I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2480 
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 
A BILL 
To reauthorize the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 
Act, and for other purposes. 
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 
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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. National 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. 
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ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 note) is repealed.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 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5102) is repealed. 
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SEC. 103. NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR INFORMATION 
RELATING TO CHILD ABUSE. 
Section 103 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment 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 
subsection (d), and any other relevant in-
formation 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 regu-
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lations establishing uniform standards for the track-
ing and reporting of child fatalities and near-fatali-
ties resulting from maltreatment. As a condition on 
eligibility for receipt of funds under section 105, 
106, or 107, the standards established under this 
paragraph shall be used by States for the tracking 
and reporting of such fatalities to the national clear-
inghouse established under subsection (a). 
‘‘(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 
reporting under this subsection may continue to use 
that definition or description for such purpose. 
‘‘(3) NEGOTIATED
RULEMAKING.—In devel-
oping regulations under paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary shall submit such regulations to a negotiated 
rulemaking process, which shall include the partici-
pants 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 
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Security 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) emergency medicine physicians; 
‘‘(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; 
‘‘(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.’’. 
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SEC. 104. RESEARCH AND ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES. 
Section 104 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment 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— 
‘‘(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 
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mitigate stressors affecting families in rural, 
urban, and suburban communities; 
‘‘(C) establishing methods to promote ra-
cial 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 out-
comes for child protective service agencies en-
gaged with families experiencing domestic vio-
lence, substance use disorder, or other complex 
needs; 
‘‘(E) the extent to which the number of 
unsubstantiated, 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; 
‘‘(F) the extent to which the lack of ade-
quate resources and the lack of adequate pro-
fessional 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; 
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‘‘(G) the extent to which unsubstantiated 
reports 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; 
‘‘(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; 
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‘‘(iv) the extent to which the number 
of unsubstantiated, 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; 
‘‘(v) the extent to which the lack of 
adequate resources and the lack of ade-
quate education 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; 
‘‘(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; 
‘‘(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 sub-
stitute care; 
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‘‘(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 
suspected or known instances of child 
abuse or neglect involving a potential com-
bination of jurisdictions, such as intra-
state, interstate, Federal-State, and State- 
Tribal, are being screened out solely on the 
basis of the cross-jurisdictional complica-
tions; and 
‘‘(xi) the incidence and outcomes of 
child abuse and neglect allegations re-
ported within the context of divorce, cus-
tody, or other family court proceedings, 
and the interaction between family courts 
and the child protective services system.’’; 
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(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 re-
search conducted under paragraph (2). 
‘‘(B) NATIONAL
INCIDENCE.—The Sec-
retary shall ensure that research conducted, 
and data collected, under paragraph (1)(J) are 
reported in a way that will allow longitudinal 
comparisons as well as comparisons to reports 
issued on research conducted under section 
104(a)(1)(O) of this Act, as in effect before the 
effective date of the Stronger Child Abuse Pre-
vention and Treatment Act.’’; and 
(D) by striking the second paragraph (4); 
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(2) in subsection (b), by amending paragraph 
(2) to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) AREAS OF EMPHASIS; EVALUATION.—Such 
technical assistance— 
‘‘(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 
families experiencing domestic violence, 
substance use disorder, or other complex 
needs; and 
‘‘(iv) providing professional develop-
ment and other technical assistance to 
child welfare agencies to improve the un-
derstanding of and to help address the ef-
fects of trauma and adverse childhood ex-
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periences in parents and children in con-
tact with the child welfare system; and 
‘‘(B) may include an evaluation or identi-
fication 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 uti-
lized to link child protective service agen-
cies with health care, mental health care, 
and developmental services to improve fo-
rensic diagnosis and health evaluations, 
and barriers and shortages to such link-
ages.’’; 
(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 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by redesignating paragraph (7) as 
paragraph (10); and 
(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 re-
duce incidences of child maltreatment and strength-
en families. 
‘‘(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) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—The Sec-
retary may award grants under this subsection to 
entities to educate professionals and paraprofes-
sionals in prevention, identification, and treatment 
of child abuse and neglect. 
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‘‘(4) IMPROVING
COORDINATION.—The Sec-
retary may award grants under this subsection to 
entities to carry out activities to improve intrastate 
coordination among child welfare systems. Such ac-
tivities 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 
service agencies, community-based family sup-
port programs, State and local legal agencies, 
developmental disability agencies, substance use 
disorder treatment providers, health care pro-
viders and agencies, domestic violence preven-
tion programs, mental health services, schools 
and early learning providers, religious entities, 
and other community-based programs. 
‘‘(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 pro-
tective factors. 
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‘‘(6) NEGLECT
DUE
TO
ECONOMIC
INSECU-
RITY.—The Secretary may award grants under this 
subsection to entities to carry out programs or strat-
egies that reduce findings of child neglect due in full 
or in part to family economic insecurity. 
‘‘(7) EDUCATION
OF
MANDATORY
REPORT-
ERS.—The Secretary may award grants under this 
subsection to entities for projects that involve re-
search-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 
identify and test effective practices to improve early 
detection and management of injuries indicative of 
potential 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 
entities to carry out innovative programs or strate-
gies to coordinate the delivery of services to help re-
duce 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.’’; and 
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(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 
section— 
‘‘(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.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each entity that receives a 
grant under this section shall submit to the Sec-
retary 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 para-
graph (1) shall be submitted to the Secretary at 
such time, in such manner, and containing such in-
formation 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 
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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: 
‘‘(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 
system that is family-centered, integrates community serv-
ices, 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 
neglect. 
‘‘(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 rea-
sons of poverty. 
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‘‘(3) Creating and improving the use of multi-
disciplinary teams and interagency, intra-agency, 
interstate, and intrastate protocols to enhance fair 
investigations; and improving legal preparation and 
representation. 
‘‘(4) Complying with the assurances in section 
106(b)(2). 
‘‘(5) Establishing State and local networks of 
child and family service providers that support child 
and family well-being, which shall— 
‘‘(A) include agencies, including child pro-
tective services, 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, do-
mestic violence, developmental disabilities, juve-
nile 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 commu-
nication, social, and emotional skills, mental 
health services, trauma-related services, trau-
ma-informed care, and parental needs. 
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‘‘(6) Ensuring child protective services is ad-
dressing the safety of children and responding to 
parent and family needs, which shall include— 
‘‘(A) family-oriented efforts that emphasize 
case assessment and follow up casework focused 
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 devel-
opmental 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 observes 
child well-being; and 
‘‘(v) differential response efforts; and 
‘‘(B) establishing and maintaining a rapid 
response system that responds promptly to all 
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reports of child abuse or neglect, with special 
attention to cases involving children under 3 
years of age. 
