On August 3, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, a bill (S. 1899) to reauthorize the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act (P.L. 101-630). The Senate Indian Affairs Committee approved the measure on March 29 (see The Source, 3/31/06).
The bill would require the secretary of the Department of the Interior to annually collect information related to: the number of child abuse allegations and investigations; the number of child abuse prosecutions referred, declined, or deferred; the sentencing patterns of convicted individuals; and the rates of recidivism within tribal lands.
The legislation also would require the secretary, in consultation with the Indian Health Service and Attorney General, to investigate and identify any impediment to reporting child abuse on Indian land or within reservations. The secretary would be required report to Congress on progress being made to remove impediments to reporting child abuse and family violence.
In addition, the bill would add forensic examinations to the list of examinations permitted without parental consent during an abuse investigation. Treatment for adolescent mental and behavioral health would be added to services provided at Indian Child Resource and Family Services Centers. Finally, the bill would authorize the use of telemedicine to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of child abuse.
