Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003 - P.L. 108-36

Date: June 2003

Overview

S. 342
Enacted June 25, 2003

Major Provisions of the Act

  • Reauthorized CAPTA through fiscal year 2008
  • Authorized an expanded interdisciplinary and longitudinal research program and provided for an opportunity for public comment on research priorities
  • Emphasized enhanced linkages between child protective services (CPS) agencies and public health, mental health, and developmental disabilities agencies
  • Mandated changes to State plan eligibility requirements for the CAPTA State grant, including the following:
    • Policies and procedures to address the needs of infants born and identified as being affected by prenatal drug exposure
    • Provisions and procedures requiring that a CPS representative advise an individual at the initial contact of complaints and allegations made against him or her
    • Provisions addressing the training of CPS workers regarding their legal duties to protect the legal rights and safety of children and families
    • Provisions to require a State to disclose confidential information to any Federal, State, or local government entity with a need for such information
    • Provisions and procedures for referral of a child under age 3 who is involved in a substantiated case of child abuse or neglect to early intervention services funded under part C of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
  • Directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for the implementation of programs to increase the number of older children in foster care placed in adoptive families, including a grants program to eliminate barriers to placing children for adoption across jurisdictional boundaries
  • Amended the Abandoned Infants Assistance grants program to prohibit the award of a grant unless the applicant agrees to give priority to the following infants and young children:
    • Those who are infected with or exposed to the human immunodeficiency virus or have a life-threatening illness
    • Those who have been perinatally exposed to a dangerous drug