‘‘(7) Educating caseworkers, community service 
providers, attorneys, parents, and others engaged in 
the prevention, intervention, and treatment of child 
abuse and neglect, which shall include education 
on— 
‘‘(A) practices that help ensure child safe-
ty; 
‘‘(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- 
abusing 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)); 
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‘‘(F) effective use of multiple services to 
address family and child needs, including needs 
resulting from trauma; 
‘‘(G) efforts to improve family and child 
well-being; 
‘‘(H) support for child welfare workers af-
fected by secondary trauma; and 
‘‘(I) supporting families and caregivers to 
combat 
and 
prevent 
unsubstantiated, 
un-
founded, or false reports, including through 
education on the rights of families and care-
givers. 
‘‘(8) Creating or improving data systems that 
can be shared with law enforcement and allow for— 
‘‘(A) the identification of cases requiring 
prompt responses; and 
‘‘(B) real-time case monitoring that tracks 
assessments, service referrals, follow-up, case 
reviews, and progress toward parent and child 
goals. 
‘‘(9) Improving the general child protective sys-
tem by developing, improving, and implementing 
safety assessment tools, providing that such tools, 
protocols and systems shall not authorize the separa-
tion of any child from the legal parent or guardian 
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of such child without a judicial order, except in the 
case of imminent harm.’’. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) STATE
PLAN.—Paragraph (1) of section 
106(b) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat-
ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(1) STATE PLAN.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re-
ceive 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 
community-based, prevention-centered ap-
proaches that attempt to prevent child 
abuse and neglect while strengthening and 
supporting families whenever possible; and 
‘‘(ii) meets the requirements of this 
subsection. 
‘‘(B) 
COORDINATION
AND
CONSULTA-
TION.— 
‘‘(i) COORDINATION.—Each State, to 
the maximum extent practicable, shall co-
ordinate its State plan under this sub-
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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 wel-
fare services and family prevention services 
under part E of title IV of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.). 
‘‘(ii) CONSULTATION.—In developing 
a State plan under this subsection, a State 
shall consult with community-based pre-
vention and service agencies, parents and 
families affected by child abuse or neglect 
in the State, law enforcement, including 
family court judges and prosecutors, and 
medical professionals engaged in the treat-
ment 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 
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affect the eligibility of the State under 
this section; or 
‘‘(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 Treat-
ment 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 activities that the State will carry out using 
amounts received under the grant to achieve the ob-
jectives 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 
program, relating to child abuse and neglect 
that includes— 
‘‘(i) provisions or procedures for an 
individual to report known and suspected 
instances of child abuse and neglect, in-
cluding a State law for mandatory report-
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ing by individuals required to report such 
instances; 
‘‘(ii) procedures for the immediate 
screening, risk and safety assessment, and 
prompt investigation of such reports of al-
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 safe-
ty 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 con-
fidentiality of all records in order to pro-
tect the rights of the child and of the 
child’s parents or guardians, including re-
quirements ensuring 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; 
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‘‘(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; 
‘‘(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 pur-
pose; 
‘‘(v) provisions and procedures requir-
ing that in every case involving a victim of 
child abuse or neglect which results in a 
judicial proceeding, a guardian ad litem, 
who has received education appropriate to 
the role, including education in early child-
hood, child, and adolescent development, 
and domestic violence, and who may be an 
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attorney or a court appointed special advo-
cate who has received education appro-
priate to that role (or both), shall be ap-
pointed to represent the child (who, for 
purposes of this section, shall have any age 
limit elected by the State pursuant to sec-
tion 475(8)(B)(iii) of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 675(8)(B)(iii))) in such 
proceedings— 
‘‘(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 inter-
ests 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, 
advise the individual of the complaints or 
allegations made against the individual, in 
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a manner that is consistent with laws pro-
tecting the rights of the informant; 
‘‘(viii) provisions, procedures, and 
mechanisms— 
‘‘(I) for the expedited termi-
nation of parental rights in the case 
of any infant determined to be aban-
doned under State law; and 
‘‘(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 regard-
ing the legal duties of the representatives, 
which may consist of various methods of 
informing such representatives of such du-
ties (including providing such education in 
different languages if necessary), in order 
to protect the legal rights and safety of 
children and their parents and caregivers 
from the initial time of contact during in-
vestigation through treatment; 
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‘‘(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 
assistance, including medical evaluations or 
consultations, in connection with a report, 
investigation, or legal intervention pursu-
ant to a good faith report of child abuse or 
neglect; 
‘‘(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 
children from child abuse and neglect; 
‘‘(xii) provisions requiring, and proce-
dures in place that facilitate the prompt 
expungement of any records that are ac-
cessible to the general public or are used 
for purposes of employment or other back-
ground checks in cases determined to be 
unsubstantiated or false, except that noth-
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ing in this section shall prevent State child 
protective services agencies from keeping 
information 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 sec-
tion 471(a)(20) of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)) for prospective fos-
ter and adoptive parents and other adult 
relatives 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 Traf-
ficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 
U.S.C. 7102 (12))); 
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‘‘(xvi) provisions, procedures, and 
mechanisms that assure that the State 
does not require reunification of a sur-
viving child with a parent who has been 
found by a court of competent jurisdic-
tion— 
‘‘(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 
occurred in the special maritime or 
territorial jurisdiction of the United 
States) of another child of such par-
ent; 
‘‘(II) to have committed vol-
untary manslaughter (which would 
have been an offense under section 
1112(a) of title 18, United States 
Code, if the offense had occurred in 
the special maritime or territorial ju-
risdiction of the United States) of an-
other child of such parent; 
‘‘(III) to have aided or abetted, 
attempted, conspired, or solicited to 
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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 
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 pa-
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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 
eligible 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 
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 11301 et seq.); and 
‘‘(D) a description of— 
‘‘(i) policies and procedures (including 
appropriate referrals to child protective 
service systems and for other appropriate 
services (including home visiting services 
and mutual support and parent partner 
programs)) to address the needs of infants 
born with and identified as being affected 
by substance use disorder or withdrawal 
symptoms resulting from prenatal drug ex-
posure, or a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Dis-
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order, including a requirement that health 
care providers involved in the delivery or 
care of such infants notify the child protec-
tive 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; 
‘‘(ii) the development of a plan of safe 
care for the infant born and identified as 
being affected by substance use disorder or 
withdrawal symptoms, or a Fetal Alcohol 
Spectrum Disorder to ensure the safety 
and well-being of such infant following re-
lease from the care of health care pro-
viders, including through— 
‘‘(I) addressing the health and 
substance 
use 
disorder 
treatment 
needs of the infant and affected fam-
ily or caregiver; and 
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‘‘(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 
