H.R. 485 · 117th Congress

Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act

Introduced on Jan 25, 2021 by Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA-3). 30 cosponsors, 9 of them from another party. Latest action (Mar 17, 2021): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Jan 25, 2021
Cosponsors
30
9 from the other party
Policy area
Families
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To reauthorize the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Adoption and foster care
  • Advisory bodies
  • Child care and development
  • Child health
  • Child safety and welfare
  • Community life and organization
  • Congressional oversight
  • Crime prevention
  • Crimes against children
  • Domestic violence and child abuse
  • Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
  • Family services
  • Government information and archives
  • Government studies and investigations
  • Health information and medical records
  • Intergovernmental relations
  • Mental health
  • Performance measurement
  • Racial and ethnic relations
  • Separation, divorce, custody, support
  • Sex offenses
  • Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
  • State and local government operations

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Passed House, Mar 16, 2021). Public domain.

Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act

This bill reauthorizes through FY2027 and revises the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 to expand services for preventing and treating child abuse.

Specifically, the bill establishes requirements concerning collecting and exchanging data about child abuse and neglect. For instance, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to (1) establish uniform national standards for tracking and reporting child fatalities and near fatalities resulting from maltreatment, and (2) develop an electronic interstate data exchange system that allows states to share information from their child abuse and neglect registries with other states.

The bill also addresses child abuse and neglect related to families impacted by substance use disorders, racial bias in the child protective services system, and child sexual abuse.

Further, the bill revises the community-based grants program to emphasize access to effective services for diverse populations and to promote the development of statewide strategies to scale up family strengthening services.

Finally, the bill requires HHS to examine unregulated custody transfers and make recommendations for preventing, identifying, and responding to such transfers.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Robert C. "Bobby" ScottD-VA-3Sponsor

Democrats · 21

Republicans · 9

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass
    Mar 16, 2021· House· Passage· Passed 345–73

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jan 25, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Jan 25, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Jan 25, 2021 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
  4. Mar 16, 2021 · HouseMr. Scott (VA) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  5. Mar 16, 2021 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H1376-1389)
  6. Mar 16, 2021 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 485.
  7. Mar 16, 2021 · HouseAt the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  8. Mar 16, 2021 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H1406-1407)
  9. Mar 16, 2021Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 345 - 73 (Roll no. 81).(text: CR H1376-1387)House · Roll call 81
  10. Mar 16, 2021 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 345 - 73 (Roll no. 81). (text: CR H1376-1387)House · Roll call 81
  11. Mar 16, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  12. Mar 17, 2021 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. Campaign for Sustainable Drug Pricing3 reports
    $90K reported (all issues)
  2. The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing3 reports
    $150K reported (all issues)

Reports filed in 2023.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 7, 2026 · loaded Oct 7, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 7, 2026 · loaded Oct 7, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.