On February 12, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved, by voice vote, legislation (S. 342) aimed at preventing child abuse and family violence and protecting abused children and victims of family violence. On February 13, the House Education and the Workforce Committee approved, by voice vote, a similar bill (H.R. 14). Both measures would reauthorize for five years the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), the Adoption Reform Act, the Abandoned Infants Assistance Act, and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA).
During the 107th Congress, two similar bills passed the House (see The Source 4/36/02 and 10/11/02). Similar legislation also was approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (see The Source, 9/27/02) but was never considered before the full Senate.
Both S. 342 and H.R. 14 would authorize $200 million in FY2004 for child abuse programs, $40 million for adoption programs, $45 million for abandoned infants programs, and such sums as may be necessary for all programs in FY2005 through FY2008. The FVPSA was reauthorized through FY2005 in the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (P.L. 106-386) during the 106th Congress, and both bills would maintain the funding authorized for the FVPSA under current law.
Both measures would encourage linkages between child care protective services and community-based education, health, and mental health organizations for providing prevention and treatment services in child abuse cases. Under both proposals, the training, retention, and supervision of child protective caseworkers would be improved, and child protective services personnel would be required to advise individuals accused of child abuse and neglect of the allegations against them.
Additionally, both bills would require criminal background checks for prospective foster and adoptive parents and would require the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a study on the number of infants and young children abandoned every year.
Senate Committee Action
Committee Chair Judd Gregg (R-NH), sponsor of S. 342, noted that the measure incorporates domestic violence provisions promoted by the late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-MN) during the 107th Congress. Under those provisions, new grants would be authorized for the development of intervention programs to help children who have witnessed domestic violence. Specifically, funds would be provided to shelters and other domestic violence service providers to administer programs that address the physical, emotional, and logistical needs of children with mothers who have been abused. These provisions are not included in the House bill.
The Senate bill also would authorize $5 million in FY2004 for the National Domestic Violence Hotline and would establish a National Domestic Violence Shelter Network to link domestic violence shelters, service providers, and the hotline on a confidential website. The website would provide an updated list of available shelters nationwide and would provide information about the services offered at each shelter, including medical, social, and bilingual services. The House bill does not establish a domestic violence website.
House Committee Action
The Education and the Workforce Committee approved, by voice vote, a substitute amendment by Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), sponsor of H.R. 14. The amendment would increase funding for the administrative costs of services provided under the family violence provisions of the bill.
The committee also accepted an amendment by Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA), which expresses the sense of Congress that children and families with limited English proficiency seeking services from child welfare agencies should be provided with materials and services in an appropriate language other than English.
