In our nation, an average of five children die each day as a result of abuse or neglect and that is five too many. A report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds and nearly 3.3 million reports of child abuse are made annually. Childhelp’s programs work to combat these issues daily.
Every day at Childhelp we see community advocates, grassroots organizations, educational institutions, and lawmakers come together to support children in need. We salute those who have devoted their lives to strengthening child protection and those who fight against child abuse, neglect and bullying.
Together, we can end #FiveTooMany
State Legislative Update June 2015
ARIZONA LEGISLATURE – Adjourned sine die on April 3, 2015.
HB 2516 allows awareness and prevention training for child abuse and the sexual abuse of children to count as continuing education credits for certificated teachers and administrators. Signed into Law.
HB 2182 adds certain tax exempt entities that provide services to prevent and also advocate for victims of child abuse to the list of organizations authorized to contract with an outside agent to conduct a raffle, if the proceeds are used for those same purposes. Signed into Law.
CALIFORNIA GENERAL ASSEMBLEY – Currently in session.
ACR 24 acknowledges the month of April 2015 as Child Abuse Prevention Month, and encourage the people of the State of California to work together to support youth-serving child abuse prevention activities in their communities and schools. Signed into Law.
FLORIDA LEGISLATURE – Adjourned sine die on April 28, 2015
SB 7078 authorizes critical incident rapid response teams to review cases of child deaths occurring during an open investigation; requiring case staffing when medical neglect is substantiated; requiring an epidemiological child abuse death assessment and prevention system; providing intent for the operation of and interaction between the state and local death review committees, etc. Signed into Law.
GEORGIA GENERAL ASSEMBLEY – Adjourned sine die on April 8, 2015.
HR 584 commends commending the dedication and hard work of Georgia’s child welfare workers and foster parents and recognizing May 31, 2015, as Foster Kid’s Day in Georgia; and for other purposes. Signed into Law.
ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLEY Currently in session.
HR 0403 designates April, 2015 as “Child Abuse Prevention Month” in Illinois.
TENNESSEE – Adjourned sine die on April 22, 2015.
HJR 51 designates April, 2015 as “Child Abuse Prevention Month” in Tennessee.
HB218 prohibits the court from awarding any form of custody to a parent who is indicted for aggravated child abuse, sexual abuse of a child, or severe child sexual abuse while indictment is still pending, unless presumption of substantial risk of harm to child is overcome; allows supervised visitation. Signed into Law.
VIRGINIA – Adjourned sine die on February 27, 2015.
SB 834 requires the State Registrar of Vital Records, when issuing a new certificate of birth pursuant to an adoption, to provide adoptive parents with a document listing all post-adoption services available to adoptive families. The bill requires the Department of Social Services to furnish this document to the State Registrar of Vital Records, update the document annually, and make the document available on the Department’s website. Signed into Law.
WASHINGTON D.C. / CONGRESS Currently in session.
B21-0058 adds approximately twenty four sex crimes of varying degrees to the list of six crimes that may be prosecuted at any time. It effectively eliminates the statute of limitations on a majority of crimes involving sexual abuse. Signed into Law.
For more information about Childhelp’s legislative report, or to get involved, please contact
Christina Martinez in our national public affairs office at ChMartinez@childhelp.org
Childhelp
4350 E. Camelback Rd. Bldg. F250 Phoenix, AZ 85018 | Tel: 480-922-8212
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