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34 U.S.C. § 20304 — Local children’s advocacy centers
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) In general** The Administrator shall make grants to—
(1) establish and maintain a network of care for child abuse victims where investigation, prosecutions, and interventions are continually occurring and coordinating activities within local children’s advocacy centers and multidisciplinary teams;
(2) develop, enhance, and coordinate multidisciplinary child abuse investigations, intervention, and prosecution activities;
(3) promote the effective delivery of the evidence-based, trauma-informed Children’s Advocacy Center Model and the multidisciplinary response to child abuse; and
(4) develop and disseminate practice standards for care and best practices in programmatic evaluation, and support State chapter organizational capacity and local children’s advocacy center organizational capacity and operations in order to meet such practice standards and best practices.
**(b) Direct services for child victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons and victims of human trafficking and child pornography** The Administrator may make grants to develop and implement specialized programs to identify and provide direct services to victims of a severe form of trafficking (as defined in section 7102(9)(A) 11 See References in Text note below. of title 22) who were under the age of 18 at the time of the offense and victims of human trafficking and child pornography.
**(c) Grant criteria**
(1) The Administrator shall establish the criteria to be used in evaluating applications for grants under subsections (a) and (b) consistent with sections 11183 and 11186 of this title.
(2) In general, the grant criteria established pursuant to paragraph (1) may require that a program include any of the following elements:
(A) A written agreement between local law enforcement, chil
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Source file: Laws/federal/codes/united-states-code/title-34/section-20304-local-childrens-advocacy-centers--7409e3d858.md
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Source location: Title 34, Chapter 203, § 20304; chapter-203-victims-of-child-abuse.md
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**(a) In general** The Administrator shall make grants to—
(1) establish and maintain a network of care for child abuse victims where investigation, prosecutions, and interventions are continually occurring and coordinating activities within local children’s advocacy centers and multidisciplinary teams;
(2) develop, enhance, and coordinate multidisciplinary child abuse investigations, intervention, and prosecution activities;
(3) promote the effective delivery of the evidence-based, trauma-informed Children’s Advocacy Center Model and the multidisciplinary response to child abuse; and
(4) develop and disseminate practice standards for care and best practices in programmatic evaluation, and support State chapter organizational capacity and local children’s advocacy center organizational capacity and operations in order to meet such practice standards and best practices.
**(b) Direct services for child victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons and victims of human trafficking and child pornography** The Administrator may make grants to develop and implement specialized programs to identify and provide direct services to victims of a severe form of trafficking (as defined in section 7102(9)(A) 11 See References in Text note below. of title 22) who were under the age of 18 at the time of the offense and victims of human trafficking and child pornography.
**(c) Grant criteria**
(1) The Administrator shall establish the criteria to be used in evaluating applications for grants under subsections (a) and (b) consistent with sections 11183 and 11186 of this title.
(2) In general, the grant criteria established pursuant to paragraph (1) may require that a program include any of the following elements:
(A) A written agreement between local law enforcement, child protective service, health, and other related agencies to coordinate child abuse investigation, prosecution, treatment, and counseling services.
(B) An appropriate site for referring, interviewing, treating, and counseling child victims of sexual and serious physical abuse and neglect and nonoffending family members (referred to as a “children’s advocacy center”).
(C) Referral of all child abuse cases that meet designated referral criteria to the children’s advocacy center not later than 24 hours to the greatest extent practicable, but in no case later than 72 hours, after notification of an incident of abuse.
(D) Forensic interviews of child victims by trained personnel that are used by law enforcement, health, and child protective service agencies to interview suspected abuse victims about allegations of abuse.
(E) Provision of needed follow up services such as medical care, mental healthcare, and victims advocacy services.
(F) A requirement that, to the extent practicable, all interviews and meetings with a child victim occur at the children’s advocacy center or an agency with which there is a linkage agreement regarding the delivery of multidisciplinary child abuse investigation, prosecution, and intervention services.
(G) Coordination of each step of the investigation process to eliminate duplicative forensic interviews with a child victim.
(H) Designation of a director for the children’s advocacy center.
(I) Designation of a multidisciplinary team coordinator.
(J) Assignment of a volunteer or staff advocate to each child in order to assist the child and, when appropriate, the child’s family, throughout each step of intervention and judicial proceedings.
(K) Coordination with State chapters to assist and provide oversight, and organizational capacity that supports local children’s advocacy centers, multidisciplinary teams, and communities working to implement a multidisciplinary response to child abuse in the provision of evidence-informed initiatives, including mental health counseling, forensic interviewing, multidisciplinary team coordination, and victim advocacy.
