent development, and do-
mestic violence, and who may be an attor-
ney or a court appointed special advocate 
who has received education appropriate to 
that role (or both), shall be appointed to 
represent the child (who, for purposes of this 
section, shall have any age limit elected by 
the State pursuant to section 475(8)(B)(iii) 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
675(8)(B)(iii)) in such proceedings— 
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‘‘(I) to obtain first-hand, a clear 
understanding of the situation and 
needs of such child; and 
‘‘(II) to make recommendations to 
the court concerning the best interests 
of such child; 
‘‘(vi) the establishment of citizen re-
view panels in accordance with subsection 
(c); 
‘‘(vii) provisions and procedures to re-
quire that a representative of the child pro-
tective services agency shall, at the initial 
time of contact with the individual subject 
to a child abuse or neglect investigation, ad-
vise the individual of the complaints or alle-
gations made against the individual, in a 
manner that is consistent with laws pro-
tecting the rights of the informant; 
‘‘(viii) provisions, procedures, and 
mechanisms— 
‘‘(I) for the expedited termination 
of parental rights in the case of any 
infant determined to be abandoned 
under State law; and 
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‘‘(II) by which individuals who 
disagree with an official finding of 
child abuse or neglect can appeal such 
finding; 
‘‘(ix) provisions addressing the profes-
sional development of representatives of the 
child protective services system regarding 
the legal duties of the representatives, which 
may consist of various methods of inform-
ing such representatives of such duties (in-
cluding providing such education in dif-
ferent languages if necessary), in order to 
protect the legal rights and safety of chil-
dren and their parents and caregivers from 
the initial time of contact during investiga-
tion through treatment; 
‘‘(x) provisions for immunity from 
civil or criminal liability under State and 
local laws and regulations for individuals 
making good faith reports of suspected or 
known instances of child abuse or neglect, or 
who otherwise provide information or as-
sistance, including medical evaluations or 
consultations, in connection with a report, 
investigation, or legal intervention pursuant 
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to a good faith report of child abuse or ne-
glect; 
‘‘(xi) provisions to require the State to 
disclose confidential information to any 
Federal, State, or local government entity, 
or any agent of such entity, that has a need 
for such information in order to carry out 
its responsibilities under law to protect chil-
dren from child abuse and neglect; 
‘‘(xii) provisions requiring, and proce-
dures in place that facilitate the prompt 
expungement of any records that are acces-
sible to the general public or are used for 
purposes of employment or other back-
ground checks in cases determined to be un-
substantiated or false, except that nothing 
in this section shall prevent State child pro-
tective services agencies from keeping infor-
mation on unsubstantiated reports in their 
casework files to assist in future risk and 
safety assessment; 
‘‘(xiii) provisions and procedures for 
requiring 
criminal 
background 
record 
checks that meet the requirements of section 
471(a)(20) of the Social Security Act (42 
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U.S.C. 671(a)(20)) for prospective foster 
and adoptive parents and other adult rel-
atives and non- relatives residing in the 
household; 
‘‘(xiv) provisions for systems of tech-
nology that support the State child protec-
tive services system and track reports of 
child abuse and neglect from intake through 
final disposition; 
‘‘(xv) provisions and procedures re-
quiring identification and assessment of all 
reports involving children known or sus-
pected to be victims of sex trafficking (as 
defined in section 103(12) of the Trafficking 
Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 
7102 (12)); 
‘‘(xvi) 
provisions, 
procedures, 
and 
mechanisms that assure that the State does 
not require reunification of a surviving 
child with a parent who has been found by 
a court of competent jurisdiction— 
‘‘(I) to have committed murder 
(which would have been an offense 
under section 1111(a) of title 18, 
United States Code, if the offense had 
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occurred in the special maritime or 
territorial jurisdiction of the United 
States) of another child of such parent; 
‘‘(II) to have committed voluntary 
manslaughter (which would have been 
an offense under section 1112(a) of 
title 18, United States Code, if the of-
fense had occurred in the special mari-
time or territorial jurisdiction of the 
United States) of another child of such 
parent; 
‘‘(III) to have aided or abetted, 
