CAPTA (The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act) was first passed in 1974 and has been reauthorized ever since. The FVPSA (Family Violence Prevention and Services Act) was first passed in 1984 and has been reauthorized ever since. Both were expected to be reauthorized during the present Congress. This will NOT happen. The must-pass Omnibus Bill will not include reauthorization CAPTA and FVPSA even though there is bipartisan support for these basic federal programs. Unknown amounts of continued funding for CAPTA and FVPSA programs will be in the Omnibus budget which may become public on 12/20, but programmatic development will be curtailed around the country. Especially concerning will be the loss of a new CAPTA Title III, defining a federal initiative to create a reliable system to manage child fatalities due to maltreatment. The final Senate vote on the Omnibus Bill is now scheduled for 12/27.
The problem is in Texas where Governor Abbott decreed medical treatment of transgender children to be child abuse, putting parents and doctors at legal risk. In Washington this tainted the whole child abuse and family violence prevention effort with ideological red paint, making it too controversial to bring to a vote. This controversy is wholly due to the most rigid conservative politics, and has impaired the whole child protection system.
It may help to call and speak to any Senators or their staff, if you have any contacts, in the few remaining days.
Meanwhile learn again from this situation how localized aggressive ideological/religious interpretation of health issues, taking privacy and freedom, respect and autonomy away from American citizens affects us and all our clients as well.
UPDATE 12/20/22 Draft Omnibus Bill allocations released today include (This does not include renewal of CAPTA or FVSPA and I cannot tell now these amounts relate to 2022 allocations):
The latest statement from National Coalition:
December 20, 2022
Omnibus Fails to Include Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and Family Violence Prevention and Services Act Reauthorizations; Leader Schumer and Leader McConnell Must Ensure Passage This Year
"The National Child Abuse Coalition and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act Working Group express our profound disappointment that the CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2021 and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement (FVPSA) Act of 2021 were not included in the FY23 Omnibus Appropriations bill. These programs have not been reauthorized in over a decade. Thanks to the leadership of Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Richard Burr (R-NC) and other bipartisan champions, these strongly bipartisan pieces of legislation include thoughtful and critically needed updates and
improvements to ensure more survivors of child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, family violence and dating violence have access to support and safety.
It is imperative that Congressional leadership find a path forward for these bills, which passed the House of Representatives twice and were approved by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) last summer. We remain grateful to both our House and Senate champions and urge Senate and House leadership to work with them to ensure CAPTA
and FVPSA reauthorizations are passed before the end of the year. The 117th Congress has not come to an end and there is still time to find a path forward. The safety and well-being of millions of children and families in America is at stake."
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