providing, in accordance with State 
requirements, 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 findings and information about the 
case of child abuse or neglect which has re-
sulted in a child fatality or near fatality, 
including 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 such find-
ings or information (including 
any previous reports of domestic 
violence and subsequent actions 
taken to assess and address such 
reports) while a criminal inves-
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tigation or prosecution of such a 
fatality or near fatality is pend-
ing; 
‘‘(bb) the State is protecting 
the identity of a reporter of child 
abuse or neglect; or 
‘‘(cc) the State is with-
holding identifying information of 
members 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 
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 or 
child abuse or neglect investiga-
tions that are relevant to the 
child abuse or neglect that led to 
the fatality or near fatality; 
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‘‘(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 
fatalities; 
‘‘(vi) the cooperation of State law en-
forcement officials, court of competent ju-
risdiction, and appropriate State agencies 
providing human services in the investiga-
tion, assessment, prosecution, and treat-
ment of child abuse and neglect; 
‘‘(vii) the steps the State will take to 
improve the education, retention, and su-
pervision of caseworkers and how the State 
will measure the effectiveness of such ef-
forts; 
‘‘(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 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
(20 U.S.C. 1435(a)(5)) in order to deter-
mine if the child is an infant or toddler 
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with a disability (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, the 
professional development for child protec-
tive services workers in identifying, assess-
ing, and providing comprehensive services 
for children who are sex trafficking vic-
tims, including the role of child protective 
services, law enforcement, juvenile justice 
agencies, and social service agencies, such 
as runaway and homeless youth shelters; 
‘‘(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 
responsibilities that is specific to their pro-
fession and workplace; 
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‘‘(xii) policies and procedures encour-
aging the appropriate involvement of fami-
lies in decisionmaking pertaining to chil-
dren who experienced child abuse or ne-
glect; 
‘‘(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-
ery of services and treatment provided to 
children and families affected by child 
abuse or neglect, including children ex-
posed to domestic violence, where appro-
priate; 
‘‘(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 ra-
cial bias in its child protective services sys-
tem.’’. 
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(3) LIMITATIONS.—Paragraph (3) of section 
106(b) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat-
ment 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 insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘(A) DISCLOSURE
OF
CERTAIN
IDENTI-
FYING INFORMATION.—With regard to subpara-
graphs (A)(iii) 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: 
‘‘(B) PUBLIC
ACCESS
TO
COURT
PRO-
CEEDINGS.—Nothing in paragraph (2) shall be 
construed to limit the State’s flexibility to de-
termine State policies relating to public access 
to court proceedings to determine child abuse 
and neglect, except that such policies shall, at 
a minimum, 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 Treat-
ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)) is amended— 
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(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 in-
serting 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— 
(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), by striking ‘‘and where 
appropriate, specific cases,’’; and 
(3) by amending the first sentence of paragraph 
(6) to read as follows: ‘‘Each panel established 
under paragraph (1) shall prepare and make avail-
able 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 recommenda-
tions or observations to improve the child protective 
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services system at the State and local levels, and the 
data upon which these recommendations or observa-
tions 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— 
(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 
citizen review panels of the State required by sub-
section (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)(D)(xv)’’; 
(5) in paragraph (18)— 
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(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 
(6) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(19) The number of child fatalities and near 
fatalities from maltreatment and related information 
in accordance with the uniform standards estab-
lished 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 fis-
cal year 2019, the State or territory may use not 
more than 2 percent of such excess amount for ad-
ministrative expenses.’’. 
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SEC. 107. MISCELLANEOUS REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 108 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106d) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (e) 
as subsections (d) through (f), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(c) PROTECTING AGAINST SYSTEMIC CHILD SEX-
UAL 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 fol-
lowing, 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 organizations, which shall include rec-
ommendations to improve— 
‘‘(i) practices and policies for the edu-
cation of parents, caregivers, and victims, 
and age appropriate education of children, 
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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 sex-
ual abuse. 
‘‘(C) The feasibility of making available 
the disposition of a perpetrator within an orga-
nization 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 
described in section 107(c) for the State; and 
‘‘(B) the following: 
‘‘(i) Family court judges. 
‘‘(ii) Individuals from religious organi-
zations. 
‘‘(iii) 
Individuals 
from 
organized 
youth athletics. 
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‘‘(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; 
‘‘(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 
‘sexual 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 
entity 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 
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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.’’. 
SEC. 108. REPORTS. 
Section 110 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106f) is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘SEC. 110. STUDY AND REPORT RELATING TO SCALING EVI-
DENCE-BASED TREATMENT OF CHILD ABUSE 
AND NEGLECT. 
‘‘(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 re-
sulting from child abuse and neglect and reduce the risk 
of revictimization, 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 con-
siders the variability among treatment programs and 
among populations vulnerable to child abuse and neglect. 
The study shall include, at a minimum: 
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‘‘(1) A detailed synthesis of the existing re-
search literature examining barriers and challenges 
to, and best practices for the scalability of child wel-
fare programs and services as well as programs and 
services for vulnerable children and families in re-
lated 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 
reduce 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 
Committee 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), in-
cluding recommendations for best practices for scaling 
treatments that reduce the trauma resulting from child 
abuse and neglect and reduce the risk of revictimization.’’. 
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SEC. 109. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) GENERAL AUTHORIZATION.—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 
‘‘fiscal 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 ap-
propriated for a fiscal year under paragraph 
(1), the Secretary shall make available 30 per-
cent of such amounts, or $100,000,000, which-
ever is less, to fund discretionary activities 
under this title.’’. 
SEC. 110. NATIONAL ELECTRONIC INTERSTATE DATA EX-
CHANGE SYSTEM. 
(a) INTERSTATE DATA EXCHANGE SYSTEM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall establish a national electronic 
interstate data exchange system that allows State 
entities responsible under State law for maintaining 
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child abuse and neglect registries to communicate in-
formation across State lines. 
(2) STANDARDS.—In establishing the national 
electronic interstate data exchange system under 
paragraph (1), the Secretary— 
(A) shall use interoperable standards devel-
oped and maintained by intergovernmental 
partnerships, such as the National Information 
Exchange Model; 
(B) shall develop data sharing policies and 
governance standards that ensure consistency in 
types of information shared and specify cir-
cumstances under which data should be shared; 
and 
(C) shall ensure that all standards and 
policies adhere to the privacy, security, and civil 
rights laws of each State. 
