Public Records Open to End Child Tragedy (PROTECT) Act

Public Records Open to End Child Tragedy (PROTECT) Act - Amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to modify eligibility requirements for grants to States for child abuse and neglect prevention and treatment programs. Requires such States to include within their program provisions which require (currently, allow) public disclosure of the findings or information about the case of child abuse or neglect, as determined to be appropriate by a judge and in accordance with applicable law, which has resulted in a child fatality, near fatality, other serious injury, or felony conviction.

[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2541 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2541

To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require public 
 disclosure of information about cases of child abuse or neglect which 
   result in child fatality, near fatality, other serious injury, or 
                           felony conviction.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 19, 2003

  Mr. Moore introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require public 
 disclosure of information about cases of child abuse or neglect which 
   result in child fatality, near fatality, other serious injury, or 
                           felony conviction.

    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 ``Public Records Open to End Child 
Tragedy (PROTECT) Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 
        5101) threatens States with the forfeiture of Federal funds 
        under that Act if States provide for public disclosure of a 
        child abuse or neglect records when the child has been a victim 
        of child abuse.
            (2) Overly strict privacy laws can have the effect of 
        shielding negligent public officials, camouflage inefficiency 
        in State and Federal child welfare programs and mask severe 
        underfunding and official neglect of this important government 
        function.
            (3) It is vitally important that the public be aware of 
        such problems and be given the opportunity to force their 
        elected officials to change the system.
            (4) The privacy of adoptive and foster families, as well as 
        children, must be protected by the judicial process.
            (5) States should be permitted to open up a child's records 
        in very limited circumstances, under the auspices of a judge, 
        when a child has been the victim of child abuse.

SEC. 3. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION ABOUT CHILD ABUSE CASES.

    Section 106(b)(2)(A)(vi) of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)(2)(A)(vi)) is amended to read as 
follows:
                            ``(vi) provisions which require public 
                        disclosure of the findings or information about 
                        the case of child abuse or neglect, as 
                        determined to be appropriate by a judge and in 
                        accordance with applicable law, which has 
                        resulted in a child fatality, near fatality, 
                        other serious injury, or felony conviction;''.
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