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Managing America: Native American Matters

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Week Ending June 8, 2007

S.398 A bill to amend the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act to identify and remove barriers to reducing child abuse, to provide for examinations of certain children, and for other purposes.

This bill begins the process of gathering data on child abuse in ‘Indian country’ with the ultimate goals of establishing a central registry on data collected and identifying obstacle to preventing and dealing with the problem. The bill recognizes that Indian Tribes and the Federal Government lack sufficient resources to treat children who have been abused and that the abuses are not properly investigated. The bill report further states that there are incidents that child abuse has been perpetrated by federal employees with a know history of suspected child abuse. Although grants have been made to address the problem they are believed to have been administered in a piecemeal fashion with little consistency.

A yearly report is due to Congress on the number of child abuse incidents that have been reported to help Members grasp the extent of the problem. The Attorney General  and HHS are authorized to gather other data relating to child abuse.

A central registry is created with due process concerns intact. To remove obstacles to investigation and treatment of child abuse cases, some confidentiality requirements are waived to allow agencies that investigate and treat child abuse to receive otherwise confidential information so to perform their duties. Also waived is parental consent for forensic examinations if an agency suspects the child has been abused. To avoid further traumatizing the child multiple interviews in the examination and interview process are to be avoided to the greatest degree possible.

The Departments of Interior and Health and Human Services are required to conduct character investigations of individuals who work in positions, voluntary or otherwise, where they have regular contact with children. Character investigations  are also required when placing an Indian child in a tribally licenses or approved foster home or similar placements.

Grants are available to established are family service centers in each Bureau of Indian Affairs region to provide victims and families who have suffered abuse and violence and to provide training for tribal staff.

The Indian Health Service may enter into contracts with private or public medical and treatment practitioners to utilize telemedicine and diagnosis of Indian children.

The bill provides for confidentiality to protect the child abuse victim by allowing dispersal of the information only to those who need to know such as those adjudicating, investigating or treating a victim. States are limited in their authority to release names and other information about abused children. The character investigation of child care workers and volunteers that this bill provides preempts State laws requiring background checks conducted by the Tribes.

Sponsor:  Senator Byron Dorgan (ND)

Vote: Passed Senate by Unanimous Consent May 25, 2007

Cost to the taxpayers: CBO estimates that implementing S. 398 would cost about $140 million over the 2008-2012 period.

Earmark Certification:   Not applicable to this bill.

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