(3) PILOT PROGRAM.—Not later than 2 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services shall carry out 
and complete a pilot program to determine the best 
practices for developing the standards and policies 
required under paragraph (2) prior to the integra-
tion of the national electronic interstate data ex-
change system in all States. Such pilot program 
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shall include not less than 10 States and not more 
than 15 States. 
(4) 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 sub-
section. 
(5) PARTICIPATION.—As a condition on eligi-
bility for receipt of funds under section 105, 106, or 
107 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5106, 5106a, 5106c), each State 
shall participate in to the national electronic inter-
state data exchange system to the fullest extent pos-
sible (as determined by the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services) not later than December 31, 2027. 
(6) REPORT.—Not later than January 31, 
2025, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall prepare and submit to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen-
ate, and the Committee on Education and Labor of 
the House of Representatives, a report on the 
progress made in implementing this subsection. 
(7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of 
the funds appropriated under section 112 for any 
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fiscal year, $1,333,000 shall be reserved to carry out 
this subsection. 
(b) WORKING GROUP.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services shall convene a 
working group to study and make recommendations 
on the following: 
(A) The feasibility of making publicly 
available on the website of each State defini-
tions and standards of substantiated child 
abuse and neglect for the State. 
(B) Whether requirements under the Child 
Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 
U.S.C. 5101 et seq.), the Child Care and Devel-
opment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
9858 et seq.), and part E of title IV of the So-
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) are 
complementary 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 national 
electronic interstate data exchange system es-
tablished under subsection (a), to allow for 
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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 national electronic 
interstate data exchange system established 
under subsection (a). 
(2) REPORT.—The working group convened 
under paragraph (1) shall submit a report con-
taining its recommendations to the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen-
ate, 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 
Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.), 
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as amended by the preceding provisions of this Act, is fur-
ther amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Committee on Education and 
the Workforce’’ each place it appears and inserting 
‘‘Committee on Education and Labor’’; and 
(2) in section 103(c)(1)(F), by striking ‘‘abused 
and neglected children’’ and inserting ‘‘victims of 
child abuse or neglect’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) SECTION
103.—Section 103(b)(5) (42 
U.S.C. 5104(b)(5)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 
106(b)(2)(B)(iii)’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘section 
106(b)(2)(D)(ii)’’. 
(2) SECTION
105.—Section 105(a)(10) (25 
U.S.C. 5106(a)(10)) (as redesignated by section 
105(1)(A) of this Act) is amended— 
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘sec-
tion 106(b)(2)(B)(iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 
106(b)(2)(D)(ii)’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (C)— 
(i) in clause (i)(II), by striking ‘‘sec-
tion 106(b)(2)(B)(iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec-
tion 106(b)(2)(D)(ii)’’; 
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(ii) in clause (i)(IV), by striking ‘‘sec-
tion 106(b)(2)(B)(iii)(II)’’ and inserting 
‘‘section 106(b)(2)(D)(ii)(II)’’; and 
(iii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘clauses 
(ii) and (iii) of section 106(b)(2)(B)’’ and 
inserting ‘‘clauses (i) and (ii) of section 
106(b)(2)(D)’’; 
(C) in subparagraph (D)— 
(i) in clause (i)(I), by striking ‘‘sec-
tion 106(b)(2)(B)(iii)(I)’’ and inserting 
‘‘section 106(b)(2)(D)(ii)(I)’’; 
(ii) in clause (ii)(I), by striking ‘‘sec-
tion 106(b)(2)(B)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec-
tion 106(b)(2)(D)(i)’’; 
(iii) in clause (ii)(II), by striking ‘‘sec-
tion 106(b)(2)(B)(iii)(I)’’ and inserting 
‘‘section 106(b)(2)(D)(ii)(I)’’; 
(iv) in clause (iii)(I), by striking ‘‘sec-
tion 106(b)(2)(B)(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec-
tion 106(b)(2)(A)(i)’’; 
(v) in clause (iii)(IV), by striking 
‘‘section 106(b)(2)(B)(iii)’’ and inserting 
‘‘section 106(b)(2)(D)(ii)’’; and 
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(vi) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘section 
106(b)(2)(B)(iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 
106(b)(2)(D)(ii)’’; 
(D) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘sec-
tion 106(b)(2)(B)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 
106(b)(2)(D)(i)’’; and 
(E) in subparagraph (G)(ii), by striking 
‘‘clauses (ii) and (iii) of section 106(b)(2)(B)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘clauses (i) and (ii) of section 
106(b)(2)(D)’’. 
(3) SECTION
114.—Section 114(1)(B) (42 
U.S.C. 5108(1)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘clauses 
(ii) and (iii) of section 106(b)(2)(B)’’ and inserting 
‘‘clauses (i) and (ii) of section 106(b)(2)(D)’’. 
(4) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of con-
tents in section 1(b) of the Child Abuse Prevention 
and Treatment Act is amended by striking the items 
relating to sections 2 and 102. 
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TITLE 
II—COMMUNITY-BASED 
GRANTS FOR THE PREVEN-
TION OF CHILD ABUSE AND 
NEGLECT 
SEC. 201. PURPOSE AND AUTHORITY. 
Subsections (a) and (b) of section 201 of the Child 
Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116) 
are amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this title are— 
‘‘(1) to establish and maintain support for com-
munity-based family strengthening services and 
statewide systems-building approaches to the extent 
practicable, to ensure the development, operation, 
expansion, coordination, and evaluation of quality 
services, initiatives, programs, and activities to pre-
vent child abuse and neglect; and 
‘‘(2) to promote improved access for diverse 
populations with demonstrated need, including low- 
income families, racial and ethnic minorities, fami-
lies with children or caregivers with disabilities, un-
derserved communities, and rural communities, to 
family strengthening services in order to more effec-
tively prevent child abuse and neglect. 
‘‘(b) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall make grants 
under this title on a formula basis to the entity designated 
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by the State as the lead entity (referred to in this title 
as the ‘lead entity’) under section 202(1) for the following 
purposes: 
‘‘(1) Developing or enhancing statewide and 
local networks to operate, expand, or enhance com-
munity-based family strengthening services, initia-
tives, and activities that promote child, parent, fam-
ily, and community health and well-being, prevent 
child abuse and neglect, and that— 
‘‘(A) are accessible to diverse populations; 
‘‘(B) are effective; 
‘‘(C) are culturally appropriate; and 
‘‘(D) build upon existing strengths. 
