[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 924 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 924

   To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require 
    training and education to teachers and other school employees, 
 students, and the community about how to prevent, recognize, respond 
 to, and report child sexual abuse in primary and secondary education.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 28, 2019

Mr. Cornyn (for himself and Ms. Hassan) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require 
    training and education to teachers and other school employees, 
 students, and the community about how to prevent, recognize, respond 
 to, and report child sexual abuse in primary and secondary education.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Jenna Quinn Law''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) One in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused 
        before the age of 18.
            (2) Forty-five percent of sexual assault victims are under 
        the age of 12.
            (3) According to the Department of Education, more than 
        4,500,000 students are subject to sexual misconduct by a school 
        employee sometime between kindergarten and twelfth grade.
            (4) Research shows that school personnel identify 52 
        percent of child abuse cases, more than any other profession or 
        organization type.
            (5) Ninety percent of child sexual abuse victims know their 
        abuser.
            (6) Most child sexual abuse can be prevented through 
        education combined with a comprehensive set of prevention 
        policies.
            (7) Studies show that after educators were trained in child 
        sexual abuse prevention and reporting, they were about 4 times 
        more likely to report than they were prior to such training.
            (8) Two-thirds of teachers do not receive training in 
        preventing, recognizing, or responding to child sexual abuse, 
        either in their college coursework or as part of their 
        professional development.
            (9) Ninety percent of children who are sexually trafficked 
        were first sexually abused as children.
            (10) More than half of sexual assault incidents happen 
        within 1 mile of the victim's home.
            (11) The average lifetime cost per victim of child abuse is 
        $210,012, totaling an estimated $150,000,000,000 annually 
        nationwide. These expenses are largely paid for by the public, 
        including through costs to the criminal justice system, child 
        welfare systems, special education and health care costs, and 
        productivity losses.
            (12) Each State has a reporting statute related to child 
        abuse and neglect, which range from statutes that require every 
        adult to report suspicions to statutes setting forth a minimal 
        list of categories of individuals or circumstances that trigger 
        a mandatory report.
            (13) The silent epidemic of child sexual abuse should not 
        be limited to reporting requirements after the abuse has 
        already occurred. It is imperative that students of all ages, 
        school leaders, teachers and other school employees, and other 
        adults who work with children in a professional or voluntary 
        capacity have a fundamental understanding of child sexual 
        assault prevention training and policies.

SEC. 3. EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING.

    The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act is amended by 
inserting after section 103 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5104) the following:

``SEC. 103A. EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary may make grants to eligible 
entities to provide training on child sexual abuse awareness and 
prevention for students, teachers and other school employees, mandatory 
reporters, caregivers, and other adults who work with children in a 
professional or voluntary capacity for the purpose of compliance with 
State laws that mandate child sexual abuse education in school-based 
settings, or in the case of a State in which there is no such mandate, 
providing such training.
    ``(b) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
may require, including information demonstrating that the entity--
            ``(1) has partnerships with local educational agencies for 
        the purpose of providing training described in subsection (a);
            ``(2) uses evidence-based or evidence-informed methods to 
        identify and prevent child sexual abuse;
            ``(3) will disseminate free training materials to the 
        community; and
            ``(4) has a demonstrated ability in the field of child 
        welfare, including with respect to child sexual abuse cases, 
        which may include providing direct services to victims of child 
        sexual abuse or providing child sexual abuse prevention 
        training or education.
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--An entity that receives a grant under this 
section shall use the funds made available through the grant to 
establish or implement evidence-based or evidence-informed child sexual 
abuse awareness and annual prevention programs or activities, such as 
programs, training, or activities designed to provide--
            ``(1) age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate 
        instruction for students in child sexual abuse awareness and 
        prevention, including how to recognize child sexual abuse and 
        how to safely report child sexual abuse;
            ``(2) training for teachers and other school employees, and 
        other mandatory reporters and adults who work with children in 
        a professional or volunteer capacity, including training on how 
        to recognize child sexual abuse and how to report child sexual 
        abuse; and
            ``(3) information for parents and guardians of students 
        about child sexual abuse awareness and prevention, including 
        how to prevent, recognize, respond to, and report child sexual 
        abuse and how to discuss prevention strategies for child sexual 
        abuse with a child.
    ``(d) Preference for Child Abuse Professionals.--In awarding grants 
under this section, the Secretary shall give preference to entities 
that have demonstrable work in the field of child welfare, including 
child sexual abuse cases, providing direct services to victims of child 
sexual abuse, or prevention training or education.''.

SEC. 4. GRANTS TO STATES FOR CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT PREVENTION AND 
              TREATMENT PROGRAMS.

    Clause (i) of section 106(b)(2)(B) of the Child Abuse Prevention 
and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting 
``recognize and'' after ``an individual to''.

SEC. 5. IMPROVE REPORTING.

    (a) Eligibility.--Section 107(b) of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106c(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) support training by experts in the prevention 
                of child sexual abuse, for teachers and other adults 
                who work with children in a professional or volunteer 
                capacity, to recognize child sexual abuse and 
                exploitation, and report suspected and known incidents 
                of child sexual abuse or neglect in accordance with 
                State law; and''; and
            (2) in paragraph (5), by inserting before the period ``and 
        the training described in paragraph (4)(C)''.
    (b) State Task Force Study.--Section 107(d) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
5106c(d)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``; and'' and inserting 
        ``;'';
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) evaluate the State's efforts to implement the 
        training recommendations in each of the categories described in 
        subsection (e).''.

SEC. 6. COMMUNITY-BASED GRANTS.

    (a) Eligibility.--Section 202(3) of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116a(3)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``; and'' and 
        inserting ``;'';
            (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following:
                    ``(E) will develop partnerships with local 
                educational agencies, local community agencies, or any 
                other nonprofit group that is an eligible entity 
                described in section 103A(b) to provide training to 
                students, teachers, and other adults who work with 
                children in a professional or volunteer capacity, on 
                recognizing child sexual abuse and exploitation and 
                reporting suspected and known incidents of child sexual 
                abuse or neglect in accordance with State law.''.
    (b) Applications.--Section 204 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116d) is amended by striking paragraph (9) 
and inserting the following:
            ``(9) a plan for providing operation support, training, and 
        technical assistance to community-based and prevention-focused 
        programs and activities designed--
                    ``(A) to strengthen and support families to prevent 
                child abuse and neglect for development, operation, 
                expansion, and enhancement activities; and
                    ``(B) to educate students and train teachers and 
                other school employees, and other adults who work with 
                children in a professional or volunteer capacity, to 
                prevent and recognize child sexual abuse;''.
    (c) Local Program Requirements.--Section 205(a)(1) of the Child 
Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116e (a)(1)) is amended 
by inserting ``location educational agencies'' after ``local nonprofit 
organizations''.
    (d) General Definitions.--Section 3 of the Child Abuse Prevention 
and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (8) as 
        paragraphs (7) through (9), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
            ``(6) the term `local educational agency' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801);''.
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