§ 20323. Strengthening of court-appointed special advocate program

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

1. 1990

   Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990

   Pub. L. 101–647 title II § 217 · 104 Stat. 4789

   Enacted · 34 U.S.C. § 20323

   Pub. L. 101–647, title II, § 217, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4794

   Source evidence

   Code source credit
   Pub. L. 101–647, title II, § 217, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4794

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   SEC. 217. STRENGTHENING OF THE COURT-APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE PROGRAM. (a) In General.— The Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention shall make grants to expand the court-appointed special advocate program. (b) Grantee Organizations.— (1) An organization to which a grant is made pursuant to subsection (a) shall be a national organization that has broad membership among court-appointed special advocates and has demonstrated experience in grant administration of court-appointed special advocate programs and in providing training and technical assistance to court-appointed special advocate program; or (2) may be a local public or not-for-profit agency that has demonstrated the willingness to initiate or expand a court-appointed special advocate program. (2) An organization described in paragraph (1)(a) that receives a grant may be authorized to make subgrants and enter into contracts with public and not-for-profit agencies to initiate and to expand the court-appointed special advocate program. Should a grant be made to a national organization for this purpose, the Administrator shall specify an amount not exceeding 5 percent that can be used for administrative purposes by the national organization. (c) Grant Criteria.— (1) The Administrator shall establish criteria to be used in evaluating applications for grants under this section, consistent with sections 262, 293, and 296 of subpart II of title II of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5665 et seq.). (2) In general, the grant criteria established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall require that a court-appointed special advocate program provide screening, training, and supervision of court-appointed special advocates in accordance with standards developed by the National Court-Appointed Special Advocate Association. Such criteria may include the requirements that— (A) a court-appointed special advocate association program have a mission and purpose in keeping with the mission and purpose of the National Court-Appointed Special Advocate Association and that it abide by the National Court-Appointed Special Advocate Association Code of Ethics; (B) a court-appointed special advocate association program operate with access to legal counsel; (C) the management and operation of a court-appointed special advocate program assure adequate supervision of court-appointed special advocate volunteers; (D) a court-appointed special advocate program keep written records on the operation of the program in general and on each applicant, volunteer, and case; (E) a court-appointed special advocate program have written management and personnel policies and procedures, screening requirements, and training curriculum; (F) a court-appointed special advocate program not accept volunteers who have been convicted of, have charges pending for, or have in the past been charged with, a felony or misdemeanor involving a sex offense, violent act, child abuse or neglect, or related acts that would pose risks to children or to the court-appointed special advocate program’s credibility; (G) a court-appointed special advocate program have an established procedure to allow the immediate reporting to a court or appropriate agency of a situation in which a court-appointed special advocate volunteer has reason to believe that a child is in imminent danger; (H) a court-appointed special advocate volunteer be an individual who has been screened and trained by a recognized court-appointed special advocate program and appointed by the court to advocate for children who come into the court system primarily as a result of abuse or neglect; and (I) a court-appointed special advocate volunteer serve the function of reviewing records, facilitating prompt, thorough review of cases, and interviewing appropriate parties in order to make recommendations on what would be in the best interests of the child. (3) In awarding grants under this section, the Administrator shall ensure that grants are distributed to localities that have no existing court-appointed special advocate program and to programs in need of expansion.

2. 2002

   Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002

   Pub. L. 107–273 div. C title II § 12221(b)(1)(C) · 116 Stat. 1758

   Substituted · 34 U.S.C. § 20323(c)(1)

   Pub. L. 107–273 substituted “sections 5673 and 5676 of this title” for “sections 5665a, 5673, and 5676 of this title”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 107–273 substituted “sections 5673 and 5676 of this title” for “sections 5665a, 5673, and 5676 of this title”.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (C) in section 217(c)(1) by striking “sections 262, 293, and 296 of subpart II of title II” and inserting “sections 299B and 299E”, and

3. 2006

   Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005

   Pub. L. 109–162 § 112(c)(1) · 119 Stat. 2960

   Substituted · 34 U.S.C. § 20323(a)

   Pub. L. 109–162, § 112(c)(1), substituted “to initiate, sustain, and expand” for “to expand”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–162, § 112(c)(1), substituted “to initiate, sustain, and expand” for “to expand”.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (1) in subsection (a), by striking “to expand” and inserting “to initiate, sustain, and expand”;

4. 2006

   Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005

   Pub. L. 109–162 § 112(c)(2)(A) · 119 Stat. 2960

   1. Substituted · 34 U.S.C. § 20323(b)(1)

      Pub. L. 109–162, § 112(c)(2)(A), substituted “subsection (a)—” for “subsection (a)”

   2. Inserted · 34 U.S.C. § 20323(b)(1)

      Pub. L. 109–162, § 112(c)(2)(A), inserted subpar. (A) designation before “shall be”

