WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), co-chairs of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, sent a letter to Senate and House leadership as well as the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, urging them to include their bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Victims of Child Abuse Act (VOCAA) as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (NDAA). The law, first enacted in 1990, provides the only dedicated source of funding for Children’s Advocacy Centers, which bring together teams of law enforcement, medical personnel, and service providers to ensure the best outcome for child victims and help hold perpetrators responsible for their crimes. VOCAA programs are set to expire next year unless Congress reauthorizes them.
“Including the bipartisan Victims of Child Abuse Act Reauthorization Act in this year’s NDAA will ensure that Children’s Advocacy Centers receive critical funding and can remain open to support children and families,” said Senator Coons. “The inclusion of this legislation in the FY23 NDAA will assist communities across the country by bringing together law enforcement, medical personnel, and social services to help protect survivors and bring perpetrators to justice. I was delighted to see the House include our legislation in their version of the NDAA, and I urge Senate and House leadership to include the Victims of Child Abuse Reauthorization Act in the final version of the FY23 NDAA to help keep kids and families in Delaware and across the nation safe.”
“Last year, Children’s Advocacy Centers served nearly 10,000 of Missouri’s most vulnerable children, helping to keep kids safe and bring perpetrators to justice,”said Senator Blunt. “Including the reauthorization of this critical legislation in the final NDAA will help ensure Children’s Advocacy Centers and law enforcement continue to have the tools they need to coordinate the investigation, treatment, and prosecution of child abuse cases.”
Children’s Advocacy Centers provide a skilled team of trained professionals to conduct forensic interviews of children who have been victims of abuse. Such interviews are intended to be used as evidence in court while also preventing children from having to relive their abuse and repeat their accounts multiple times. Children’s Advocacy Centers allow for faster criminal charging decisions in sexual abuse cases, increased felony prosecutions of child sexual abuse, and lower average case costs.
In addition to Senators Coons and Blunt, cosponsors of the Senate bill introduced in March include Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.).
The bill has garnered widespread support from law enforcement groups, including the Fraternal Order of Police, National District Attorneys Association, National Association of Police Organizations, Major County Sheriffs of America, Major Cities Chiefs Association, and Sergeants Benevolent Association.
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