To amend the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act to provide for the reporting and reduction of child abuse and family violence incidences on Indian reservations, and for other purposes.

September 9, 2003

Mr. CAMPBELL (for himself and Mr. INOUYE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

To amend the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act to provide for the reporting and reduction of child abuse and family violence incidences on Indian reservations, and for other purposes.

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 `Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

Section 402 of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3201) is amended--

(1) in subsection (a)--

(A) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:

`(1) finds that--

`(A) Indian children are the most precious resource of Indian tribes and need special protection by the United States;

`(B) the number of reported incidences of child abuse on Indian reservations continues to rise at an alarming rate, but the reduction of such incidences is hindered by the lack of--

`(i) community awareness in identification and reporting methods;

`(ii) interagency coordination for reporting, investigating, and prosecuting; and

`(iii) tribal infrastructure for managing, preventing, and treating child abuse cases;

`(C) improvements are needed to combat the continuing child abuse on Indian reservations, including--

`(i) education to identify symptoms consistent with child abuse;

`(ii) extensive background investigations of Federal and tribal employees, volunteers, and contractors who care for, teach, or otherwise have regular contact with Indian children;

`(iii) strategies to ensure the safety of child protection workers; and

`(iv) support systems for the victims of child abuse and their families; and

`(D) funds spent by the United States on Indian reservations for the benefit of Indian victims of child abuse or family violence are inadequate to combat child abuse and to meet the growing needs for mental health treatment and counseling for those victims and their families.';

(B) in paragraph (2)--

(i) by striking `two' and inserting `the';

(ii) in subparagraph (B)--

(I) by inserting after `provide funds for' the following: `developing a comprehensive tribal child abuse and family violence program including training and technical assistance for identifying, addressing, and decreasing such incidents and for'; and

(II) by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

(iii) by adding at the end the following:

`(C) implement strategies to increase the safety of child protection workers;

`(D) assist tribes in developing the necessary infrastructure to combat and reduce child abuse on Indian reservations; and

`(E) identify and remove impediments to the prevention and reduction of child abuse on Indian reservations, including elimination of existing barriers, such as difficulties in sharing information among agencies and differences between the values and treatment protocols of the different agencies.'; and

(2) in subsection (b)--

(A) in paragraph (1), by striking `prevent further abuse' and inserting `prevent and prosecute child abuse';

(B) in paragraph (2), by striking `authorize a study to determine the need for a central registry for reported incidents of abuse' and inserting `build tribal infrastructure needed to maintain and coordinate databases';

(C) by striking paragraph (3);

(D) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), (6), and (7) as paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (6), respectively;

(E) in paragraph (3) (as redesignated by subparagraph (D)), by striking `sexual';

(F) in paragraph (5) (as redesignated by subparagraph (D)), by striking `Area' and inserting `Regional';

(G) in paragraph (6) (as redesignated by subparagraph (D))--

(i) by inserting `child abuse and' after `incidents of'; and

(ii) by inserting `through tribally-operated programs' after `family violence';

(H) by inserting after paragraph (6) (as redesignated by subparagraph (D)) the following:

`(7) conduct a study to identify the impediments to effective prevention, investigation, prosecution, and treatment of child abuse;'; and

(I) by striking paragraph (8) and inserting the following:

`(8) develop strategies to protect the safety of the child protection workers while performing responsibilities under this title; and'.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

Section 403(3) of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3202(3)) is amended--

(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking `and' at the end;

(2) in subparagraph (B), by adding `and' at the end; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

`(C) any case in which a child is subjected to family violence;'.

SEC. 4. REPORTING PROCEDURES.

Section 404(b) of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3203(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(3) COOPERATIVE REPORTING- If--

`(A) a report of abuse or family violence involves an alleged abuser who is a non-Indian; and

`(B) a preliminary inquiry indicates a criminal violation has occurred;

the local law enforcement agency (if other than the State law enforcement agency) shall immediately report the occurrence to the State law enforcement agency.'.

SEC. 5. CENTRAL REGISTRY.

The Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act is amended by striking section 405 (25 U.S.C. 3204) and inserting the following:

`SEC. 405. BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENTATION.

`(a) IN GENERAL- The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General, shall conduct a study to identify impediments to the reduction of child abuse on Indian reservations.

`(b) MATTERS TO BE EVALUATED- In conducting the study under subsection (a), the Secretary shall, at a minimum, evaluate the interagency and intergovernmental cooperation and jurisdictional impediments in investigations and prosecutions.

`(c) REPORT-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that describes the results of the study under subsection (a).

`(2) CONTENTS- The report under paragraph (1) shall include--

`(A) any findings made in the study;

`(B) recommendations on ways to eliminate impediments described in subsection (a); and

`(C) cost estimates for implementing the recommendations.'.

SEC. 6. CHARACTER INVESTIGATIONS.

