Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) of 1974

P.L. 93-247

Amended 1978, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2003

For a summary of the Act visit:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d093:SN01191:|TOM:/bss/d093query.html|

Reasons Bill Initiated

* Medical recognition of Battered Child Syndrome in 1961, as well as findings from medical reports, brought public attention to the problem of child abuse.

* One of every ten children brought to hospital emergency rooms were victims of physical abuse.
* A large majority of these cases went unreported.
* Federal government was urged to take interest in the welfare of abused and neglected children.
* States had developed reporting laws and responses to reports, without a lot of uniformity.

Objectives/Goals

* To increase identification, reporting, and investigation of child maltreatment, thereby protecting children from harm.
* To monitor research and compile and publish materials for persons working in the field.

Services Provided/Measures Taken

* Provided assistance to States to develop child abuse and neglect identification and prevention programs.
* Placed moral weight of Federal government behind professional intervention with troubled families.
* Enhanced the Federal government's role to be proactive in detection, prevention, and treatment of child abuse.
* Authorized limited government research into child abuse prevention and treatment.
* Created the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) within the Department of Health and Human Services to:
- Administer grant programs.
- Identify issues and areas needing special focus for new research and demonstration project activities.
- Serve as the focal point for the collection of information, improvement of programs, dissemination of materials, and information on best practices to States and localities.
* Created the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information.
* Established Basic State Grants and Demonstration Grants for training of personnel and to support innovative programs aimed at preventing and treating child maltreatment.