‘‘(2) Providing programs, activities, and initia-
tives to help families build protective factors linked 
to the prevention of child abuse and neglect, such as 
knowledge of parenting and child development, pa-
rental resilience, social connections, time-limited and 
need-based concrete support, and social and emo-
tional development of children that— 
‘‘(A) offer assistance to families; 
‘‘(B) provide early, comprehensive support 
for parents; 
‘‘(C) promote the development of healthy 
familial relationships and parenting skills, espe-
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cially in young parents and parents with very 
young children; 
‘‘(D) increase family stability; 
‘‘(E) improve family access to formal and 
informal community-based resources, including 
health and mental health services, time-limited 
and need-based concrete supports, and services 
and supports to meet the needs of families with 
children or caregivers with disabilities; and 
‘‘(F) support the additional needs of fami-
lies with children with disabilities, including 
through respite care. 
‘‘(3) Fostering the development of a continuum 
of preventive services to strengthen families through 
State- and community-based collaborations and both 
public and private partnerships. 
‘‘(4) Financing the start-up, maintenance, ex-
pansion, or redesign of core services described in 
section 205, where communities have identified gaps 
and decided to prioritize the establishment of such 
services, to the extent practicable given funding lev-
els and community priorities. 
‘‘(5) Maximizing funding through leveraging 
Federal, State, local, public, and private funds to 
carry out the purposes of this title. 
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‘‘(6) Promoting the development of, and coordi-
nation with, existing community coalitions of net-
works of family strengthening services that utilize 
culturally 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 im-
plementation of a statewide systems-building 
strategy to address the unmet needs identified 
in the inventory described in section 204(3), in-
cluding the participation of public and private 
stakeholders, community-based organizations, 
legislators, parents and other relevant stake-
holders, and State agencies, including the child 
welfare agency, the health agency, housing 
agency, and the State education agency, to 
scale evidence-based, evidence-informed, and 
promising programs that expand access to fam-
ily strengthening services and reduce the num-
bers of children entering the foster care system; 
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‘‘(B) developing comprehensive outreach 
strategies to engage families with various risk 
factors, including families who have experienced 
trauma, parents with substance use disorder, 
and families with children or caregivers with 
disabilities; and 
‘‘(C) providing capacity-building supports 
to local programs to improve desired outcomes 
for children and family, such as— 
‘‘(i) technical assistance, including 
support for local programs to collect out-
come data that helps improve service deliv-
ery; 
‘‘(ii) professional development; and 
‘‘(iii) peer support networks, including 
through 
developing 
a 
problem-solving 
forum.’’. 
SEC. 202. ELIGIBILITY. 
Section 202 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116a) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) by striking subparagraph (A) and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(A) the Governor of the State has designated 
a lead entity to administer funds under this title for 
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the purposes identified under the authority of this 
title, including to develop, implement, operate, en-
hance, or expand community-based family strength-
ening services designed to prevent child abuse and 
neglect;’’; and 
(B) by striking subparagraph (D) and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(D) the Governor of the State has given con-
sideration to the capacity and expertise of all entities 
requesting to be designated under subparagraph 
(A);’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (3)— 
(A) by striking subparagraph (A) and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(A) has demonstrated ongoing meaningful 
partnerships with parents in the development, 
operation, and oversight of State- and commu-
nity-based family strengthening services de-
signed to prevent child abuse and neglect;’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘community-based and prevention-focused pro-
grams and activities designed to strengthen and 
support families’’ and inserting ‘‘community- 
based family strengthening services designed’’; 
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(C) by striking subparagraph (C) and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(C) has the capacity to provide oper-
ational support (both financial and pro-
grammatic) professional development, technical 
assistance, and evaluation assistance, to com-
munity-based organizations;’’; and 
(D) by striking subparagraph (D) and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(D) will integrate efforts with individuals 
and organizations experienced in working in 
partnership with low-income families, racial and 
ethnic minorities, families with children or care-
givers with disabilities, sexual and gender mi-
nority youth, victims of domestic violence, and 
with the child abuse and neglect prevention ac-
tivities in the State, and demonstrate a finan-
cial commitment to those activities; and 
‘‘(E) will take into consideration access for 
diverse populations and gaps in need when dis-
tributing funds to local programs under section 
205.’’. 
SEC. 203. AMOUNT OF GRANT. 
Section 203 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116b) is amended— 
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(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(a) RESERVATION.—For the purpose of making al-
lotments to Indian tribes and tribal organizations and mi-
grant programs, the Secretary shall reserve 5 percent of 
the amount appropriated under section 210(a) for each 
fiscal year, except that, if making such reservation would 
cause the total amount allotted to States under this sec-
tion for a fiscal year to be less than such total for fiscal 
year 2019, the Secretary shall reserve 1 percent of the 
amount appropriated under section 210(a) for the year for 
such purpose.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) LIMITATION.—For any fiscal year for which the 
amount allotted to a State under subsection (b) exceeds 
the amount allotted to the State under such subsection 
for fiscal year 2019, the State’s lead entity may use not 
more than 4 percent of such excess amount for adminis-
trative expenses.’’. 
SEC. 204. APPLICATION. 
