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prevent-abuse-now.com
© N. Faulkner 1996-2006
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Law Page 3, Sec. I: Abuse Law Archive 1997
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This information was extracted, edited, and/or paraphrased from government publications.
The website host is not responsible for the source or accuracy of information.
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Contents
Section I: Legislation
 Patient Abuse Prevention Act (S1122)
Child Protection Act of 1997 (HR2194)
Child Abuse Accountability Act (HR1142 ERISA)
Safe Havens for Children Act of 1997 (S1129)
How to Impact Child Protection Legislation
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Patient Abuse Prevention Act, S1122
Introduced in the Senate August, 1997
ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL REGISTRY OF ABUSIVE WORKERS.
Excerpts (Link here for full text)
(a) IN GENERAL
The Secretary shall establish a registry to be known as the 'National Registry of Abusive Workers' to collect and maintain data on covered health care workers who have been the subject of reports of patient abuse.
(b) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION BY STATE REGISTRIES
Each State registry shall submit to the Registry any existing or newly acquired information contained in the State registry concerning covered health care workers who have been the subject of confirmed findings of patient abuse.
(e) BACKGROUND CHECK
Each covered health care facility (as defined in subsection (f)), prior to employing a covered health care worker, shall--
(i) in the case of a covered health care worker who has not otherwise undergone a criminal background check as part of the licensing requirements of a State, provide for the conduct by the State of a criminal background check (through an existing State database and through the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System).
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Child Protection Act of 1997, HR 2194
Excerpts (Link here for full text)
Establishment of Telephone Access to Offender Database.
To provide for telephone access to the FBI database that tracks the movement and whereabouts of sexual offenders, by Amendments to The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
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ERISA Child Abuse Accountability Act (HR1142)
Excerpts (Link here for full text)
Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code to allow the creation or assignment of rights to employee pension benefits, under a qualified child abuse order, if this is necessary to satisfy a judgment against an employee benefit plan participant or beneficiary for physically, sexually, or emotionally abusing a child.
Honorable Carolyn B. Maloney Introductory Comments on HR1142
in the House of Representatives Wednesday, April 9, 1997:
"Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of child abuse victims everywhere. The legislation I have introduced, the ERISA Child Abuse Accountability Act, H.R. 1142, empowers people in a system that seems to be set against them. Abuse survivors may have moved past the physical pain, but the scars, and emotional turmoil remain. Some have turned to the judicial system to hold their abusers accountable for their crimes. They endure traumatic trials, reliving the years of torment, and dredging up suppressed memories, in order to put their pasts behind them."
"But too often, a court battle is only the beginning of the struggle. Even if a court finds the abuser guilty and awards the victim compensation, the money can be elusive. The logical target might be the abuser's pension. However, although private pensions are attachable for child support or alimony settlements, current law protects private pensions from court ordered monetary awards in child abuse cases. Under legislation authored by Representative Patricia Schroeder and passed during the 103d Congress, victims of child abuse are permitted to collect awards from Federal pensions. The ERISA Child Abuse Accountability Act is a natural extension of the original bill, to include private pensions."
"Those who would commit a crime against a child must be held accountable. We cannot allow abusers to hide behind the law. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and put the law on the side of the victims."
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Safe Havens for Children Act of 1997 (S1129)
To provide grants to States for supervised visitation centers.
Excerpts (Link here for full text)
PURPOSES
(1) to protect children from the trauma of witnessing or experiencing violence, sexual abuse, neglect, abduction, rape, or death during parent-child visitation and visitation exchanges;
(2) to protect victims of domestic violence from experiencing further violence during child visitation and visitation exchanges; and
(3) to provide safe havens for parents and children during visitation and visitation exchanges, to promote continuity and stability.
FINDINGS
(1) Family violence does not necessarily cease when family victims are legally separated by divorce or otherwise not sharing a household.
(2) According to a 1996 report by the American Psychological Association, custody and visitation disputes are more frequent when there is a history of domestic violence.
(3) Family violence often escalates following separation and divorce, and child custody and visitation arrangements become the new forum for the continuation of abuse.
(4) According to a 1996 report by the American Psychological Association, fathers who batter mothers are twice as likely to seek sole custody of their children. In these circumstances, if the abusive father loses custody he is more likely to continue the threats to the mother through other legal actions.
(5) Some perpetrators of violence use the children as pawns to control the abused party and to commit more violence during separation or divorce. In one study, 34 percent of women in shelters and callers to hotlines reported threats of kidnapping, 11 percent reported that the batterer had kidnapped the child for some period, and 21 percent reported that threats of kidnapping forced the victim to return to the batterer.
(6) Approximately 90 percent of children in homes in which their mothers are abused witness the abuse. Children who witness domestic violence may themselves become victims and exhibit more aggressive, antisocial, fearful, and inhibited behaviors. Such children display more anxiety, aggression and temperamental problems.
(7) Women and children are at an elevated risk of violence during the process of separation or divorce.
(8) Fifty to 70 percent of men who abuse their spouses or partners also abuse their children.
(9) Up to 75 percent of all domestic assaults reported to law enforcement agencies were inflicted after the separation of the couple.
(10) In one study of spousal homicide, over 1/2 of the male defendants were separated from their victims.
(11) Seventy-three percent of battered women seeking emergency medical services do so after separation.
(12) The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges includes the option of visitation centers in their Model Code on Domestic and Family Violence.
GRANTS TO STATES TO PROVIDE FOR SUPERVISED VISITATION CENTERS
The Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized to award grants to States to enable States to enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with public or private nonprofit entities to assist such entities in establishing and operating supervised visitation centers for the purposes of facilitating supervised visitation and visitation exchange.
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To impact child protection legislation,
Send an email, fax, snailmail, or phone message using the links below;
Or, if you need help, go to "How to Contact Legislators: 3 Easy Steps."
REMEMBER to reference the BILL NAME & NUMBER
U.S. House Of Representatives
US Representatives search using your zip code.
U.S. Senate
Senators listed by state, links to their home pages and message forms.
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