CCD Child Abuse Prevention Task Force Report
December 2004
Co-Chairs: Kim Musheno and Jill Kagan
Background and Accomplishments:
CAPTA Reauthorization
Last year, the CCD Child Abuse Prevention Task Force successfully advocated for improvements in the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) reauthorization that would help address maltreatment of children with disabilities and the acquisition of disabilities from child maltreatment, and also provide prevention services to parents with disabilities. Major victories for the Task Force included retention of respite as a core prevention service and the inclusion of parents with disabilities as eligible for services. CAPTA reauthorization was signed into law in June, 2003 [S. 342/P.L. 108-36 Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003 (June 25, 2003; 117 Stat. 800]. Since the law’s passage, Task Force members have been working with the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, Children’s Bureau at HHS to offer input into the Program Guidance recently developed to ensure that the provisions we advocated for are being addressed appropriately.
CAPTA has a new provision that affects the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. States are now required to develop “provisions and procedures for referral of a child under the age of 3 who is involved in a substantiated case of child abuse or neglect to early intervention services funded under Part C of IDEA. The CCD Task Force developed a fact sheet designed to educate Members of Congress about this new requirement as well as to advocate for more funding for both CAPTA and Part C to help states serve all eligible children and to assist state child protection agencies to train child protection workers to effectively offer referrals and to collect data on the referrals. The Task Force chair participated in a congressional staff briefing on this topic.
IDEA Reauthorization
The newly reauthorized IDEA contains new state application requirements that correspond to CAPTA that was supported by the Task Force. The new provision requires a description of the state policies and procedures that require the referral for evaluation for early intervention services of a child under the age of 3 who is involved in a substantiated case of child abuse or neglect; or is identified as affected by illegal substance abuse, or withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure. Senate Committee report language also contains strong support for collaboration between the child welfare and Part C systems. In addition, the Task Force supported and successfully advocated for inclusion in the final conference bill of so-called the “Murray amendment” that contains several new provisions in IDEA related to preventing children with disabilities in the child welfare system from falling through the cracks of the educational system.
FY 05 Appropriations
The FY05 omnibus appropriations bill provides significant increases in funding for CAPTA basic state grants and community-based prevention programs. While neither program ended up with the double funding recommended by the President's budget, the percentage increases were substantially higher than those for most other domestic programs in the funding bill. CAPTA Basic State Grants are funded at $27.5 million, a 25% increase; and CAPTA Title II, Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention Grants are funded at $43.205 million, a 30% increase. CAPTA discretionary funds for research and innovation grants received level funding of $26.3 million, as proposed in the President's budget. However, the final total for these program funds includes an additional $5.6 million in earmarks for special projects.
The task force monitored other legislation that affects children with disabilities in the child welfare system, including the Child SAFE Act, the Kinship Caregivers Act, the Lifespan Respite Care Act, and the reauthorization of Head Start.
Future Activities:
The Task Force may work in coordination with APRAIS on draft legislation to prevent unnecessary restraints and seclusion of children