[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 37 (Thursday, March 20, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2728-S2729]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              SAFE ADOPTIONS AND FAMILIES ENVIRONMENTS ACT

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to voice my strong 
support for the Chafee-Rockefeller Safe Adoptions and Families 
Environments Act [SAFE]. What's more, I commend each of them for their 
tireless and bipartisan efforts on behalf of this issue.
  As I come to the floor today, it is difficult for me to imagine a 
more outrageous and disgraceful form of violence than child abuse.
  However, while national attention to the problems of abuse are 
increasing, regrettably, so too are incidents of child abuse and 
neglect.
  In fact, the number of abused and neglected children nearly doubled 
from

[[Page S2729]]

1.4 million in 1986 to over 2.8 million in 1993. During that period the 
number of children who were seriously injured quadrupled--from about 
143,000 to nearly 570,000.
  In my own State of Connecticut incidents of child abuse and neglect 
increased 118 percent from 1984 to 1994. In fact, between 1993 and 1994 
alone there was a 43-percent increase.
  Unfortunately, many child welfare agencies lack the resources to 
effectively deal with the increase in child abuse cases or efficiently 
place children in safe, permanent, and loving homes.
  Legislation introduced today by Senators Chafee and Rockefeller, of 
which I am an original cosponsor, would do more to not only protect 
these abused children but also ensure that they are not returned to 
environments where they will be abused or neglected.
  First, it would work to ensure that abused and neglected children are 
placed in safe and protected settings.
  Second, it would more rapidly move children out of the foster system 
and into permanent homes.
  If there is one thing that all of us can agree upon it is the 
importance of assuring the safety and well-being of our Nation's 
children. This bill would improve our child welfare system and help 
ensure that every child is given the opportunity to grow up in a safe 
and healthy home.
  I urge all my colleagues to join me in a bipartisan manner, and 
support this critically important legislation for our children's 
future.

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