attempted, conspired, or solicited to 
commit such murder or voluntary 
manslaughter; 
‘‘(IV) to have committed a felony 
assault that results in the serious bod-
ily injury to the surviving child or an-
other child of such parent; 
‘‘(V) to have committed sexual 
abuse against the surviving child or 
another child of such parent; or 
‘‘(VI) to be required to register 
with a sex offender registry under sec-
tion 113(a) of the Adam Walsh Child 
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Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (42 
U.S.C. 16913(a)); and 
‘‘(xvii) an assurance that, upon the 
implementation by the State of the provi-
sions, procedures, and mechanisms under 
clause (xvi), conviction of any one of the 
felonies listed in clause (xvi) constitute 
grounds under State law for the termi-
nation of parental rights of the convicted 
parent as to the surviving children (al-
though 
case-by-case 
determinations 
of 
whether or not to seek termination of paren-
tal rights shall be within the sole discretion 
of the State); 
‘‘(B) an assurance that the State has in 
place procedures for responding to the reporting 
of medical neglect (including instances of with-
holding of medically indicated treatment from 
infants with disabilities who have life-threat-
ening conditions), procedures or programs, or 
both (within the State child protective services 
system), to provide for— 
‘‘(i) coordination and consultation 
with individuals designated by and within 
appropriate health-care facilities; 
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‘‘(ii) prompt notification by individ-
uals designated by and within appropriate 
health-care facilities of cases of suspected 
medical neglect (including instances of 
withholding of medically indicated treat-
ment from infants with disabilities who 
have life-threatening conditions); and 
‘‘(iii) authority, under State law, for 
the State child protective services system to 
pursue any legal remedies, including the 
authority to initiate legal proceedings in a 
court of competent jurisdiction, as may be 
necessary to prevent the withholding of 
medically indicated treatment from infants 
with disabilities who have life-threatening 
conditions; 
‘‘(C) an assurance or certification that pro-
grams and education conducted under this title 
address the unique needs of unaccompanied 
homeless youth, including access to enrollment 
and support services and that such youth are eli-
gible for under parts B and E of title IV of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 670 
et seq.) and meet the requirements of the McKin-
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ney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
11301 et seq.); 
‘‘(D) a description of— 
‘‘(i) policies and procedures (including 
appropriate referrals to child welfare service 
systems and for other appropriate services 
(including home visiting services and mu-
tual support and parent partner pro-
grams)) to address the needs of infants born 
with and identified as being affected by sub-
stance use or withdrawal symptoms result-
ing from prenatal drug exposure, or a Fetal 
Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, including a re-
quirement that health care providers in-
volved in the delivery or care of such in-
fants notify the child welfare services system 
of the occurrence of such condition in such 
infants, except that such notification shall 
not be construed to— 
‘‘(I) establish a definition under 
Federal law of what constitutes child 
abuse or neglect; or 
‘‘(II) require prosecution for any 
illegal action; 
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‘‘(ii) the development of a plan of safe 
care for the infant born and identified as 
being affected by substance use or with-
drawal symptoms, or a Fetal Alcohol Spec-
trum Disorder to ensure the safety and well- 
being of such infant following release from 
the care of health care providers, including 
through— 
‘‘(I) addressing the health and 
substance use disorder treatment needs 
of the infant and affected family or 
caregiver; and 
‘‘(II) the development and imple-
mentation by the State of monitoring 
systems regarding the implementation 
of such plans to determine whether and 
in what manner local entities are pro-
viding, in accordance with State re-
quirements, referrals to and delivery of 
appropriate services for the infant and 
affected family or caregiver; 
‘‘(iii) policies and procedures to make 
available to the public on the State website 
the data, findings, and information about 
all cases of child abuse or neglect resulting 
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in a child fatality or near fatality, includ-
ing a description of— 
‘‘(I) how the State will not create 
an exception to such public disclosure, 
except in a case in which— 
‘‘(aa) the State would like to 
delay public release of case-spe-
cific findings or information (in-
cluding any previous reports of 
