In White House Ceremony, President Signs Leahy Bill Boosting Funds For Child Abuse Prevention.....President Clinton And Vermonter Tout New Law

March 10, 2000

WASHINGTON (March 10) – In a White House ceremony, President Clinton today signed into a law a bill sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy that would double the amount of funds available to help states better prevent and prosecute child abuse. Linda Johnson, the leader of Prevent Child Abuse Vermont, hailed the bill as a "great moment for children and families."

A key component of the "Child Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Act" (CAPE) would double – from $10 million to $20 million – the amount of funds available for grants to states for child abuse treatment and prevention. Lack of treatment or services for abused children is particularly acute in Vermont, despite the best efforts of local child abuse prevention workers. In 1997, the last year data was available, 411 Vermont children found to be abused or neglected received no assistance – roughly 40 percent of cases investigated. In that same year, 2,309 children were reported to child protective services for child abuse or neglect investigations. After investigation, social workers documented 1,041 cases of child maltreatment in Vermont.

"Child abuse and neglect continue to be a scourge of too many families,"said Leahy, the Democratic leader of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who attended today's signing ceremony. "All too often, social workers are under equipped to treat and investigate every case of child abuse. No report of child abuse should go unheeded, and these additional funds will go a long way toward finally making that goal a reality."

Added Linda Johnson, the Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse Vermont, "This law will provide new ways to strengthen families and protect children from abuse. New avenues of funding will open doors for law enforcement and prevention programs to collaborate and serve children and parents more comprehensively. Senator Leahy deserves all of our thanks as he has once again provided great leadership for children, upon whom the future well being of our state and nation depends."

The number of abused or neglected children in the entire country nearly doubled between 1986 and 1993. Each day there are 9,000 reports of child abuse in America and more than three million cases annually of abused or neglected children.

The increased funds will be financed by the newly flush Crime Victims Fund, which is financed at no taxpayer expense by a collection of criminal fines, penalties and other assessments against persons convicted of crimes. The new "CAPE" law, co-authored by Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), also expands a handful of existing anti-crime grant programs to now cover applications for child abuse prevention and enforcement funds.

Contact: Linda E. Johnson, Exec. Director, Prevent Child Abuse Vermont -- 1-800-244-5373