Section 204 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116d) is amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
striking ‘‘specified by the Secretary as essential to 
carrying out the provisions of section 202, includ-
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ing’’ and inserting ‘‘and assurances required in 
paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 202 and types of 
information specified by the Secretary as essential in 
carrying out the provisions of section 201(b), includ-
ing’’; 
(2) in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4), by 
striking ‘‘community-based and prevention-focused 
programs and activities designed to strengthen and 
support families’’ and inserting ‘‘community-based 
family strengthening services designed’’; 
(3) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and preven-
tion-focused programs and activities designed to 
strengthen and support families to prevent child 
abuse and neglect;’’ and inserting ‘‘services and 
statewide strategies designed to strengthen and sup-
port families to promote child, family, and commu-
nity well-being and prevent child abuse and ne-
glect;’’; 
(4) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(6) a description of the State’s capacity and 
commitment to ensure the meaningful involvement 
of parents who are or have been consumers of pre-
ventative supports, including the involvement of par-
ents of diverse populations, such as low-income fami-
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lies, families with children or caregivers with disabil-
ities, racial and ethnic minorities, and members of 
other underrepresented or underserved groups, fam-
ily advocates, and adult former victims of child 
abuse or neglect who can provide leadership in the 
planning, implementation, and evaluation of the pro-
grams and policy decisions of the applicant agency 
in accomplishing the desired outcomes for such ef-
forts;’’; 
(5) by redesignating paragraph (12) as para-
graph (15); 
(6) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through 
(11) as paragraphs (8) through (12), respectively; 
(7) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(7) a description of the process and criteria 
the lead entity will use to identify and select commu-
nities in which to build a continuum of family 
strengthening services, including an assurance that 
the process will ensure access for all families, includ-
ing families in communities with high rates of child 
abuse and neglect relative to other communities in 
the State;’’; 
(8) by striking paragraph (9), as so redesig-
nated, and inserting the following: 
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‘‘(9) a description of outreach activities that the 
lead entity and local grantees will undertake to 
maximize the participation of low-income families, 
racial and ethnic minorities, families with children or 
caregivers with disabilities, sexual and gender minor-
ity youth, victims of domestic violence, homeless 
families and those at risk of homelessness, and 
members of other underserved or underrepresented 
groups;’’; 
(9) by striking paragraph (10), as so redesig-
nated, and inserting the following: 
‘‘(10) a plan for providing operational support, 
professional development, and technical assistance to 
grantees, other State and local programs and pro-
viders, families, and other entities involved in 
strengthening families and preventing child abuse 
and neglect;’’; 
(10) in paragraph (11), as so redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘and its members (where appropriate)’’ and 
inserting ‘‘of community-based family strengthening 
services and statewide initiatives’’; and 
(11) by striking paragraph (12), as so redesig-
nated, and inserting the following: 
‘‘(12) a description of the actions that the ap-
plicant entity will take to inform systemic changes in 
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State policies, practices, procedures, and regulations 
to improve the delivery of community-based family 
strengthening services designed to promote child, 
family, and community well-being, and to prevent 
child abuse and neglect; 
‘‘(13) a description of how the lead entity will 
incorporate research evidence in its process for se-
lecting community-based family strengthening serv-
ices; 
‘‘(14) an assurance that, in issuing regulations 
to improve the delivery of community-based family 
strengthening services designed to promote child, 
family, and community well-being, and to prevent 
child abuse and neglect, the State will— 
‘‘(A) take into account how such regula-
tions will impact activities funded under this 
Act; and 
‘‘(B) where appropriate, attempt to avoid 
duplication of efforts, minimize costs of compli-
ance with such regulations, and maximize local 
flexibility with respect to such regulations; 
and’’. 
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SEC. 205. LOCAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 205 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116e) is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘SEC. 205. LOCAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Grants from the lead entity 
made under this title shall be used to develop, implement, 
operate, expand, and enhance community-based family 
strengthening services designed to prevent child abuse and 
neglect that— 
‘‘(1) assess community assets and needs and 
develop a strategy to create a comprehensive con-
tinuum of effective services that strengthen and sup-
port families to prevent child abuse and neglect, 
through a planning process involving parents, local 
and public agencies, local nonprofit organizations 
and service providers, and private sector representa-
tives in meaningful ways; 
‘‘(2) develop or enhance existing place-based 
family strengthening services, other parenting sup-
port services, and connections and coordination 
among key family services in the community by 
reaching spaces familiar to such families; and 
‘‘(3) help families build protective factors that 
support child and family well-being and help prevent 
child abuse and neglect, including knowledge of par-
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enting and child development, parental resilience, so-
cial connections, time-limited and need-based con-
crete support, and social and emotional development 
of children. 
‘‘(b) LOCAL CONSIDERATION.—In awarding grants, 
the lead entity shall consider, consistent with the needs 
of the State and community, how the grantee— 
‘‘(1) demonstrates the ability to form collabora-
tions across a range of services or initiatives and the 
commitment to engage in long-term planning and 
strategic development for community-based family 
strengthening services as well as provide ongoing 
troubleshooting support; 
‘‘(2) involves parents, including parents of chil-
dren with disabilities, diverse racial and ethnic 
groups, and members of other underrepresented or 
underserved populations, in the development, imple-
mentation, oversight, and evaluation of services; 
‘‘(3) addresses the need for place-based services 
and the need to reach families in hard-to-reach areas 
through 
approaches 
that 
provide 
core 
family 
strengthening services; 
‘‘(4) promotes improved access to family 
strengthening services for diverse populations and 
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ensures that the services address identified needs of 
all families; and 
‘‘(5) demonstrates an understanding of the 
sources of child and family trauma and the strate-
gies that mitigate the impact of and prevent adverse 
childhood experiences. 
‘‘(c) LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.—Grant funds from the 
lead entity shall be used for community-based family 
strengthening services designed to prevent child abuse and 
neglect, which may include the following: 
‘‘(1) Developing a strategy based on supporting 
a comprehensive continuum of preventive, family- 
centered services that strengthen and support fami-
lies to prevent child abuse and neglect, especially to 
young parents, to parents with young children, and 
to parents who are adult former victims of domestic 
violence or child abuse or neglect, through public- 
private partnerships. 
‘‘(2) Addressing the needs of families in hard- 
to-reach areas by creating access to place-based fam-
ily strengthening services. 
‘‘(3) Performing an assessment of community 
needs, including by partnering, at the option of the 
grantee, with an organization that already has per-
formed a needs assessment (such as a Maternal, In-
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fant and Early Childhood Home Visiting program 
under section 511 of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 711) or a Head Start program under the 
Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.). 
‘‘(4) Supporting outreach for services, including 
by coordinating with existing family strengthening 
services such as home visiting and other early inter-
vention programs. 
‘‘(5) Providing, promoting the development or 
enhancement of, or connecting families to, core serv-
ices that include— 
‘‘(A) parenting support and parent edu-
cation programs, including services that help 
parents and other caregivers support children’s 
development; 
‘‘(B) parent leadership skills development 
programs that support parents’ personal growth 
as leaders in their families and communities; 
‘‘(C) mutual support groups for parents, 
their children and youth, and parent partners; 
‘‘(D) respite and crisis care; and 
‘‘(E) referrals to optional community and 
social services, including— 
‘‘(i) domestic violence services; 
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‘‘(ii) screening and referrals to early 
intervention; 
‘‘(iii) voluntary home visiting pro-
grams; 
‘‘(iv) health and mental health serv-
ices, including referrals for information on 
the State Medicaid plan under title XIX of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 
seq.); 
‘‘(v) early care and learning programs 
including child care and Head Start pro-
grams and Early Head Start programs 
under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 
et seq.); 
‘‘(vi) nutrition programs, including 
the special supplemental nutrition program 
for women, infants, and children estab-
lished under section 17 of the Child Nutri-
tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786) and the 
supplemental nutrition assistance program 
established under the Food and Nutrition 
Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); 
‘‘(vii) education and workforce devel-
opment programs, including adult literacy, 
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child development, wellness, and family so-
cioeconomic mobility programs; and 
‘‘(viii) services and supports to meet 
the needs of families with children or care-
givers with disabilities, such as early inter-
vention services for infants and toddlers 
with disabilities and their families, as early 
intervention services are defined in section 
632 of the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1432). 