domestic violence and subsequent 
actions taken to assess and ad-
dress such reports) while a crimi-
nal investigation or prosecution of 
such a fatality or near fatality is 
pending; 
‘‘(bb) the State is protecting 
the identity of a reporter of child 
abuse or neglect; or 
‘‘(cc) the State is withholding 
identifying information of mem-
bers of the victim’s family who 
are not perpetrators of the fatality 
or near fatality; and 
‘‘(II) how the State will ensure 
that in providing the public disclosure 
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required under this clause, the State 
will include— 
‘‘(aa) the cause and cir-
cumstances of the fatality or near 
fatality; 
‘‘(bb) the age and gender of 
the child; and 
‘‘(cc) any previous reports of 
child abuse or neglect investiga-
tions that are relevant to the child 
abuse or neglect that led to the fa-
tality or near fatality; 
‘‘(iv) how the State will use data col-
lected on child abuse or neglect to prevent 
child fatalities and near fatalities; 
‘‘(v) how the State will implement ef-
forts to prevent child fatalities and near fa-
talities; 
‘‘(vi) the cooperation of State law en-
forcement officials, court of competent juris-
diction, and appropriate State agencies 
providing human services in the investiga-
tion, assessment, prosecution, and treatment 
of child abuse and neglect; 
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‘‘(vii) the steps the State will take to 
improve the professional development, reten-
tion, and supervision of caseworkers and 
how the State will measure the effectiveness 
of such efforts; 
‘‘(viii) the State’s plan to ensure each 
child under the age of 3 who is involved in 
a substantiated case of child abuse or ne-
glect will be referred to the State’s child find 
system under section 635(a)(5) of the Indi-
viduals with Disabilities Education Act (20 
U.S.C. 1435(a)(5)) in order to determine if 
the child is an infant or toddler with a dis-
ability (as defined in section 632(5) of such 
Act (20 U.S.C. 1432(5))); 
‘‘(ix) the State’s plan to improve, as 
part of a comprehensive State strategy led 
by law enforcement, professional develop-
ment for child protective services workers 
and their appropriate role in identifying, 
assessing, and providing comprehensive 
services for children who are sex trafficking 
victims, in coordination with law enforce-
ment, juvenile justice agencies, runaway 
and homeless youth shelters, and health, 
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mental health, and other social service agen-
cies and providers; 
‘‘(x) the services to be provided under 
the grant to individuals, families, or com-
munities, either directly or through refer-
rals, aimed at preventing the occurrence of 
child abuse and neglect; 
‘‘(xi) the State’s efforts to ensure pro-
fessionals who are required to report sus-
pected cases of child abuse and neglect are 
aware of their responsibilities under sub-
paragraph (A)(i) and receive professional 
development relating to performing such re-
sponsibilities that is specific to their profes-
sion and workplace; 
‘‘(xii) policies and procedures encour-
aging the appropriate involvement of fami-
lies in decisionmaking pertaining to chil-
dren who experienced child abuse or neglect; 
‘‘(xiii) the State’s efforts to improve 
appropriate collaboration among child pro-
tective services agencies, domestic violence 
services agencies, substance use disorder 
treatment agencies, and other agencies in 
investigations, interventions, and the deliv-
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ery of services and treatment provided to 
children and families affected by child abuse 
or neglect, including children exposed to do-
mestic violence, where appropriate; 
‘‘(xiv) policies and procedures regard-
ing the use of differential response, as ap-
plicable, to improve outcomes for children; 
and 
‘‘(xv) the State’s efforts to reduce racial 
bias in its child protective services system.’’. 
(3) LIMITATIONS.—Paragraph (3) of section 
106(b) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)) is amended— 
(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 
‘‘LIMITATION’’ and inserting ‘‘LIMITATIONS’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘With regard to clauses (vi) 
and (vii) of paragraph (2)(B),’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(A) DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN IDENTIFYING 
INFORMATION.—With regard to subparagraphs 
(A)(iv) and (D)(iii) of paragraph (2),’’; 
(C) by striking the period at the end and 
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(B) PUBLIC
ACCESS
TO
COURT
PRO-
CEEDINGS.—Nothing in paragraph (2) shall be 
construed to limit the State’s flexibility to deter-
mine State policies relating to public access to 
court proceedings to determine child abuse and 
neglect, except that such policies shall, at a min-
imum, ensure the safety and well-being of the 
child, parents, and families.’’. 