(L) Such other criteria as the Administrator shall establish by regulation.
**(d) Distribution of grants** In awarding grants under this section, the Administrator shall ensure that grants are distributed to all States that are eligible for such grants, including large and small States, and to rural, suburban, and urban jurisdictions.
**(e) Consultation with regional children’s advocacy centers** A grant recipient under this section shall consult from time to time with regional children’s advocacy centers in its census region that are grant recipients under [section 20303 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title34-section20303&num=0&edition=prelim).
**(f) Grants to State chapters for assistance to local children’s advocacy centers** In awarding grants under this section, the Administrator shall ensure that a portion of the grants is distributed to State chapters to enable State chapters to provide oversight, training, and technical assistance to local centers on evidence-informed initiatives including mental health, counseling, forensic interviewing, multidisciplinary team coordination, and victim advocacy.
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)** The Congress finds the following:
(1) Although the juvenile violent crime arrest rate in 1999 was the lowest in the decade, there remains a consensus that the number of crimes and the rate of offending by juveniles nationwide is still too high.
(2) According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, allowing 1 youth to leave school for a life of crime and of drug abuse costs society $1,700,000 to $2,300,000 annually.
(3) One in every 6 individuals (16.2 percent) arrested for committing violent crime in 1999 was less than 18 years of age. In 1999, juveniles accounted for 9 percent of murder arrests, 17 percent of forcible rape arrests, 25 percent of robbery arrest, 14 percent of aggravated assault arrests, and 24 percent of weapons arrests.
(4) More than ½ of juvenile murder victims are killed with firearms. Of the nearly 1,800 murder victims less than 18 years of age, 17 percent of the victims less than 13 years of age were murdered with a firearm, and 81 percent of the victims 13 years of age or older were killed with a firearm.
(5) Juveniles accounted for 13 percent of all drug abuse violation arrests in 1999. Between 1990 and 1999, juvenile arrests for drug abuse violations rose 132 percent.
(6) Over the last 3 decades, youth gang problems have increased nationwide. In the 1970’s, 19 States reported youth gang problems. By the late 1990’s, all 50 States and the District of Columbia reported gang problems. For the same period, the number of cities reporting youth gang problems grew 843 percent, and the number of counties reporting gang problems increased more than 1,000 percent.
(7) According to a national crime survey of individuals 12 years of age or older during 1999, those 12 to 19 years old are victims of violent crime at higher
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 34 U.S.C. § 11101
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
### Statutory Notes
#### Codification
Section 13002 was editorially reclassified as [section 20304 of Title 34](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title34-section20304&num=0&edition=prelim), Crime Control and Law Enforcement.
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 42 U.S.C. § 13002
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) Establishment and maintenance of regional children’s advocacy program** The Administrator shall establish and maintain a children’s advocacy program to—
(1) focus attention on child victims by assisting communities in developing child-focused, community-oriented, facility-based programs designed to improve the resources available to children and families;
(2) enhance coordination among community agencies and professionals involved in the intervention, prevention, prosecution, and investigation systems that respond to child abuse cases;
(3) train physicians and other health care and mental health care professionals, law enforcement officers, child protective service workers, forensic interviewers, prosecutors, victim advocates, multidisciplinary team leadership, and children’s advocacy center staff, in the multidisciplinary approach to child abuse so that trained personnel will be available to provide support to community agencies and professionals involved in the intervention, prevention, prosecution, and investigation systems that respond to child abuse cases;
(4) provide technical assistance, training, coordination, and organizational capacity support for State chapters; and
(5) collaborate with State chapters to provide training, technical assistance, coordination, organizational capacity support, and oversight of—
(A) local children’s advocacy centers; and
(B) communities that want to develop local children’s advocacy centers.
**(b) Activities of regional children’s advocacy program**
(1) **Administrator** — The Administrator shall—
(A) establish and maintain regional children’s advocacy program centers; and
(B) fund existing regional centers with expertise in multidisciplinary team investigation, trauma-informed interventions, and evidence-
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 34 U.S.C. § 20303
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out sections 20303, 20304, and 20305 of this title, $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2028.
