Latest Major Action: 2/24/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Minimum Standards: H.R. 911 directs the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Service to require each location of a covered program to meet minimum standards, within 180 days of enactment the Act.
Note: Under this provision, “covered program” refers to residential programs for children with emotional, behavioral, substance abuse or mental health problems.
These minimum standards include:
Ø The prohibition of child abuse and neglect;
Ø The prohibition of disciplinary techniques involving the withholding of food, water, clothing, shelter or necessary medical care;
Ø The protection of children from physical restraints and seclusion;
Ø The prohibition of abuse designed to humiliate or degrade a child;
Ø Reasonable access to outside communications;
Ø Each staff member, including volunteers, is required to become familiar with what constitutes child abuse and neglect according to State law;
Ø Full disclosure, in writing, of staff qualifications and their roles and responsibilities;
Ø Each staff member must submit to a criminal history check, including a name-based search of the National Sex Offender Registry;
Ø Policies and procedures for the provision of emergency medical care; and
Ø Procedures for notifying parents or legal guardians of any investigation of child abuse and neglect, or violation of health and safety standards.
Review Process: H.R. 911 directs the Assistant Secretary to implement, within 180 days of enactment, an on-going review process for investigating reports of child abuse and neglect at covered programs. This bill does not include a provision from H.R. 5876 requiring that every two years residential programs must be inspected for compliance with the regulations of this Act.
Civil Penalties: H.R. 911 requires the Assistant Secretary to create regulations establishing civil penalties for violations of the minimum standards in the Act. Penalties for the owner or operator of a covered program may not exceed $50,000.
National Telephone Hotline and Website: The bill requires the establishment of a national toll-free telephone hotline to receive complaints of child abuse and neglect at covered programs, and requires the Assistant Secretary to establish a process to ensure that complaints received by the hotline are promptly reviewed by persons with appropriate expertise. H.R. 911 also requires the establishment of a publicly accessible website that provides information regarding covered program compliance with state child abuse licensing requirements.
Attorney General Enforcement: H.R. 911 requires the Assistant Secretary to refer any violation of the minimum standards to the Attorney General for appropriate action. The Attorney General is authorized to file such a complaint on his or her own initiative, regardless of whether such a referral has been made.
Private Right of Action: This bill does not include a Federal private right of action clause that was included in H.R. 5876. The Manager’s Amendment removed this provision from H.R. 5876 during floor debate.
Annual Report: H.R. 911 requires an annual report to Congress on the activities carried out under this Act, including a summary of review findings and State progress in meeting the requirements of the Act.
Eligibility Requirements for State Grants: This provision amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (P.L. 93-247) to establish additional eligibility requirements for grants to states to prevent child abuse and neglect at residential programs. States are required to develop policies and procedures to prevent child abuse and neglect at covered programs consistent with the standards specified in H.R. 911. In addition, states must develop policies and procedures to report to the appropriate protection and advocacy system any case of the death of an individual under the supervision of a covered program not later than 48 hours after the State is informed of such death.
H.R. 911 also amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (P.L. 93-247) to authorize $235 million per year for fiscal years 2009-2013 for the state grants. Current law authorizes such sums as are necessary for this purpose.
Authorization of Appropriations: H.R. 911 authorizes the appropriation of $15 million for each of the fiscal years 2009-2013 for the purposes of the Act, excluding the above sums for the state grants.
The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (P.L. 93-247), or CAPTA, was codified in 1974. CAPTA provides federal funding to states in support of prevention, assessment, investigation, prosecution, and treatment activities related to child abuse and neglect. The law also provides grants to public agencies and nonprofit organizations for demonstration programs and projects.
Since the 1990s, hundreds of residential treatment programs for troubled children have been established by U.S. entities. These programs include, among others, those which provide a wilderness or outdoor experience, as well as boot-camps that simulate military training. It is estimated that thousands of American children are enrolled in such juvenile programs, although an exact number is yet unknown.
There are reports of child fatalities and cases of child abuse and neglect at residential programs. In 2005, the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System found that 34 states reported 1,503 incidents of youth maltreatment by residential program staff.
Department of Health and Human Services - National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System
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