WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), released the following statement after voting for the bipartisan Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) to advance out of committee. This reauthorization included two of Senator Rosen’s priorities, clarifying the definition of child abuse and neglect within grant programs to include victims of child sex trafficking, and increasing state funding to modernize child welfare data systems.
“I was proud to vote the CAPTA reauthorization out of committee yesterday,” said Senator Rosen. “This bipartisan legislation, which includes two provisions I requested, updates key federal programs to support states in keeping our children safe. Improving state child welfare data systems, and ensuring they have the resources to prevent, identify, and treat abuse and neglect is critical to the wellbeing of children in Nevada and across the United States.”
BACKGROUND: The CAPTA reauthorization was voted out of the Senate HELP Committee on June 10th. This version of CAPTA includes two provisions requested by Senator Rosen:
- Clarification that the expanded definition of child abuse and neglect (i.e., the definition explicitly including victims of sex trafficking) applies to Community-Based Grants to Prevent Child Abuse; and
- An increase in funds to states to modernize their networks and data systems to improve ease of use for caseworkers and interoperability among service providers and agencies. The bill clarifies that this is an eligible use of grant funds and also includes an overall increase in authorization levels.
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