Sen. Marsha Blackburn
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Feb. 20 proposed bipartisan legislation that would incentivize states to require the recording of all Child Protective Services (CPS) interviews with children and adults.
The goal of the Generate Recordings of All Child protective Interviews Everywhere (GRACIE) Act, S. 659, is to modernize CPS interview protocols to help increase the likelihood that child trafficking victims may be identified and removed from dangerous situations, including sex and labor trafficking, domestic violence, physical and emotional abuse, and other forms of violence.
“Children are often silenced by their abusers, and we need to do everything in our power to ensure that does not happen,” Sen. Blackburn said. “The GRACIE Act would help give more children a voice, increase domestic violence reporting, and strengthen the foster care system.”
Specifically, S. 659 would establish a grant program within the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to award grants to states that require the recording of all child welfare interviews with children and adults, according to the bill’s text.
The bill also includes provisions to protect the privacy and security of such recordings so they are not shared with anyone outside of a law enforcement investigation. The recordings also would only be retained for the amount of time needed to deal with the case, say the lawmakers.
“We can never do enough to support vulnerable children in Georgia and across the country,” said bill cosponsor U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA). “Sen. Blackburn and I are introducing this new bipartisan bill to strengthen transparency in state child protective agencies and help states better fund their operations.”
The legislation is endorsed by Street Grace, No Trafficking Zones, Pearl at the Mailbox, The Foundation United, Rights for Girls, 3Strands Global, Engage Together, the Interparliamentary Taskforce on Human Trafficking, and the Paving the Way Foundation.