(4) DEFINITIONS.—Paragraph (4) of section 
106(b) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)) is amended— 
(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 
‘‘DEFINITIONS’’ and inserting ‘‘DEFINITION’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘this subsection’’ and all 
that follows through ‘‘means an act’’ and insert-
ing the following: ‘‘this subsection, the term ‘near 
fatality’ means an act’’; 
(C) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a pe-
riod; and 
(D) by striking subparagraph (B). 
(c) CITIZEN REVIEW PANELS.—Section 106(c) of the 
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 
5106a(c)) is amended— 
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(1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘EXCEP-
TIONS.’’ and all that follows through ‘‘A State may’’ 
and inserting ‘‘EXCEPTION.—A State may’’; 
(2) in paragraph (4)(A)— 
(A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 
striking ‘‘and where appropriate, specific cases,’’; 
and 
(B) in clause (iii)(I), by striking ‘‘foster 
care and adoption programs’’ and inserting ‘‘fos-
ter care, prevention, and permanency pro-
grams’’; and 
(3) by amending the first sentence of paragraph 
(6) to read as follows: ‘‘Each panel established under 
paragraph (1) shall prepare and make available to 
the State and the public, on an annual basis, a report 
containing a summary of the activities of the panel, 
the criteria used for determining which activities the 
panel engaged in, and recommendations or observa-
tions to improve the child protective services system 
at the State and local levels, and the data upon which 
these recommendations or observations are based.’’. 
(d) ANNUAL STATE DATA REPORTS.—Section 106(d) 
of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 
U.S.C. 5106a(d)) is amended— 
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(1) by amending paragraph (13) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(13) The annual report containing the sum-
mary of the activities and recommendations of the cit-
izen review panels of the State required by subsection 
(c)(6), and the actions taken by the State as a result 
of such recommendations.’’; 
(2) in paragraph (15), by striking ‘‘subsection 
(b)(2)(B)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)(2)(D)(i)’’; 
(3) in paragraph (16), by striking ‘‘subsection 
(b)(2)(B)(xxi)’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘subsection 
(b)(2)(D)(viii)’’; 
(4) in paragraph (17), by striking ‘‘subsection 
(b)(2)(B)(xxiv)’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘subsection 
(b)(2)(A)(xv)’’; and 
(5) in paragraph (18)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘sub-
section (b)(2)(B)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 
(b)(2)(D)(i)’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘sub-
section (b)(2)(B)(iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 
(b)(2)(D)(ii)’’; and 
(C) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘sub-
section (b)(2)(B)(iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 
(b)(2)(D)(ii)’’; and 
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(6) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(19) The number of child fatalities and near fa-
talities from maltreatment and related information in 
accordance with the uniform standards established 
under section 103(d).’’. 
(e) ALLOTMENTS.—Section 106(f) of the Child Abuse 
Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(f)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) LIMITATION.—For any fiscal year for which 
the amount allotted to a State or territory under this 
subsection exceeds the amount allotted to the State or 
territory under such subsection for fiscal year 2019, 
the State or territory may use not more than 2 per-
cent of such excess amount for administrative ex-
penses.’’. 
SEC. 107. MISCELLANEOUS REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 108 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat-
ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106d) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘Indian tribes, 
and tribal organizations,’’ after ‘‘States,’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsections (c) through (e) 
as subsections (d) through (f), respectively; and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(c) PROTECTING AGAINST SYSTEMIC CHILD SEXUAL 
ABUSE.— 
‘‘(1) REPORTING AND TASK FORCE.—Not later 
than 24 months after the date of the enactment of the 
Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, 
each State task force established under section 107(c) 
and expanded as described in paragraph (2) shall 
study and make recommendations on the following, 
with a focus on preventing systemic child sexual 
abuse: 
‘‘(A) How to detect systemic child sexual 
abuse that occurs in an organization. 
‘‘(B) How to prevent child sexual abuse and 
systemic child sexual abuse from occurring in or-
ganizations, which shall include recommenda-
tions to improve— 
‘‘(i) practices and policies for the edu-
cation of parents, caregivers, and victims, 
and age appropriate education of children, 
about risk factors or signs of potential child 
sexual abuse; and 
‘‘(ii) the efficacy of applicable State 
laws and the role such laws play in deter-
ring or preventing incidences of child sexual 
abuse. 