‘‘(6) Providing leadership in mobilizing local 
public and private resources to support the provision 
of community-based family strengthening services 
designed to prevent child abuse and neglect. 
‘‘(7) Developing and maintaining meaningful 
partnerships with parents relating to the develop-
ment, operation, evaluation, and oversight of the 
programs and services. 
‘‘(8) Coordinating with other community-based 
family strengthening services designed to prevent 
child abuse and neglect in the development, oper-
ation, and expansion of networks where appropriate. 
‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—When awarding grants, a lead enti-
ty shall give priority to effective community-based efforts 
that serve low-income communities and are focused on 
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comprehensive approaches to serving young parents or 
parents with young children.’’. 
SEC. 206. PERFORMANCE MEASURES. 
Section 206 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116f) is amended— 
(1) in paragraphs (1), (5), (6), and (8), by 
striking ‘‘community-based and prevention-focused 
programs and activities designed to strengthen and 
support families’’ and inserting ‘‘community-based 
family strengthening services designed’’; 
(2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘meets’’ and 
inserting ‘‘meet’’; 
(3) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘including 
core and optional services as described in section 
202’’; 
(4) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘section 
205(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 204’’; 
(5) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(4) shall describe the number of families 
served, including families with children or caregivers 
with disabilities, and the involvement of a diverse 
representation of families in the design, operation, 
and evaluation of both community-based family 
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is not available, shall describe barriers and chal-
lenges to developing evidence of effectiveness.’’. 
SEC. 207. NATIONAL NETWORK FOR COMMUNITY-BASED 
FAMILY RESOURCE PROGRAMS. 
Section 207 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116fg) is amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
striking ‘‘such sums as may be necessary’’ and in-
serting ‘‘not more than 5 percent’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘community- 
based and prevention-focused programs and activi-
ties designed to strengthen and support families’’ 
and inserting ‘‘community-based family strength-
ening services designed’’. 
SEC. 208. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 208 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116h) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
paragraphs (2) and (1), respectively; and 
(2) by striking paragraph (1) (as so redesig-
nated) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) COMMUNITY-BASED
FAMILY
STRENGTH-
ENING SERVICES.—The term ‘community-based fam-
ily strengthening services’ includes organizations 
such as family resource programs, family support 
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programs, voluntary home visiting programs, respite 
care services, parenting education, mutual support 
groups for parents, children, and youth, parent part-
ner programs, and other community programs or 
networks of such programs that provide activities 
that are designed to prevent child abuse and ne-
glect.’’. 
SEC. 209. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Child Abuse Pre-
vention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116 et seq.) is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating section 209 as section 210; 
and 
(2) by inserting after section 208 the following: 
‘‘SEC. 209. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
‘‘Nothing in this title shall be construed to prohibit 
grandparents, kinship care providers, foster parents, adop-
tive parents, or any other individual in a parenting role 
from receiving or participating in services and programs 
under this title.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents in section 1(b) of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act is amended by striking the item relating 
to section 209 and inserting the following: 
‘‘Sec. 209. Rule of construction. 
‘‘Sec. 210. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 
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SEC. 210. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
Section 210 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116 et seq.), as redesignated 
by section 209 of this Act, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘There are’’ and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘to carry out’’ through ‘‘fiscal 
year 2010’’ and inserting ‘‘to carry out this title 
$270,000,000 for fiscal year 2020’’; 
(3) by striking ‘‘2011 through 2015’’ and in-
serting ‘‘2021 through 2025’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) TREATMENT OF NON-FEDERAL FUNDS IN CER-
TAIN FISCAL YEARS.—For any fiscal year for which the 
amount appropriated under subsection (a) exceeds the 
amount appropriated under such subsection for fiscal year 
2019, the Secretary shall consider non-Federal funds and 
in-kind contributions as part of the State contribution for 
the activities specified in section 204(4).’’. 
SEC. 211. STUDY AND REPORT. 
(a) STUDY RELATING TO NEW PREVENTION PRO-
GRAMS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 
the United States shall complete a study, using data 
reported by States to the Secretary of Health and 
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Human Services under section 206 of the Child 
Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 
5116f), as amended by this Act— 
(A) to determine how many families and 
children in the first 3 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act are served annually 
through programs funded under title II of the 
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 
U.S.C. 5116 et seq.); and 
(B) to compare the number of such fami-
lies and children served annually in the first 3 
years after the date of the enactment of this 
Act to the number of such families and children 
served in fiscal year 2019. 
(2) CONTENTS.—The study required under 
paragraph (1) shall include the following for each of 
the first 3 years after the date of the enactment of 
this Act: 
(A) An examination of how many families 
received evidence-based programming under 
title II of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116 et seq.). 
(B) An examination of the extent to which 
local programs conduct evaluations using funds 
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provided under such title and the findings of 
such evaluations. 
(C) An examination of whether findings of 
effectiveness in evaluation studies vary by 
urban, suburban, or rural community type. 
(D) An examination of whether programs 
partnering with other entities are more effective 
than those that do not partner with other enti-
ties. 
(E) An examination of barriers to imple-
ment evidence-based programming or to con-
duct evaluations in instances where such activi-
ties do not occur. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 
the United States shall submit to the Committee 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 paragraph (1). 
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TITLE III—ADOPTION 
OPPORTUNITIES 
SEC. 301. PURPOSE. 
Section 201 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 
5111) is amended— 
(1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘CONGRES-
SIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF PUR-
POSE’’ and inserting ‘‘PURPOSE’’; 
(2) by striking subsection (a); and 
(3) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—’’; 
(B) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 
by inserting ‘‘sexual and gender minority 
youth’’ after ‘‘particularly older children, minor-
ity children,’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘serv-
ices and,’’ after ‘‘post-legal adoption’’. 
SEC. 302. REPORT AND GUIDANCE ON UNREGULATED CUS-
TODY TRANSFERS. 
The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and 
Adoption Reform Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 5111 et seq.) 
is amended by inserting after section 201 the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 202. REPORT AND GUIDANCE ON UNREGULATED CUS-
TODY TRANSFERS. 
‘‘(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that: 
‘‘(1) Some adopted children may be at risk of 
experiencing an unregulated custody transfer be-
cause the challenges associated with adoptions (in-
cluding the child’s mental health needs and the dif-
ficulties many families face in acquiring support 
services) may lead families to seek out unregulated 
custody transfers. 
‘‘(2) Some adopted children experience trauma, 
and the disruption and placement in another home 
by unregulated custody transfer creates additional 
trauma and instability for children. 
‘‘(3) Children who experience an unregulated 
custody transfer may be placed with families who 
have not completed required child welfare or crimi-
nal background checks or clearances. 
