U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer is introducing two bills to protect children from abuse by strengthening federal and state reporting requirements to help ensure that abuses against children are reported to local law enforcement or a child protective agency.
Senator Boxer said, “To protect our children from violence and abuse, anyone who sees or knows about a crime against a child must report it to local authorities. Right now, the federal government and 32 states have no such requirement in law.”
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Senator Boxer’s two bills – the State Child Protection Act and the Federal Child Protection Act – would correct this dangerous lack of protection for our children. The bills would require that anyone who witnesses or has reasonable suspicion of a crime against a child must report it to local law enforcement or a child protective agency.
Under the State Child Protection Act, states that fail to comply would lose a portion of their federal justice assistance grants. The Federal Child Protection Act would require all persons on federal property to report child abuse.
These bills will help protect children all over the country, including California, which does not have comprehensive reporting requirements for child abuse.
Senator Boxer is the author of the Violence Against Children Act, legislation that she first introduced in 1999 which would enable states to get immediate federal help in preventing and solving crimes against children.