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‘‘(C) The feasibility of making available the 
disposition of a perpetrator within an organiza-
tion to— 
‘‘(i) the child alleging sexual abuse or 
the child’s family; or 
‘‘(ii) an adult who was a child at the 
time of the sexual abuse claim in question 
or the adult’s family. 
‘‘(2) TASK FORCE COMPOSITION.—For purposes 
of this subsection, a State task force shall include— 
‘‘(A) the members of the State task force de-
scribed in section 107(c) for the State; and 
‘‘(B) the following: 
‘‘(i) Family court judges. 
‘‘(ii) Individuals from religious orga-
nizations. 
‘‘(iii) Individuals from youth-serving 
organizations, including youth athletics or-
ganizations. 
‘‘(3) REPORTING
ON
RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not 
later than 6 months after a State task force makes 
recommendations under paragraph (1), the State 
maintaining such State task force shall— 
‘‘(A) make public the recommendations of 
such report; 
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‘‘(B) report to the Secretary on the status of 
adopting such recommendations; and 
‘‘(C) in a case in which the State declines 
to adopt a particular recommendation, make 
public the explanation for such declination. 
‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section— 
‘‘(A) the terms ‘child sexual abuse’ and ‘sex-
ual abuse’ shall not be limited to an act or a 
failure to act on the part of a parent or care-
taker; 
‘‘(B) the term ‘organization’ means any en-
tity that serves children; and 
‘‘(C) the term ‘systemic child sexual abuse’ 
means— 
‘‘(i) a pattern of informal or formal 
policy or de facto policy to not follow State 
and local requirements to report instances 
of child sexual abuse in violation of State 
and local mandatory reporting laws or pol-
icy; or 
‘‘(ii) a pattern of assisting individual 
perpetrators in maintaining their careers 
despite substantiated evidence of child sex-
ual abuse.’’. 
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SEC. 108. REPORTS. 
(a) SCALING EVIDENCE-BASED TREATMENT OF CHILD 
ABUSE AND NEGLECT.—Section 110 of the Child Abuse 
Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106f) is amend-
ed to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 110. STUDY AND REPORT RELATING TO SCALING EVI-
DENCE-BASED TREATMENT OF CHILD ABUSE 
AND NEGLECT; STUDY AND REPORT ON MAR-
ITAL AGE OF CONSENT; STUDY AND REPORT 
ON STATE MANDATORY REPORTING LAWS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 
study that examines challenges to, and best practices for, 
the scalability of treatments that reduce the trauma result-
ing from child abuse and neglect and reduce the risk of re-
victimization, such as those allowable under sections 105 
and 106. 
‘‘(b) CONTENT OF STUDY.—The study described in 
subsection (a) shall be completed in a manner that considers 
the variability among treatment programs and among pop-
ulations vulnerable to child abuse and neglect. The study 
shall include, at minimum: 
‘‘(1) A detailed synthesis of the existing research 
literature examining barriers and challenges to, and 
best practices for the scalability of child welfare pro-
grams and services as well as programs and services 
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for vulnerable children and families in related fields, 
including healthcare and education. 
‘‘(2) Data describing state and local providers’ 
experiences with scaling treatments that reduce the 
trauma resulting from child abuse and neglect and re-
duce the risk of revictimization. 
‘‘(3) Consultation with experts in child welfare, 
healthcare, and education. 
‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 
of the enactment of the Stronger Child Abuse Prevention 
and Treatment Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
Senate and the Committee on Education and Labor of the 
House of Representatives a report that contains the results 
of the study conducted under subsection (a), including rec-
ommendations for best practices for scaling treatments that 
reduce the trauma resulting from child abuse and neglect 
and reduce the risk of revictimization. 
‘‘(d) STUDY AND REPORT ON MARITAL AGE OF CON-
SENT.— 
‘‘(1) STUDY.—The Secretary shall study, with 
respect to each State— 
‘‘(A) the State law regarding the minimum 
marriage age; and 
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‘‘(B) the prevalence of marriage involving a 
child who is under the age of such minimum 
marriage age. 
