[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1483 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1483
To amend part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to require
States to review child fatalities from maltreatment, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 29, 2021
Mr. Brown (for himself and Mr. Blunt) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to require
States to review child fatalities from maltreatment, 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 ``Child Abuse Death Disclosure Act''.
SEC. 2. STRENGTHENING NATIONAL DATA ON CHILD FATALITIES FROM
MALTREATMENT.
(a) IV-B Requirement To Review Child Fatalities From
Maltreatment.--Section 422(b)(19) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
622(b)(19)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) an assurance that the State shall--
``(i) engage at least annually, and, more
frequently as necessary, in a multidisciplinary
review of all child fatalities from
maltreatment in the State that occurred during
the previous year in accordance with the
requirements of section 429A; and''.
(b) Review Requirements.--Subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``SEC. 429A. ONGOING REVIEW OF CHILD FATALITIES FROM MALTREATMENT.
``(a) Requirements.--In order to satisfy the requirements of
section 422(b)(19)(C), a State shall require the State's
multidisciplinary child death review team or, if the State does not
have such a team as of the date of enactment of this section, a
multidisciplinary team established by the State that is comprised of
representatives of integral elements of the State child welfare system,
such as child welfare workers, child protective services workers,
prosecutors, law enforcement, coroners or medical examiners, public
health care providers, pediatricians with expertise in child
maltreatment and the child welfare system, children's advocacy centers,
substance use disorder treatment providers, and advocates and
researchers for the prevention and treatment of domestic violence, as
well as representatives of educators, including early childhood
educators and child care providers (in this section referred to as the
`review team'), to review, at least annually and more frequently as
necessary, all child fatalities from maltreatment in the State that
occurred during the most recently ended fiscal year and for which the
period for all administrative or judicial review is complete. Any child
fatality from maltreatment in the State that occurred during the most
recently ended fiscal year but for which the period for all
administrative or judicial review is not complete shall be reviewed by
the review team in during the first review period that occurs after the
period for which all administrative or judicial review is complete.
``(b) Report and Recommendations.--The review team shall--
``(1) for each child fatality from maltreatment in the
State subject to review, make findings based on information
available to the review team regarding the causes of child's
fatality and other factors that impacted the child's fatality,
including to the extent possible and taking into account
privacy protections under Federal and State law--
``(A) the circumstances of the fatality;
``(B) the characteristics of the victim, the
perpetrators, including their relationship to the
child, and the parents or guardians of the child;
``(C) whether there were previous familial
interactions with child protective services and the
outcomes of those interactions;
``(D) whether the child had any siblings and how
many;
``(E) whether there were other children present or
living in the household at the time of the fatality;
and
``(F) the social services, public cash or in-kind
assistance (including housing), health (including
mental health) services, alcohol or substance use
disorder treatment, or other public or private services
provided to or on behalf of the child prior to the
child's death;
``(2) submit all findings and data made in accordance with
paragraph (1) to the Child Death Review Case Reporting System
(in this section referred to as the `CDR Reporting System')
operated by the National Center for Fatality Review and
Prevention;
``(3) based on the findings made in accordance with
paragraph (1), develop recommendations for preventing future
child fatalities from maltreatment; and
``(4) submit a report, at least annually, and, more
frequently as necessary, to the State Governor, the State
legislature, and, if the incident reporting threshold
established under subsection (c) is met, to the Secretary, that
contains the findings and data submitted to the CDR Reporting
System under subparagraph (2) (de-identified) and the
recommendations developed under paragraph (3).
``(c) Incident Reporting Threshold.--
``(1) State-specific thresholds.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary annually shall
establish a national reporting incident threshold for
each State for purposes of protecting the privacy of
families and other living individuals whose information
is part of the findings and data submitted under
subsection (b)(2) and the reports to the State Governor
and State Legislature required under subsection (b)(4).
``(B) Requirements.--In establishing the national
reporting incident threshold for a State, the Secretary
shall ensure that the reporting threshold is subject to
privacy protections that are designed to protect the
privacy of--
``(i) children;
``(ii) individuals who are not the
perpetrators of the child maltreatment that
resulted in the fatality; and
``(iii) individuals who are or have been
victimized by domestic violence or who are at
risk of domestic violence.
``(2) Application.--If the number of child fatalities from
maltreatment in a State in a fiscal year is below the reporting
threshold established for the State for the fiscal year, the
State shall not submit the report required under subsection
(b)(4) to the Secretary but shall submit to the Secretary--
``(A) the findings and data submitted to the CDR
Reporting System under subsection (b)(2) for the
purpose of making such findings and data accessible as
a public use data set on the national website required
under subsection (g) after redacting any personal
identifying information; and
``(B) the recommendations developed under
subsection (b)(3).
``(d) Training.--
``(1) In general.--In order to satisfy the requirements of
section 422(b)(19)(C) and subsection (i), a State shall provide
the following short-term training:
``(A) Review team specific duties.--The State shall
provide the members and staff of the review team with
training regarding--
``(i) applying the set of national
definition standards promulgated under section
3(a) of the Child Abuse Death Disclosure Act;
and
``(ii) as needed in order to maintain
consistency across services and outcomes,
approaches to--
``(I) reduce and prevent
discrimination based on race or culture
(including training related to implicit
biases) in the provision of child
protection and welfare services related
to child abuse and neglect; and
``(II) address racial or cultural
disproportionality in the incidence of
child maltreatment fatality cases.
``(B) Data collection and reporting.--The State
shall provide administrators and staff of State-
licensed or State-approved child welfare agencies
responsible for data collection and reporting with
training regarding reporting on child maltreatment
fatality cases and applying the set of national
definition standards promulgated under section 3(a) of
the Child Abuse Death Disclosure Act.
