Washington – U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced legislation last week to increase protections for children victimized by abuse or neglect. The Protecting Children Is Everyone’s Responsibility Act would require that state governments accepting federal child abuse and neglect prevention and treatment funding adopt a basic set of protections that: require all adults to report known or suspected child abuse and neglect to law enforcement or child welfare authorities. The proposal would also make federal funds available to help states undertake education and training campaigns to help adults who work with children detect the telltale signs of abuse or neglect, and it would encourage state task forces to focus on strategies to improve child abuse and neglect reporting.
In response, First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley released the following statement:
“A child in danger should never be ignored. We applaud Senator Casey for his leadership in strengthening reporting requirements, so law enforcement or child safety agencies are always notified when an adult knows or believes that a child is being abused or neglected. Authorities can’t stop abuse or neglect if they don’t know about it, so this legislation responds to an urgent need, and we urge congressional leadership to make its enactment a priority.”
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