‘‘(2) FACTORS.—The study required under para-
graph (1) shall include an examination of— 
‘‘(A) the extent to which any statutory ex-
ceptions to the minimum marriage age in such 
laws contribute to the prevalence of marriage in-
volving a child described in paragraph (1)(B); 
‘‘(B) whether such exceptions allow such a 
child to be married without the consent of such 
child; and 
‘‘(C) the impact of such exceptions on the 
safety of such children. 
‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of the Stronger Child Abuse Preven-
tion and Treatment Act, the Secretary shall submit to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Edu-
cation and Labor of the House of Representatives a 
report containing the findings of the study required 
by this subsection, including any best practices. 
‘‘(e) STUDY AND REPORT ON STATE MANDATORY RE-
PORTING LAWS.— 
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‘‘(1) STUDY.—The Secretary shall collect infor-
mation on and otherwise study State laws for manda-
tory reporting of incidents of child abuse or neglect. 
Such study shall examine trends in referrals and in-
vestigations of child abuse and neglect due to dif-
ferences in such State laws with respect to the inclu-
sion, as mandatory reporters, of the following individ-
uals: 
‘‘(A) Individuals licensed or certified to 
practice in any health-related field licensed by 
the State, employees of health care facilities or 
providers licensed by the State, who are engaged 
in the admission, examination, care or treatment 
of individuals, including mental health and 
emergency medical service providers. 
‘‘(B) Individuals employed by a school who 
have direct contact with children, including 
teachers, administrators, and independent con-
tractors. 
‘‘(C) Peace officers and law enforcement 
personnel. 
‘‘(D) Clergy, including Christian Science 
practitioners, except where prohibited on account 
of clergy-penitent privilege. 
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‘‘(E) Day care and child care operators and 
employees. 
‘‘(F) Employees of social services agencies 
who have direct contact with children in the 
course of employment. 
‘‘(G) Foster parents. 
‘‘(H) Court appointed special advocates 
(employees and volunteers). 
‘‘(I) Camp and after-school employees. 
‘‘(J) An individual, paid or unpaid, who, 
on the basis of the individual’s role as an inte-
gral part of a regularly scheduled program, ac-
tivity, or service, accepts responsibility for a 
child. 
‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the 
date of enactment of the Stronger Child Abuse Preven-
tion and Treatment Act, the Secretary shall submit to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Edu-
cation and Labor of the House of Representatives a 
report containing the findings of the study required 
by this subsection, including any best practices re-
lated to the inclusion, as mandatory reporters, of in-
dividuals described in paragraph (1).’’. 
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(b) REPORT ON CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT IN IN-
DIAN TRIBAL COMMUNITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
General, in consultation with the Indian tribes from 
each of the 12 regions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
shall study child abuse and neglect in Indian Tribal 
communities for the purpose of identifying vital in-
formation and making recommendations concerning 
issues relating to child abuse and neglect in such com-
munities, and submit to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee 
on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Education and Labor and the Committee on Natural 
Resources of the House of Representatives a report on 
such study, which shall include— 
(A) the number of Indian tribes providing 
primary child abuse and neglect prevention ac-
tivities; 
(B) the number of Indian tribes providing 
secondary child abuse and neglect prevention ac-
tivities; 
(C) promising practices of Indian tribes 
with respect to child abuse and neglect preven-
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tion that are culturally-based or culturally- 
adapted; 
(D) information and recommendations on 
how such culturally-based or culturally-adapted 
child abuse and neglect prevention activities 
could become evidence-based; 
(E) the number of Indian tribes that have 
accessed Federal child abuse and neglect preven-
tion programs; 
(F) child abuse and neglect prevention ac-
tivities that Indian tribes provide using State 
funds; 
(G) child abuse and neglect prevention ac-
tivities that Indian tribes provide using Tribal 
funds; 
(H) Tribal access to State children’s trust 
fund resources, as described in section 202 of the 
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 
U.S.C. 5116a); 
(I) how a children’s trust fund model could 
be used to support prevention efforts regarding 
child abuse and neglect of American Indian and 
Alaska Native children; 
(J) Federal agency technical assistance ef-
forts to address child abuse and neglect preven-
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tion and treatment of American Indian and 
Alaska Native children; 
(K) Federal agency cross-system collabora-
tion to address child abuse and neglect preven-
tion and treatment of American Indian and 
Alaska Native children; 
(L) Tribal access to child abuse and neglect 
prevention research and demonstration grants 
under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat-
ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.); and 
(M) an examination of child abuse and ne-
glect data systems to identify what Tribal data 
is being submitted, barriers to submitting data, 
and recommendations on improving the collec-
tion of data from Indian Tribes. 