``(2) State option for training to improve early
detection.--At the option of the State, and in addition to the
training required under paragraph (1), the State may provide
pediatricians, emergency room physicians, and other medical
professionals with training relating to identifying, assessing,
and responding to potential abuse in infants to prevent future
cases of child abuse and related fatalities, including with
respect to improving conditions that may result in an infant
being unsafe, alignment with child protective services policies
and practices (as appropriate), and identifying injuries
indicative of potential abuse in infants.
``(e) Funding.--
``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), amounts
expended by a State during each quarter beginning after the
effective date of this section for administrative costs (as
defined in section 422(c)(1)) to carry out this section and
section 422(b)(19)(C) shall be deemed to be amounts expended
during such quarter as found necessary by the Secretary for the
proper and efficient administration of the State plan under
part E and eligible for Federal matching payments under section
474(a)(3)(E) without regard to whether such costs are incurred
on behalf of a child who is, or is potentially, eligible for
foster care maintenance payments or adoption assistance under
part E.
``(2) Training.--Amounts expended by a State during each
quarter beginning after the effective date of this section for
providing training under subsection (d) (including training at
State option under paragraph (2) of that subsection) shall be
eligible for Federal matching payments under section
474(a)(3)(B) without regard to whether such costs are incurred
on behalf of a child who is, or is potentially, eligible for
foster care maintenance payments or adoption assistance under
part E.
``(f) Indian Tribes, Tribal Organizations.--The Secretary, in
consultation with the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs of the Bureau
of Indian Affairs of the Department of Interior and tribal child
welfare organizations, shall determine how and the extent to which the
requirements of this section shall apply to Indian tribes and tribal
organizations (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination
and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
``(g) Nonapplication.--The limitations on payments for
administrative costs under sections 424(e) and 472(i) shall not apply
to State expenditures made to carry out this section.
``(h) National Website.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary, in coordination with the
National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention, shall
publish on a website that is available to the public and
maintained and updated at least annually--
``(A) each report submitted to the Secretary under
subsection (b)(4); and
``(B) the findings and data submitted to the CDR
Reporting System under subsection (b)(2) (with any
personal identifying information or information that
identifies the submitting State redacted) in a manner
that is accessible as a public use data set for
purposes of research to identify risk factors to
prevent future deaths of children from maltreatment.
``(2) Notice to congress.--The Secretary shall notify
Congress when information on the website required under
paragraph (1) is updated.''.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 425 of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 625) is amended by striking ``426, 427, and 429'' and
inserting ``422(b)(19)(C), 426, 427, 429, and 429A''.
SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL DEFINITION STANDARDS RELATING TO CHILD
FATALITIES FROM MALTREATMENT.
(a) Promulgation of National Definition Standards.--Not later than
18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the
``Secretary'') shall promulgate proposed regulations establishing a set
of national definition standards relating to child fatalities from
maltreatment that States shall use to report data to the National Child
Abuse and Neglect Data System established and maintained in accordance
with section 103 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42
U.S.C. 5104) and, not later than 6 months after the date on which the
public comment period on the proposed regulations closes, shall issue
final regulations establishing such standards.
(b) Requirements.--In promulgating the regulations under subsection
(a), the Secretary shall consult with representatives of--
(1) State and county officials responsible for
administering the State plans under parts B and E of title IV
of the Social Security Act;
(2) child welfare professionals with field experience;
(3) child welfare researchers;
(4) child development professionals;
(5) mental health professionals;
(6) substance use disorder treatment professionals;
(7) emergency medicine physicians;
(8) child abuse pediatricians, as certified by the American
Board of Pediatrics, who specialize in treating victims of
child abuse;
(9) forensic pathologists;
(10) children's advocacy centers;
(11) public health administration;
(12) public health researchers;
(13) law enforcement;
(14) prosecutors;
(15) advocates and researchers for the prevention and
treatment of domestic violence;
(16) a representative from the National Center for Fatality
Review and Prevention; and
(17) such other organizations or entities as the Secretary
determines appropriate.
(c) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) CAPTA.--
(A) National child abuse and neglect data system.--
Section 103(c)(1)(C) of the Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5104(c)(1)(C)) is amended--
(i) in clause (iii), by striking ``and''
after the semicolon;
(ii) in clause (iv), by adding ``and''
after the semicolon; and
(iii) by inserting after clause (iv), the
following:
``(v) information on child fatalities from
maltreatment in accordance with the set of
national definition standards promulgated under
section 3(a) of the Child Abuse Death
Disclosure Act;''.
(B) State data reports.--Section 106(d) of the
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C.
5106a(d)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(19) The number of child fatalities from maltreatment and
related information required to be reported in accordance with
the set of national definition standards promulgated under
section 3(a) of the Child Abuse Death Disclosure Act.''.
(2) Social security act.--
(A) IV-B plan.--Section 422(b)(19)(C) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 622(b)(19)), as amended by
section 2(a), is further amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(ii) report information on child
maltreatment deaths in accordance with the set
of national definition standards promulgated
under section 3(a) of the Child Abuse Death
Disclosure Act.''.
(B) Review requirements.--Section 429A of the
Social Security Act, as added by section 2(b), is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(i) Application of National Definition Standards.--The review
team shall use the set of national definition standards promulgated
under section 3(a) of the Child Abuse Death Disclosure Act to make and
submit findings and data to the CDR Reporting System and to develop the
recommendations required under subsection (b)(3).''.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.
(a) In General.--This Act and the amendments made by this Act take
effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
(b) Application to IV-B State Plans.--A State plan under part B of
title IV of the Social Security Act shall not be regarded as failing to
comply with the additional requirements imposed on the plan by this Act
and the amendments made by this Act before the date that is 3 years
after the date of enactment of this Act.
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