Section 408 of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3207) is amended--

(1) in subsection (a)--

(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting `(including contracted and volunteer positions),' after `authorized positions'; and

(B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and inserting the following: `, which--

`(A) shall include a background check, based on a set of fingerprints of the employee, volunteer or contractor that may be conducted through the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and

`(B) may include a review of applicable State criminal history repositories.'; and

(2) in subsection (c)--

(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting after `who is' the following: `a volunteer or contractor or is'; and

(B) in paragraph (2), by striking `employ' and inserting `contract with, accept, or employ'.

SEC. 7. INDIAN CHILD ABUSE TREATMENT GRANT PROGRAM.

Section 409 of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3208) is amended--

(1) in subsection (a), by striking `sexual';

(2) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f);

(3) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:

`(e) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT-

`(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish demonstration projects to facilitate the development of a culturally-sensitive traditional healing treatment program for child abuse and family violence to be operated by an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or inter-tribal consortium.

`(2) APPLICATION-

`(A) IN GENERAL- An Indian tribe, tribal organization, or inter-tribal consortium may submit an application to participate in a demonstration project in such form as the Secretary of Health and Human Services may prescribe.

`(B) CONTENTS- As part of an application under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall require--

`(i) the information described in subsection (b)(2)(C);

`(ii) a proposal for development of educational materials and resources, to the extent culturally appropriate; and

`(iii) proposed strategies to use and maintain the integrity of traditional healing methods.

`(3) CONSIDERATIONS- In selecting the participants in demonstration projects established under this subsection, the Secretary of Health and Human

Services shall give special consideration to projects relating to behavioral and emotional effects of child abuse, elimination of abuse by parents, and reunification of the family.'; and

(4) in subsection (f) (as redesignated by paragraph (2))--

(A) by striking `there' and inserting `There'; and

(B) by striking `$10,000,000 for each of the years 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997' and inserting `such sums as are necessary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2010, of which a specific sum shall be specifically set aside each year for the demonstration projects established under subsection (e).'.

SEC. 8. INDIAN CHILD RESOURCE AND FAMILY SERVICES CENTERS.

Section 410 of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3209) is amended--

(1) in subsection (a) by striking `area' and inserting `Regional';

(2) in subsection (b)--

(A) by striking `Secretary and' and inserting `Secretary,'; and

(B) by striking `Services' and inserting `Services, and the Attorney General';

(3) in subsection (d)(5), by striking `area' and inserting `Region';

(4) in subsection (f)--

(A) in the second sentence, by striking `an area' and inserting `a Regional'; and

(B) in the last sentence, by inserting `developing strategies,' after `Center in';

(5) in the second sentence of subsection (g)--

(A) by striking `an area' and inserting `a Regional'; and

(B) by striking `Juneau Area' and inserting `Alaska Region'; and

(6) in subsection (h), by striking `$3,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997' and inserting `such sums as are necessary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2010'.

SEC. 9. INDIAN CHILD PROTECTION AND FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAM.

Section 411 of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3210) is amended--

(1) in subsection (c)--

(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting `coordination, reporting and' before `investigation';

(B) in paragraph (2) by inserting `child abuse and' after `incidents of';

(2) in subsection (d)--

(A) in paragraph (1)(C), by inserting `and other related items' after `equipment'; and

(B) in paragraph (3)--

(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking `, and' at the end and inserting a semicolon;

(ii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting after `responsibilities' the following: `and specify appropriate measures for ensuring child protection worker safety while performing responsibilities under this title'; and

(iii) by adding at the end the following:

`(D) provide for training programs or expenses for child protection services personnel, law enforcement personnel or judicial personnel to meet any certification requirements necessary to fulfill the responsibilities under any intergovernmental or interagency agreement; and

`(E) develop and implement strategies designed to ensure the safety of child protection workers while performing responsibilities under this Act;';

(3) in paragraph (6), by striking `and' at the end;

(4) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (8);

(5) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:

`(7) infrastructure enhancements to improve tribal data systems to monitor the progress of families, evaluate service and treatment outcomes, and determine the most effective approaches and activities; and'

(6) by redesignating subsections (f), (g), (h), and (i) as paragraphs (e), (f), (g), and (h), respectively;

(7) in paragraph (1) of subsection (g) (as redesignated by paragraph (6)), by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the following:

`(A) evaluate the program for which the award is made, including examination of--

`(i) the range and scope of training opportunities, including numbers and percentage of child protection workers engaged in the training programs;

`(ii) the threats to child protection workers, if any, and the strategies used to address the safety of child protection workers; and

`(iii) the community outreach and awareness programs including any strategies to increase the ability of the community to contact appropriate reporting officials regarding occurrences of child abuse.'; and

(8) in subsection (h) (as redesignated by paragraph (6)), by striking `$30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997' and inserting `such sums as are necessary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2010.'.

END