The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (

Public Law Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that are of direct ...

93–247) of 1988 provides financial assistance for demonstration programs for the prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect and to establish a National Center on Child Abuse. Additionally, it identifies the federal role in supporting research, evaluation, technical assistance, and data collection activities; establishes the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect; 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 to ...

addressing

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

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 a ...

is the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), originally enacted in 1974 ( Public Law 93-247).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 The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) was signed into law by President Obama on July 22, 2016. The bill was introduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Jim Sensenbrenner as the first major federal addiction act in 40 y ...

of 2016.

Effectiveness and state non-compliance

The law contains 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 organized under the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families. Today, the bureau's operations involve improving child abuse prevention, ...

, an investigation by ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' and

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published in 2019 found that the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico were all 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. In 2018, Congress provided $85 million to states under the law, an amount that anti-abuse advocates criticize as too low, and which some states found too little to justify rigorous compliance, which would bring its own costs.

Legislative history

The law was completely rewritten in the

Child Abuse Prevention, Adoption and Family Services Act A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

of 1988 (Public Law 100-294). It was further amended by the

Child Abuse Prevention Challenge Grants Reauthorization Act A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

of 1989 ( P.L. 101-126 and the Drug Free School Amendments of 1989 ( Public Law 101-226). 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 (or 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. Laws in many ...

1985 ( Public Law 98-473). The

of 1989 (Public Law 101-126) transferred the program to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, as amended. A new Title III, Certain Preventive Services Regarding Children of Homeless Families or Families at Risk of Homelessness, was added to the Child Abuse and Neglect and Treatment Act by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act Amendments of 1990 (Public Law 101-645). The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act was amended and reauthorized by the Child Abuse, Domestic Violence Adoption and Family Services Act of 1992 ( Public Law 102-295), and amended by the

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA) is a United States federal law providing formula grants to states that follow a series of federal protections on the care and treatment of youth in the juvenile justice system, ju ...

Amendments An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. The ...

of 1992 ( Public Law 102-586). The Act was amended by the Older American Act Technical Amendments of 1993 (Public Law 103–171, 12/2/93) and 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, 10/3/96), 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. CAPTA was most recently amended by the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003 (P.L. 108–36, 6/25/03), 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 2011 (Public Law 111-320).

References

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

Notes

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 In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of th ...

Title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

42, Chapter 67
Full text
{{DEFAULTSORT:Child Abuse Prevention And Treatment Act 1974 in law Family law United States federal child welfare legislation United States federal criminal legislation

Effectiveness and state non-compliance

Legislative history

See also

References

Notes

External links