I don't give half a shit about the arguments about Cafety and who listened to who and blah blah blah.. this thing is the absolute fucking backbreaker of programs. Read this shit.
(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services shall require each location of a covered program that individually or together with other locations has an effect on interstate commerce, in order to provide for the basic health and safety of children at such a program, to meet the following minimum standards:
(A) Child abuse and neglect shall be prohibited.
(B) Disciplinary techniques or other practices that involve the withholding of essential food, water, clothing, shelter, or medical care necessary to maintain physical health, mental health, and general safety, shall be prohibited.
(C) The protection and promotion of the right of each child at such a program to be free from physical and mechanical restraints and seclusion (as such terms are defined in section 595 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290jj)) to the same extent and in the same manner as a non-medical, community-based facility for children and youth is required to protect and promote the right of its residents to be free from such restraints and seclusion under such section 595, including the prohibitions and limitations described in subsection (b)(3) of such section.
(D) Acts of physical or mental abuse designed to humiliate, degrade, or undermine a child's self-respect shall be prohibited.
(E) Each child at such a program shall have reasonable access to a telephone, and be informed of their right to such access, for making and receiving phone calls with as much privacy as possible, and shall have access to the appropriate State or local child abuse reporting hotline number, and the national hotline number referred to in subsection (c)(2).
(F) Each staff member, including volunteers, at such a program shall be required, as a condition of employment, to become familiar with what constitutes child abuse and neglect, as defined by State law.
(G) Each staff member, including volunteers, at such a program shall be required, as a condition of employment, to become familiar with the requirements, including with State law relating to mandated reporters, and procedures for reporting child abuse and neglect in the State in which such a program is located.
(H) Full disclosure, in writing, of staff qualifications and their roles and responsibilities at such program, including medical, emergency response, and mental health training, to parents or legal guardians of children at such a program, including providing information on any staff changes, including changes to any staff member's qualifications, roles, or responsibilities, not later than 10 days after such changes occur.
(I) Each staff member at a covered program described in subclause (I) or (II) of section 2(4)(A)(i) shall be required, as a condition of employment, to be familiar with the signs, symptoms, and appropriate responses associated with heatstroke, dehydration, and hypothermia.
(J) Each staff member, including volunteers, shall be required, as a condition of employment, to submit to a criminal history check, including a name-based search of the National Sex Offender Registry established pursuant to the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-248; 42 U.S.C. 16901 et seq.), a search of the State criminal registry or repository in the State in which the covered program is operating, and a Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprint check. An individual shall be ineligible to serve in a position with any contact with children at a covered program if any such record check reveals a felony conviction for child abuse or neglect, spousal abuse, a crime against children (including child pornography), or a crime involving violence, including rape, sexual assault, or homicide, but not including other physical assault or battery.
(K) Policies and procedures for the provision of emergency medical care, including policies for staff protocols for implementing emergency responses.
(L) All promotional and informational materials produced by such a program shall include a hyperlink to or the URL address of the website created by the Assistant Secretary pursuant to subsection (c)(1)(A).
Crunchy.
House vote:
Party Yes No Not Voting
Democratic 229 0 6
Republican 89 103 7
Total 318 103 13
(Yes, a bit over half of the Repubs voted no, with the Democrats in no-exceptions solidarity. Good times.)
