25 U.S.C. § 3201 — Findings and purpose

Page 559 TITLE 25—INDIANS § 3201 § 3119. Severability If any provision of this chapter, or the applica- tion of any provision of this chapter to any per- son or circumstance, is held invalid, the applica- tion of such provision or circumstance and the remainder of this chapter shall not be affected thereby. (Pub. L. 101–630, title III, § 320, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4544.) § 3120. Trust responsibility Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to diminish or expand the trust responsibility of the United States toward Indian forest lands, or any legal obligation or remedy resulting there- from. (Pub. L. 101–630, title III, § 321, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4544.) CHAPTER 34—INDIAN CHILD PROTECTION AND FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION Sec. 3201. Findings and purpose. 3202. Definitions. 3203. Reporting procedures. 3204. Central registry. 3205. Confidentiality. 3206. Waiver of parental consent. 3207. Character investigations. 3208. Indian Child Abuse Treatment Grant Pro- gram. 3209. National Indian Child Resource and Family Services Center. 3210. Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Program. 3211. Repealed. § 3201. Findings and purpose (a) Findings The Congress, after careful review of the prob- lem of child abuse on Indian reservations and the historical and special relationship of the Federal Government with Indian people, (1) finds that— (A) incidents of abuse of children on Indian reservations are grossly underreported; (B) such underreporting is often a result of the lack of a mandatory Federal reporting law; (C) multiple incidents of sexual abuse of children on Indian reservations have been perpetrated by persons employed or funded by the Federal Government; (D) Federal Government investigations of the background of Federal employees who care for, or teach, Indian children are often deficient; (E) funds spent by the United States on In- dian reservations or otherwise spent for the benefit of Indians who are victims of child abuse or family violence are inadequate to meet the growing needs for mental health treatment and counseling for victims of child abuse or family violence and their fam- ilies; and (F) there is no resource that is more vital to the continued existence and integrity of Indian tribes than their children and the United States has a direct interest, as trust- ee, in protecting Indian children who are members of, or are eligible for membership in, an Indian tribe; and (2) declares that two major goals of the United States are to— (A) identify the scope of incidents of abuse of children and family violence in Indian country and to reduce such incidents; and (B) provide funds for mental health treat- ment for Indian victims of child abuse and family violence on Indian reservations. (b) Purpose The purposes of this chapter are to— (1) require that reports of abused Indian children are made to the appropriate authori- ties in an effort to prevent further abuse; (2) establish a reliable data base for statis- tical purposes and to authorize a study to de- termine the need for a central registry for re- ported incidents of abuse; (3) authorize such other actions as are nec- essary to ensure effective child protection in Indian country; (4) establish the Indian Child Abuse Preven- tion and Treatment Grant Program to provide funds for the establishment on Indian reserva- tions of treatment programs for victims of child sexual abuse; (5) provide for technical assistance and training related to the investigation and treatment of cases of child abuse and neglect; (6) establish Indian Child Resource and Fam- ily Services Centers in each Bureau of Indian Affairs Area Office which will consist of multi- disciplinary teams of personnel with experi- ence and training in the prevention, identi- fication, investigation, and treatment of child abuse and neglect; (7) provide for the treatment and prevention of incidents of family violence; (8) establish tribally operated programs to protect Indian children and reduce the inci- dents of family violence in Indian country; and (9) authorize other actions necessary to en- sure effective child protection on Indian res- ervations. (Pub. L. 101–630, title IV, § 402, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4544.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original ‘‘this title’’, meaning title IV of Pub. L. 101–630, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4544, known as the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act, which is classified principally to this chapter. For com- plete classification of title IV to the Code, see Short Title note below and Tables. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SHORT TITLE OF 2024 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 118–160, § 1, Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2567, pro- vided that: ‘‘This Act [amending sections 3202, 3208, 3209, and 3210 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Native American Child Protection Act’.’’ SHORT TITLE OF 2016 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 114–165, § 1, June 3, 2016, 130 Stat. 415, provided that: ‘‘This Act [amending section 3207 of this title] Page 560 TITLE 25—INDIANS § 3202 may be cited as the ‘Native American Children’s Safety Act’.’’ SHORT TITLE Pub. L. 101–630, title IV, § 401, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4544, provided that: ‘‘This title [enacting this chapter and section 1169 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Proce- dure] may be cited as the ‘Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act’.’’ § 3202. Definitions For the purposes of this chapter, the term— (1) ‘‘Bureau’’ means the Bureau of Indian Af- fairs of the Department of the Interior; (2) ‘‘child’’ means an individual who— (A) is not married, and (B) has not attained 18 years of age; (3) ‘‘child abuse’’ includes but is not limited to— (A) in any case in which— (i)(I) a child is dead or exhibits evidence of skin bruising, bleeding, malnutrition, failure to thrive, burns, fracture of any bone, subdural hematoma, soft tissue swelling; and (II) such condition is not justifiably ex- plained or may not be the product of an ac- cidental occurrence; or (ii) a child is subjected to sexual assault, sexual molestation, sexual exploitation, sexual contact, or prostitution; and (B) any case in which a child is subjected to sexual assault, sexual molestation, sexual exploitation, sexual contact, or prostitution; (4) ‘‘child neglect’’ includes but is not lim- ited to, negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child by a person, including a person re- sponsible for the child’s welfare, under cir- cumstances which indicate that the child’s health or welfare is harmed or threatened thereby; (5) ‘‘family violence’’ means any act, or threatened act, of violence, including any forceful detention of an individual, which— (A) results, or threatens to result, in phys- ical or mental injury, and (B) is committed by an individual against another individual— (i) to whom such person is, or was, re- lated by blood or marriage or otherwise le- gally related, or (ii) with whom such person is, or was, re- siding; (6) ‘‘Indian’’ means any individual who is a member of an Indian tribe; (7) ‘‘Indian child’’ has the meaning given to such term by section 1903(4) of this title; (8) ‘‘Indian country’’ has the meaning given to such term by section 1151 of title 18; (9) ‘‘Indian reservation’’ means any Indian reservation, public domain Indian allotment, former Indian reservation in Oklahoma, or lands held by incorporated Native groups, re- gional corporations, or village corporations under the provisions of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.); (10) ‘‘Indian tribe’’ and ‘‘tribal organization’’ have the respective meanings given to each of such terms under section 5304 of this title; (11) ‘‘inter-tribal consortium’’ means a part- nership between— (A) an Indian tribe or tribal organization of an Indian tribe, and (B) one or more Indian tribes or tribal or- ganizations of one or more other Indian tribes; (12) ‘‘local child protective services agency’’ means that agency of the Federal Govern- ment, of a State, or of an Indian tribe that has the primary responsibility for child protection on any Indian reservation or within any com- munity in Indian country; (13) ‘‘local law enforcement agency’’ means that Federal, tribal, or State law enforcement agency that has the primary responsibility for the investigation of an instance of alleged child abuse within the portion of Indian coun- try involved; (14) ‘‘persons responsible for a child’s wel- fare’’ means any person who has legal or other recognized duty for the care and safety of a child, including— (A) any employee or volunteer of a chil- dren’s residential facility, and (B) any person providing out-of-home care, education, or services to children; (15) ‘‘related assistance’’— (A) includes counseling and self-help serv- ices to abusers, victims, and dependents in family violence situations (which shall in- clude counseling of all family members to the extent feasible) and referrals for appro- priate health-care services (including alco- hol and drug abuse treatment), and (B) may include food, clothing, child care, transportation, and emergency services for victims of family violence and their depend- ents; (16) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior; (17) ‘‘shelter’’ means the provision of tem- porary refuge and related assistance in com- pliance with applicable Federal and tribal laws and regulations governing the provision, on a regular basis, of shelter, safe homes, meals, and related assistance to victims of family vi- olence or their dependents; and (18) ‘‘Service’’ means the Indian Health Service of the Department of Health and Human Services. (Pub. L. 101–630, title IV, § 403, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4545; Pub. L. 118–160, § 2(1), Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2567.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this title’’, meaning title IV of Pub. L. 101–630, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4544, known as the Indian Child Pro- tection and Family Violence Prevention Act, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of title IV to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3201 of this title and Tables. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, referred to in par. (9), is Pub. L. 92–203, Dec. 18, 1971, 85 Stat. 688, which is classified generally to chapter 33 (§ 1601 et seq.) of Title 43, Public Lands. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1601 of Title 43 and Tables.