(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 
(A) the term ‘‘Alaska Native’’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 111 of the Child 
Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 
5106g); and 
(B) the terms ‘‘child abuse and neglect’’ and 
‘‘Indian tribe’’ have the meaning given the terms 
in section 3 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 note). 
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SEC. 109. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
Section 112(a) of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106h(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘to carry out’’ through ‘‘fis-
cal year 2010’’ and inserting ‘‘to carry out this 
title $270,000,000 for fiscal year 2020’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘2011 through 2015’’ and 
inserting ‘‘2021 through 2025’’; and 
(2) by striking paragraph (2)(A) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts appro-
priated for a fiscal year under paragraph (1), 
the Secretary shall make available 30 percent of 
such amounts, or $100,000,000, whichever is less, 
to fund discretionary activities under this title.’’. 
SEC. 110. ELECTRONIC INTERSTATE DATA EXCHANGE SYS-
TEM. 
Title I of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 115. ELECTRONIC INTERSTATE DATA EXCHANGE SYS-
TEM. 
‘‘(a) INTERSTATE DATA EXCHANGE SYSTEM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall consider the recommendations 
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included in the reports required under paragraph 
(8)(A) and subsection (b)(2) in developing an elec-
tronic interstate data exchange system that allows 
State entities responsible under State law for main-
taining child abuse and neglect registries to commu-
nicate information across State lines. 
‘‘(2) STANDARDS.—In developing the electronic 
interstate data exchange system under paragraph (1), 
the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) use interoperable standards developed 
and maintained by intergovernmental partner-
ships, such as the National Information Ex-
change Model; 
‘‘(B) develop policies and governance stand-
ards that— 
‘‘(i) ensure consistency in types of in-
formation shared and not shared; and 
‘‘(ii) 
specify 
circumstances 
under 
which data should be shared through the 
interstate data exchange system; and 
‘‘(C) ensure that all standards and policies 
adhere to the privacy, security, and civil rights 
laws of each State and Federal law. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON USE OF ELECTRONIC INTER-
STATE
DATA
EXCHANGE
SYSTEM.—The electronic 
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interstate data exchange system may only be used for 
purposes relating to child safety. 
‘‘(4) PILOT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(A) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 6 
months after the date of the enactment of this 
section, the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services shall begin implementation of a pilot 
program to generate recommendations for the 
full integration of the electronic interstate data 
exchange system. Such pilot program shall in-
clude not less than 10 States and not more than 
15 States. 
‘‘(B) COMPLETION.—Not later than 30 
months after the date of the enactment of this 
section, the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services shall complete the pilot program de-
scribed in subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(5) INTEGRATION.—The Secretary of Health 
and Human Services may assist States in the inte-
gration of this system into the infrastructure of each 
State using funds appropriated under this subsection. 
‘‘(6) PARTICIPATION.—As a condition on eligi-
bility for receipt of funds under section 106, each 
State shall— 
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‘‘(A) participate in the electronic interstate 
data exchange system to the fullest extent possible 
in accordance with State law (as determined by 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services) 
not later than December 31, 2027; and 
‘‘(B) prior to the participation described in 
subparagraph (A), provide to the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services an assurance that 
the child abuse and neglect registry of such State 
provides procedural due process protections with 
respect to including individuals on such registry. 
‘‘(7) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary of Health 
and Human Services may not access or store data 
from the electronic interstate data exchange system, 
unless the State to which such data pertains volun-
tarily shares such data with the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services. 
‘‘(8) REPORTS.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall prepare and submit to Con-
gress— 
‘‘(A) not later than 3 years after the date 
of the enactment of this section, a report on the 
recommendations from the pilot program de-
scribed in paragraph (4); and 
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‘‘(B) not later than January 31, 2025, a re-
port on the progress made in implementing this 
subsection. 
