Senator Coons introduces bill to save advocacy centers for victims of child abuse

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), co-chairs of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, and Senators Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) introduced bipartisan legislation Tuesday to reauthorize the Victims of Child Abuse Act (VOCAA), which provides funding for Children’s Advocacy Centers that serve child victims of violent crimes and help law enforcement hold perpetrators accountable. Though the success of these federal-state and public-private partnerships have earned them broad bipartisan support, Congressional authorization for Children’s Advocacy Centers lapsed in 2005, and most recently the President’s proposed budgets for 2013 and 2014 have zeroed out federal funding. The VOCAA Reauthorization Act of 2013 would restore funding for Children’s Advocacy Centers and strengthen oversight of this critical program.

“When a child is the victim of physical or sexual abuse, his or her life will never be the same,” Senator Coons said. “Seeking justice should be a part of the healing process – not a source of further trauma. Children’s Advocacy Centers provide a safe, supportive space for young victims and help law enforcement officers bring perpetrators to justice faster, more effectively, and at a lower cost. These facilities are a critical asset to law enforcement, to our criminal justice system, and to the children in our community who have been the victims of truly horrific crimes. I thank my colleagues for working with me to ensure they can continue to serve children in need.” 

“There are 22 Child Advocacy Centers located in Missouri, which serve around 7,000 of our state’s most vulnerable children each year by coordinating the investigation, treatment, and prosecution of child abuse cases,” Senator Blunt said. “This bill allows Child Advocacy Centers in Missouri and across the country to continue to provide a safe haven for child abuse victims and helps law enforcement hold perpetrators accountable for their actions.”

"The Victims of Child Abuse Act funding received by the Children’s Advocacy Center of Delaware is critically important in our efforts to ensure that our CACs and our multidisciplinary team partners are able to provide the very best response possible when presented with allegations of child abuse,” said Randall E. Williams, Executive Director of the Children's Advocacy Center of Delaware, Inc. “Our child victims deserve to receive the very best services available, and VOCAA funding has allowed our CACs and multidisciplinary team partners to receive the training, technical assistance, and support necessary to employ nationally recognized  “best practices” and ensure child victims are not further traumatized by the very systems designed to protect them."

"Nothing is more important than protecting children," said Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden. "Children’s Advocacy Centers are on the front lines in the fight against predators. This funding will make our children safer."

Children’s Advocacy Centers employ a multi-disciplinary team of trained professionals to conduct forensic interviews of children who have been victims of abuse. These interviews are designed to be admissible in court, preventing children from being re-traumatized by having to tell their stories multiple times. In 2012 alone, more than 286,000 children were served at over 800 Children’s Advocacy Centers across the United States, with over 197,000 cases reporting sexual abuse. Their use in child abuse cases saved, on average, more than $1,000 per case in court, child protection, and investigative fees. 

The VOCAA Reauthorization Act of 2013 would increase authorization levels for Children’s Advocacy Centers for the first time since the VOCAA was enacted in 1990. Acknowledging current fiscal constraints, this moderate increase, from $20 million to $22.5 million, is still below an amount that would keep pace with inflation and population growth. The reauthorization would also strengthen the programs through enhanced accountability provisions, non-profit requirements and limitations on conference expenditures.

Senator Coons has been an outspoken advocate for Delaware’s three Children’s Advocacy Centers. He visited the Wilmington Children’s Advocacy Center in October 2012 and the Dover Children’s Advocacy Center this past April. In April, he wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder requesting the administration’s support for the Victims of Child Abuse Act in the fiscal year 2014 budget and, separately, led 30 of his Senate colleagues in a letter to the Appropriations Committee urging a restoration of funding for Children’s Advocacy Centers.

The following organizations have endorsed the VOCAA Reauthorization Act of 2013: National Association of Police Organizations, Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, Major County Sheriffs’ Association, National Criminal Justice Training Center, Major Cities Chiefs’ Association, National Children’s Alliance, National Children’s Advocacy Center, National Center for Victims of Crime, Sergeants Benevolent Association of the New York City Police Department, and the National Child Protection Training Center.