II 112th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1879 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES November 16, 2011 Mr. Menendez introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To ensure that States have enacted criminal statutes that require individuals to report child abuse cases to law enforcement or child protective agencies.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Child Abuse Reporting Enforcement Act or the CARE Act.

2.

Criminal penalties for failure to report child abuse

(a)

In general

Section 2002 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397a) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (g)

Reporting of Child Abuse

(1)

In general

A State shall not be eligible for any payment from its allotment under section 2003 if the Secretary determines that the State has failed to satisfy the requirement described in paragraph (2). (2)

State child abuse reporting requirement

(A)

In general

The requirement described in this paragraph is that the State has enacted a law that creates a felony offense with a minimum penalty of 1-year imprisonment for any person who, having reasonable cause to believe that a child has been subjected to child abuse or acts of child abuse, fails to report such information immediately to the relevant State law enforcement agency and the child protection agency of the State. (B)

Immunity

The law of a State described in subparagraph (A) may provide immunity from civil liability and criminal liability to an individual who reports child abuse or acts of child abuse. (C)

Child abuse

For purposes of this paragraph, the terms child abuse or acts of child abuse shall have the meanings given such terms in the criminal code of the State. . (b)

Effective date

The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.