‘‘(4) Social services agencies and courts are 
often unaware of the placement of children through 
unregulated custody transfer and therefore do not 
conduct assessments on the child’s safety and well- 
being in such placements. 
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‘‘(5) Such lack of placement oversight places a 
child at risk for future abuse and increases the 
chance that the child may experience— 
‘‘(A) abuse or neglect; 
‘‘(B) contact with unsafe adults or youth; 
and 
‘‘(C) exposure to unsafe or isolated envi-
ronments. 
‘‘(6) The caregivers with whom a child is placed 
through unregulated custody transfer often have no 
legal responsibility with respect to such child, plac-
ing the child at risk for additional unregulated cus-
tody transfers. 
‘‘(7) Such caregivers also may not have com-
plete records with respect to such child, including 
the child’s birth, medical, or immigration records. 
‘‘(8) A child adopted through intercountry 
adoption may be at risk of not acquiring United 
States citizenship if an unregulated custody transfer 
occurs before the adoptive parents complete all nec-
essary steps to finalize the adoption of such child. 
‘‘(9) Engaging in, or offering to engage in, un-
regulated custody transfer places children at risk of 
harm. 
‘‘(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this section, the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services shall provide 
to the Committee on Education and Labor of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee on Ways 
and Means of the House of Representatives, and the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen-
sions of the Senate a report on unregulated custody 
transfers of children, including of adopted children. 
‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—The report required under 
paragraph (1) shall include— 
‘‘(A) the causes, methods, and characteris-
tics of unregulated custody transfers, including 
the use of social media and the internet; 
‘‘(B) the effects of unregulated custody 
transfer on children, including the lack of as-
sessment of a child’s safety and well-being by 
social services agencies and courts due to such 
unregulated custody transfer; 
‘‘(C) the prevalence of unregulated custody 
transfers within each State and across all 
States; and 
‘‘(D) recommended policies for preventing, 
identifying, and responding to unregulated cus-
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tody transfers, including of adopted children, 
that include— 
‘‘(i) amendments to Federal and State 
law to address unregulated custody trans-
fers; 
‘‘(ii) amendments to child protection 
practices to address unregulated custody 
transfers; and 
‘‘(iii) methods of providing the public 
information regarding adoption and child 
protection. 
‘‘(c) GUIDANCE TO STATES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date specified in subsection (b)(1), the Sec-
retary shall issue guidance and technical assistance 
to States related to preventing, identifying, and re-
sponding to unregulated custody transfers, including 
of adopted children. 
‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—The guidance required under 
paragraph (1) shall include— 
‘‘(A) education materials related to pre-
venting, identifying, and responding to unregu-
lated custody transfers for employees of State, 
local, and Tribal agencies that provide child 
welfare services; 
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‘‘(B) guidance on appropriate pre-adoption 
education and post-adoption services for domes-
tic and international adoptive families to pro-
mote child permanency; and 
‘‘(C) the assistance available through the 
National Resource Center for Special Needs 
Adoption under section 203(b)(9). 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 
the several States, the District of Columbia, and any 
commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 
States. 
‘‘(2) UNREGULATED
CUSTODY
TRANSFER.— 
The term ‘unregulated custody transfer’ means the 
abandonment of a child, by the child’s parent, legal 
guardian, or a person or entity acting on behalf, and 
with the consent, of such parent or guardian— 
‘‘(A) by placing a child with a person who 
is not— 
‘‘(i) the child’s parent, step-parent, 
grandparent, adult sibling, legal guardian, 
or other adult relative; 
‘‘(ii) a friend of the family who is an 
adult and with whom the child is familiar; 
or 
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‘‘(iii) a member of the Federally rec-
ognized Indian tribe of which the child is 
also a member; 
‘‘(B) with the intent of severing the rela-
tionship between the child and the parent or 
guardian of such child; and 
‘‘(C) without— 
‘‘(i) reasonably ensuring the safety of 
the child and permanency of the placement 
of the child, including by conducting an of-
ficial home study, background check, and 
supervision; and 
‘‘(ii) transferring the legal rights and 
responsibilities of parenthood or guardian-
ship under applicable Federal and State 
law to a person described in subparagraph 
(A).’’. 
SEC. 303. INFORMATION AND SERVICES. 
(a) NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER
FOR SPECIAL 
NEEDS ADOPTION.—Section 203(b)(9) of the Child Abuse 
Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 
1978 (42 U.S.C. 5113(b)(9)) is amended by inserting ‘‘not 
later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of the 
Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, es-
tablish and’’ before ‘‘maintain’’. 
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(b) PLACEMENT WITH ADOPTIVE FAMILIES.—Sec-
tion 203(b)(11)(C) of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 
5113(b)(11)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘such children’’ 
and inserting ‘‘the children and youth described in the 
matter preceding paragraph (1) of section 201’’. 
(c) PRE-ADOPTION SERVICES.—Section 203(c)(1) of 
the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption 
Reform Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 5113(c)(1)) is amended 
by striking ‘‘post’’ and inserting ‘‘pre- and post-’’. 
(d) SERVICES.—Section 203(c)(2) of the Child Abuse 
Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 
1978 (42 U.S.C. 5113(c)(2)) is amended by inserting 
‘‘and the development of such services,’’ after ‘‘not sup-
plant, services’’. 
(e) ELIMINATION
OF
BARRIERS
TO
ADOPTION 
ACROSS
JURISDICTIONAL
BOUNDARIES.—Section 
203(e)(1) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 
and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 5113(e)(1)) 
is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘with, States,’’ and inserting 
‘‘with States, Indian Tribes,’’; and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘, including through the use of 
web-based tools such as the electronic interstate 
case-processing system referred to in section 437(g) 
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of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629g(g))’’ be-
fore the period at the end. 
SEC. 304. STUDY AND REPORT ON SUCCESSFUL ADOP-
TIONS. 
Section 204 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 
5114) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 204. STUDY AND REPORT ON SUCCESSFUL ADOP-
TIONS. 
‘‘(a) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct a study 
(directly or by grant to, or contract with, public or private 
nonprofit research agencies or organizations) on adoption 
outcomes and the factors affecting those outcomes. 
‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than the date that is 36 
months after the date of the enactment of the Stronger 
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act the Secretary 
shall submit a report to Congress that includes the results 
of the study required under subsection (a).’’. 
SEC. 305. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
Section 205(a) of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 
5115(a)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2010’’ and inserting 
‘‘fiscal year 2020’’; and 
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(2) by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2011 through 
2015’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2021 through 
2025’’. 
Æ 
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