Child Abuse Prevention And Treatment Act
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The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (
Public Law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...
93–247) of 1988 provides financial assistance for demonstration programs for the prevention, identification, and treatment of
child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...
and neglect and to establish a National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Additionally, it identifies the federal role in supporting research, evaluation, technical assistance, and data collection activities; it established the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect in the
United States Children's Bureau The United States Children's Bureau is a federal agency founded in 1912, organized under the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families. Today, the bureau's operations involve improving child a ...
; and mandates the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information. It also sets forth a minimum definition of child abuse and neglect. The key federal
legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...
addressing
child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...
and
neglect In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness and ...
is the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), originally enacted in 1974 (Public Law 93-247). It was amended several times and was most recently amended and reauthorized by the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016.


Legislative history


1973-2000

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was originally introduced by
Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928April 19, 2021) was the 42nd vice president of the United States serving from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. He previously served as a U.S. senator from Minnesota from 1964 to 1976. ...
and became law in 1974 (Public Law 93-247) as key federal
legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...
addressing
child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...
and
neglect In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness and ...
. The Community-Based Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Grants was a program that was originally authorized by Sections 402 to 409 of the Continuing Appropriations Act for
Fiscal Year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...
1985 (Public Law 98-473). CAPTA was completely rewritten in the Child Abuse Prevention, Adoption and Family Services Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-294). In 1989, it was further amended by the Child Abuse Prevention Challenge Grants Reauthorization Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-126 and the Drug Free School Amendments of 1989 (Public Law 101-226). The Child Abuse Prevention Challenge Grants Reauthorization Act of 1989 (Public Law 101-126) transferred the program to CAPTA, as amended. The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act Amendments of 1990 (Public Law 101-645) added a new Title III, ''Certain Preventive Services Regarding Children of Homeless Families or Families at Risk of Homelessness'' to the Child Abuse and Neglect and Treatment Act. CAPTA was amended and reauthorized by the
Child Abuse, Domestic Violence Adoption and Family Services Act A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...
of 1992 (Public Law 102-295), and amended by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act Amendments of 1992 (Public Law 102-586). In 1993, the Act was amended by the Older Americans Act Technical Amendments of 1993 (Public Law 103–171, 12/2/93) and in 1994 by the Human Services Amendments of 1994 (Public Law 103–252, 5/19/94). CAPTA was further amended by the ''Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act Amendments of 1996'' (P.L. 104–235,), which amended Title I, replaced the Title II Community-Based Family Resource Centers program with a new Community-Based Family Resource and Support Program, and repealed Title III.


2000-present

In 2003, CAPTA was amended by the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003 (P.L. 108–36,), which amended Title I and replaced Title II, Community-Based Family Resource and Support Program with Community-Based Grants for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. CAPTA was reauthorized in 2010, as the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-320). The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 altered CAPTA requirements for infants affected by substance use or born with withdrawal symptoms or
fetal alcohol spectrum disorder Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a group of conditions that can occur in a person who is exposed to alcohol during gestation. FASD affects 1 in 20 Americans, but is highly misdiagnosed and underdiagnosed. The several forms of the ...
s. In 2018, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention That Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act or the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act amended CAPTA (P.L. 115-271). In 2019, CAPTA was amended by the Victims of Child Abuse Act Reauthorization Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-424, 1/7/2019) to provide immunity from civil and criminal liability for people who make good-faith child abuse or neglect reports. In 2023, CAPTA was amended by P.L. 117–348. Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022.


Effectiveness and state non-compliance

In 2018, Congress provided $85 million to states under the law, an amount that anti-abuse advocates criticized as too low, and which some states found too little to justify rigorous compliance, which would bring its own costs. As of 2019, the law contained a long list of reporting and process requirements for states to be eligible. Though none have been declared non-compliant by the
United States Children's Bureau The United States Children's Bureau is a federal agency founded in 1912, organized under the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families. Today, the bureau's operations involve improving child a ...
, an investigation by ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' and
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published in 2019 found that the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico were out of compliance with the requirements to varying degrees. The report found that underfunding of child welfare agencies and substandard procedures in some states caused failures to prevent avoidable child injuries and deaths.


Criticisms

Critics of CAPTA argue that funding for mandated reporting and surveillance of families depletes resources that could otherwise be used in service to children and families. There is also concern that the perception of families as violent or criminal by mandated reporters creates stigma and bias, generating false positive cases and harming parents and children through traumatic investigations. Proponents of family policing abolition like law professor Dorothy Roberts argue that such policies have created a robust state surveillance network with the power to separate families. Furthermore, the threat of being reported by doctors, teachers, and other mandated reporters creates distrust in communities and deters families from seeking help from social services. Surveillance of new mothers is considered a reproductive justice issue. Although a positive toxicology report does not confirm health risks to the child, CAPTA requires states to “address the needs of infants born with and identified as being affected by illegal substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure.” This results in infants and mothers being drug tested, often without their consent, and incites racist discrimination against Black mothers by healthcare workers. The
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is a professional association of physicians specializing in obstetrics and gynecology in the United States. Several Latin American countries are also represented within Districts of ...
(ACOG) acknowledges that “leading medical organizations agree that a positive drug test should not be construed as child abuse or neglect,” and adding that mandated drug testing “disrupts bodily autonomy of the pregnant person and their newborn and is inconsistent with treating substance use disorder as a health condition with social and behavioral dimensions.”


See also

* Karly's Law * '' Landeros v. Flood'' *
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of ch ...


References


Further reading


U.S. D.H.H.S. Administration for Children and FamiliesLibrary of Congress - Public law 93-247American Family Rights Association
- Critics of CPS abuses.
Fighting Child Protective Services False Accusations


External links


Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment ActPDFdetails
as amended in the GPObr>Statute Compilations collection

Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect in Federal Law
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services *
U.S. Code The United States Code (formally The Code of Laws of the United States of America) is the official Codification (law), codification of the general and permanent Law of the United States#Federal law, federal statutes of the United States. It ...
Title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...
42, Chapter 67
Full text
{{DEFAULTSORT:Child Abuse Prevention And Treatment Act 1974 in law Family law in the United States United States federal child welfare legislation United States federal criminal legislation