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 34 U.S.C. § 20306
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) In General.—** Beginning on the date of enactment of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 and ending on September 30, 2025, in addition to the assessment imposed under section 3013, the court shall assess an amount of $5,000 on any non-indigent person or entity convicted of an offense under—
(1) chapter 77 (relating to peonage, slavery, and trafficking in persons);
(2) chapter 109A (relating to sexual abuse);
(3) chapter 110 (relating to sexual exploitation and other abuse of children);
(4) chapter 117 (relating to transportation for illegal sexual activity and related crimes); or
(5) section 274 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ([8 U.S.C. 1324](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title8-section1324&num=0&edition=prelim)) (relating to human smuggling), unless the person induced, assisted, abetted, or aided only an individual who at the time of such action was the alien’s spouse, parent, son, or daughter (and no other individual) to enter the United States in violation of law.
**(b) Satisfaction of Other Court-Ordered Obligations.—** An assessment under subsection (a) shall not be payable until the person subject to the assessment has satisfied all outstanding court-ordered fines, orders of restitution, and any other obligation related to victim-compensation arising from the criminal convictions on which the special assessment is based.
**(c) Establishment of Domestic Trafficking Victims’ Fund.—** There is established in the Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the “Domestic Trafficking Victims’ Fund” (referred to in this section as the “Fund”), to be administered by the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
**(d)
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 18 U.S.C. § 3014
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
For purposes of this subchapter—
(1) the term “Administrator” means the agency head designated under [section 11111(b) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title34-section11111/b&num=0&edition=prelim);
(2) the term “applicant” means a child protective service, law enforcement, legal, medical and mental health agency or other agency that responds to child abuse cases;
(3) the term “census region” means 1 of the 4 census regions (northeast, south, midwest, and west) that are designated as census regions by the Bureau of the Census as of November 4, 1992;
(4) the term “child abuse” means physical or sexual abuse or neglect of a child, including human trafficking and the production of child pornography;
(5) the term “multidisciplinary response to child abuse” means a coordinated team response to child abuse that is based on mutually agreed upon procedures among the community agencies and professionals involved in the intervention, prevention, prosecution, and investigation systems that best meets the needs of child victims and their nonoffending family members;
(6) the term “nonoffending family member” means a member of the family of a victim of child abuse other than a member who has been convicted or accused of committing an act of child abuse;
(7) the term “regional children’s advocacy program” means the children’s advocacy program established under [section 20303(a) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title34-section20303/a&num=0&edition=prelim); and
(8) the term “State chapter” means a membership organization that provides technical assistance, training, coordination, grant administration, oversight, and organizational capacity support to local children’s advocacy centers, multidisci
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 34 U.S.C. § 20302
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
Page 470
TITLE 34—CRIME CONTROL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
§ 20304
AMENDMENTS
2023—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 117–354, § 3(3)(A)(i), (ii), in
heading, inserted ‘‘and maintenance’’ after ‘‘Establish-
ment’’ and, in introductory provisions, struck out ‘‘, in
coordination with the Director of the Office of Victims
of Crime,’’ after ‘‘Administrator’’ and inserted ‘‘and
maintain’’ after ‘‘establish’’.
Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 117–354, § 3(3)(A)(iii), sub-
stituted ‘‘victim advocates, multidisciplinary team
leadership, and children’s advocacy center staff’’ for
‘‘and victim advocates’’ and struck out ‘‘and’’ at end.
Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 117–354, § 3(3)(A)(v), added par.
(4). Former par. (4) redesignated (5).
Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 117–354, § 3(3)(A)(iv), (vi), redes-
ignated par. (4) as (5) and substituted ‘‘organizational
capacity support, and oversight of’’ for ‘‘and oversight
to’’ in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 117–354, § 3(3)(B)(i)(II), sub-
stituted ‘‘training and technical assistance to aid com-
munities in establishing and maintaining’’ for ‘‘and
technical assistance to aid communities in estab-
lishing’’ in concluding provisions.
Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 117–354, § 3(3)(B)(i)(I), in-
serted ‘‘and maintain’’ after ‘‘establish’’.
Subsec. (b)(2)(A)(ii). Pub. L. 117–354, § 3(3)(B)(ii)(I)(aa),
inserted ‘‘Center’’ after ‘‘Advocacy’’ in introductory
provisions.
Subsec.
(b)(2)(A)(iii).
Pub.
L.
117–354,
§ 3(3)(B)(ii)(I)(bb), substituted ‘‘and intervention in
child’’ for ‘‘of, assessment of, and intervention in’’.
Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 117–354, § 3(3)(B)(ii)(II), sub-
stituted ‘‘centers, interested communities, and chap-
ters’’ for ‘‘centers and interested communities’’.
Subsec. (c)(2)(B). Pub. L. 117–354, § 3(3)(C)(i)(I), sub-
stit
Source: Supplied 2024 U.S. Code historical extraction · 34 U.S.C. § 20304
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