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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E637]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STRONGER CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT ACT
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speech of
HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE
of texas
in the house of representatives
Monday, May 20, 2019
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, as the founding Chair of the
Congressional Children's Caucus and a senior member of the Committee on
the Judiciary, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2480, the
``Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.''
I support H.R. 2480 because this legislation will help states to
address the recent rise in child abuse and neglect by providing
strategic funding to build networks of prevention services designed to
strengthen families and to improve the quality of child protective
services.
Madam Speaker, child abuse and neglect is a pervasive public health
problem that continues to affect millions of children across the
country.
Although we witnessed significant declines in the rate of child abuse
and neglect across the 1990s and 2000s, the rate of child maltreatment
has ticked up in recent years as the opioid epidemic has devastated
families and communities across the country.
In 2017, more children received an investigation or response from
child protective services agencies than any other time in the decade
prior.
It is long past time for the federal government to provide the
necessary funding to reverse the rise in child maltreatment.
The ``Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act'' authorizes
$270 million for the expansion of prevention services to reach over 3
million children annually and another $270 million to foster new
research and support state child protective services agencies to expand
services to meet increased demand without sacrificing quality.
Madam Speaker, another reason I strongly support this legislation is
that it will also help address child abuse and neglect by improving the
quality of federal and state data.
Specifically, the ``Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment
Act'' establishes uniform standards for counting child fatalities and
near fatalities related to child maltreatment and will create an
electronic system that allows states to share data from their child
abuse and neglect registries with other states.
H.R. 2480 also combats childhood maltreatment and protects children
by initiating protocol designed to detect infant abuse earlier, prevent
child injuries and fatalities and halting the effects of maltreatment
before they even develop.
By supporting the training and careers of medical and child welfare
professionals, the ``Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment
Act'' will help successfully identify and respond to signs of potential
abuse in infants under age three, better protecting them from the
immediate and lifelong negative impacts of childhood maltreatment and
offering an ensured solution to end abuse.
Madam Speaker, it is unconscionable that 1 in 7 children in the
United States suffers from child abuse or neglect.
The effects of this abuse are far-reaching and severe, hindering a
child's mental, physical, and emotional development with consequences
that may follow the person through his or her lifetime.
Childhood maltreatment has also been linked to higher risk for a wide
range of long-term and future health concerns, including diabetes, lung
disease, and cancer.
It does not have to be this way, Madam Speaker, and we can do
something about it, starting with passage of H.R. 2480, the ``Stronger
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.''
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