Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Jon Ossoff are teaming up on a bipartisan bill to help identify child trafficking and abuse victims by encouraging states to record Child Protective Services interviews that can provide clues to law enforcement investigators.
Shared first with The Washington Times, the legislation from Ms. Blackburn, Tennessee Republican, and Mr. Ossoff, Georgia Democrat, would not create a federal mandate. Instead, it encourages states to require the recording of CPS welfare interviews with both children and adults by offering federal grants to cover the costs.
More than a third of U.S. children are interviewed for CPS investigations before they turn 18. The senators cite a history of CPS distorting testimony of children who speak up about abuse and trafficking as they push to record the interviews.
The bill, called the Generate Recordings of All Child protective Interviews Everywhere (GRACIE) Act, stipulates that the CPS recordings should be securely stored for at least five years and released only in conjunction with law enforcement investigations or judicial proceedings.
The senators believe access to the interviews could help investigators identify victims and remove them from dangerous situations like sex and labor trafficking, domestic violence and physical and emotional abuse.
“Children are often silenced by their abusers, and we need to do everything in our power to ensure that does not happen,” said Ms. Blackburn. “The GRACIE Act would help give more children a voice, increase domestic violence reporting, and strengthen the foster care system.”
CPS has the power to remove children from parents or family caregivers in cases of abuse or neglect, but placements in foster care or group homes do not always result in safer conditions. An estimated 60% of child sex trafficking victims have histories in the child welfare system.
Bob Rodgers, the CEO of Street Grace, a nonprofit dedicated to ending the exploitation of children, said there is an “urgent need for reform — especially at the intersection of child protection and foster care.”
“The GRACIE Act is a crucial step toward ensuring that every child’s voice is heard and that those on the frontlines of working with exploited children are held to the highest standards of accountability,” he said. “This legislation closes a critical gap, providing necessary safeguards to protect vulnerable youth from further harm.”
Mr. Ossoff said the bill aims to “strengthen transparency in state child protective agencies and help states better fund their operations.”
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.