   3. Substituted · 34 U.S.C. § 20323(b)(1)

      Pub. L. 109–162, § 112(c)(2)(A), substituted “(B) may be” for “(2) may be”

   4. Substituted · 34 U.S.C. § 20323(b)(1)

      Pub. L. 109–162, § 112(c)(2)(A), substituted “to initiate, sustain, and expand” for “to initiate or expand”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 109–162, § 112(c)(2)(A), substituted “subsection (a)—” for “subsection (a)”, inserted subpar. (A) designation before “shall be”, and substituted “(B) may be” for “(2) may be” and “to initiate, sustain, and expand” for “to initiate or expand”.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (A) in paragraph (1)— (i) by striking “subsection (a) shall be” and inserting the following: “subsection (a)— “(A) shall be” ; (ii) by striking “(2) may be” and inserting the following: “(B) may be” ; and (iii) in subparagraph (B) (as redesignated), by striking “to initiate or expand” and inserting “to initiate, sustain, and expand”; and

5. 2006

   Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005

   Pub. L. 109–162 § 112(c)(2)(B) · 119 Stat. 2960

   1. Substituted · 34 U.S.C. § 20323(b)(2)

      Pub. L. 109–162, § 112(c)(2)(B), substituted “(1)(A)” for “(1)(a)”

   2. Substituted · 34 U.S.C. § 20323(b)(2)

      Pub. L. 109–162, § 112(c)(2)(B), substituted “to initiate, sustain, and expand” for “to initiate and to expand”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 109–162, § 112(c)(2)(B), substituted “(1)(A)” for “(1)(a)” and “to initiate, sustain, and expand” for “to initiate and to expand”.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (B) in the first sentence of paragraph (2)— (i) by striking “(1)(a)” and inserting “(1)(A)”; and (ii) striking “to initiate and to expand” and inserting “to initiate, sustain, and expand”; and

6. 2006

   Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005

   Pub. L. 109–162 § 112(c)(3) · 119 Stat. 2960

   Added · 34 U.S.C. § 20323(d)

   Pub. L. 109–162, § 112(c)(3), added subsec. (d)

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 109–162, § 112(c)(3), added subsec. (d).

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (3) by adding at the end the following: “(d) Background Checks.— State and local Court Appointed Special Advocate programs are authorized to request fingerprint-based criminal background checks from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s criminal history database for prospective volunteers. The requesting program is responsible for the reasonable costs associated with the Federal records check.” .

7. 2013

   Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013

   Pub. L. 113–4 § 106(2)(A) · 127 Stat. 54

   Substituted · 34 U.S.C. § 20323(c)(2)(A)

   Pub. L. 113–4, § 106(2)(A), substituted “Standards for Programs” for “Code of Ethics”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (c)(2)(A). Pub. L. 113–4, § 106(2)(A), substituted “Standards for Programs” for “Code of Ethics”.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (A) by striking “Code of Ethics” in section (c)(2) and inserting “Standards for Programs”; and

   Effective date note
   Amendment by Pub. L. 113–4 not effective until the beginning of the fiscal year following Mar. 7, 2013, see section 4 of Pub. L. 113–4, set out as a note under section 2261 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.

8. 2013

   Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013

   Pub. L. 113–4 § 106(2)(B) · 127 Stat. 54

   Added · 34 U.S.C. § 20323(e)

   Pub. L. 113–4, § 106(2)(B), added subsec. (e)

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 113–4, § 106(2)(B), added subsec. (e).

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (B) by adding at the end the following: “(e) Reporting.— An organization that receives a grant under this section for a fiscal year shall submit to the Administrator a report regarding the use of the grant for the fiscal year, including a discussion of outcome performance measures (which shall be established by the Administrator) to determine the effectiveness of the programs of the organization in meeting the needs of children in the child welfare system.” ; and

   Effective date note
   Amendment by Pub. L. 113–4 not effective until the beginning of the fiscal year following Mar. 7, 2013, see section 4 of Pub. L. 113–4, set out as a note under section 2261 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.

9. 2019

   Victims of Child Abuse Act Reauthorization Act of 2018

   Pub. L. 115–424 § 2(h)(4) · 132 Stat. 5465

   Changed · 34 U.S.C. § 20323(c)(1)

   Pub. L. 115–424 made technical amendment to reference in original act which appears in text as reference to sections 11183 and 11186 of this title

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 115–424 made technical amendment to reference in original act which appears in text as reference to sections 11183 and 11186 of this title.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (4) in section 217(c)(1) (34 U.S.C. 20323(c)(1)), by striking “(42 U.S.C. 5665 et seq.)” and inserting “(34 U.S.C. 11183, 11186)”; and

13 of 13 references resolved to an enrolled provision