‘‘(9) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of 
the funds appropriated under section 112 for a fiscal 
year— 
‘‘(A) for each of fiscal years 2020 and 2021, 
$2,000,000 shall be reserved to carry out this sec-
tion; and 
‘‘(B) for each of fiscal years 2022 through 
2025, $1,000,000 shall be reserved to carry out 
this section. 
‘‘(b) WORKING GROUP.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— Not later than 60 days after 
the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services shall convene a work-
ing group to study and make recommendations on the 
following: 
‘‘(A) The feasibility of making publicly 
available on the website of each State definitions 
and standards of substantiated child abuse and 
neglect for the State. 
‘‘(B) Whether background check require-
ments under this Act, the Child Care and Devel-
opment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
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9858 et seq.), and part E of title IV of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) are com-
plementary or if there are discrepancies that 
need to be addressed. 
‘‘(C) How to improve communication be-
tween and across States, including through the 
use of technology and the use of the electronic 
interstate data exchange system established 
under subsection (a), to allow for more accurate 
and efficient exchange of child abuse and neglect 
records. 
‘‘(D) How to reduce barriers and establish 
best practices for the State to provide timely re-
sponses to requests from other States for infor-
mation contained in the State’s child abuse and 
neglect registry through the electronic interstate 
data exchange system established under sub-
section (a). 
‘‘(E) How to ensure due process for any in-
dividual included in a State’s child abuse and 
neglect registry, including the following: 
‘‘(i) The level of evidence necessary for 
inclusion in the State’s child abuse and ne-
glect registry. 
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‘‘(ii) The process for notifying such in-
dividual of inclusion in the State’s child 
abuse and neglect registry and the implica-
tions of such inclusion. 
‘‘(iii) The process for providing such 
individual the opportunity to challenge such 
inclusion, and the procedures for resolving 
such challenge. 
‘‘(iv) The length of time an individ-
ual’s record is to remain in the State’s child 
abuse and neglect registry, and the process 
for removing such individual’s record. 
‘‘(v) The criteria for when such indi-
vidual’s child abuse and neglect registry 
record may be— 
‘‘(I) made accessible to the general 
public; 
‘‘(II) made available for purposes 
of an employment check; and 
‘‘(III) be shared for the purposes 
of participation in the electronic inter-
state data exchange system described in 
subsection (a). 
‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 
the date of the enactment of this section, the working 
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group convened under paragraph (1) shall submit a 
report containing its recommendations to the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services, the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
Senate, and the Committee on Education and Labor 
of the House of Representatives. 
‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION.—There shall be no require-
ment for any State to adopt the recommendations of 
the working group, nor shall the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services incentivize or coerce any State 
to adopt any such recommendation.’’. 
SEC. 111. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 
(a) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.— The Child Abuse Pre-
vention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.), as 
amended by the preceding provisions of this Act, is further 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Committee on Education and 
the Workforce’’ each place it appears and inserting 
‘‘Committee on Education and Labor’’; 
(2) in section 103(c)(1)(F), by striking ‘‘abused 
and neglected children’’ and inserting ‘‘victims of 
child abuse or neglect’’; and 
(3) in section 107(f), by striking ‘‘(42 U.S.C. 
10603a)’’ and inserting ‘‘(34 U.S.C. 20104)’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
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decided to prioritize the establishment of such services, 
to the extent practicable given funding levels and 
community priorities. 
‘‘(4) Maximizing funding through leveraging 
Federal, State, local, public, and private funds to 
carry out the purposes of this title. 
‘‘(5) Developing or enhancing statewide and 
local networks to operate, expand, or enhance commu-
nity-based family strengthening services, initiatives, 
and activities that promote child, parent, family, and 
community health and well-being and prevent child 
abuse and neglect. 
‘‘(6) Promoting the development of, and coordi-
nation with, existing community coalitions of net-
works of family strengthening services that utilize cul-
turally responsive providers in order to enhance child, 
family, and community well-being and prevent child 
abuse and neglect in all families. 
‘‘(7) Financing public information activities 
that focus on parent and child development and child 
abuse and neglect prevention. 
‘‘(8) To the extent practicable— 
‘‘(A) promoting the development and imple-
mentation of a statewide systems-building strat-
egy to address the unmet needs identified in the 
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