§ 20301. Findings

The Congress finds that—

• (1) over 3,300,000 reports of suspected child abuse and neglect are made each year, and drug abuse is associated with a significant portion of these;
• (2) the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases is extremely complex, involving numerous agencies and dozens of personnel;
• (3) traditionally, community agencies and professionals have different roles in the prevention, investigation, and intervention process;
• (4) in such cases, too often the system does not pay sufficient attention to the needs and welfare of the child victim, aggravating the trauma that the child victim has already experienced;
• (5) there is a national need to enhance coordination among community agencies and professionals involved in the intervention system;
• (6) multidisciplinary child abuse investigation and prosecution programs have been developed that increase the reporting of child abuse cases, reduce the trauma to the child victim, improve positive outcomes for the child, and increase the successful prosecution of child abuse offenders;
• (7) such programs have proven effective, and with targeted Federal assistance, have expanded dramatically throughout the United States; and
• (8) State chapters of children’s advocacy center networks are needed to—
  • (A) assist local communities in coordinating their multidisciplinary child abuse investigation, prosecution, and intervention services; and
  • (B) provide oversight of, and training and technical assistance in, the effective delivery of evidence-informed programming.