Introduced in Senate — S. 659

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 659

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

February 20, 2025

Mrs. Blackburn introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To 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, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

Section 1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Generate Recordings of All Child protective Interviews Everywhere Act or the GRACIE Act of 2025.

Sec. 2. Child protective service interview recording grants

(a) Definitions

In this section:

(1) Child welfare interview

The term child welfare interview means a documented interview with all relevant parties, including a child and an adult, conducted by a child protective services agency of a State in order to elicit information regarding concerns of abuse, neglect, or exposure to violence.

(2) Director

The term Director means the Director of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice.

(3) Eligible entity

The term eligible entity means a child protective services agency of a State that has in effect a statute, ordinance, policy, or practice that requires—

(A)

any child welfare interview conducted by a child protective services agency of the State to be recorded through—

(i)

electronic audio recording;

(ii)

body camera video; or

(iii)

any other reasonable means of recording; and

(B)

the retention and storage of a recording described in subparagraph (A)—

(i)

for not less than 5 years; and

(ii)

in a manner consistent with the protocols established by the State for such recordings, which shall include that—

(I)

a copy of such a recording—

(aa)

subject to item (bb), may only be released to those investigating an allegation; and

(bb)

upon a request by a caregiver or guardian in connection with a judicial proceeding, shall be made available to the caregiver or guardian, unless the court orders otherwise;

(II)

a penalty is imposed for a violation of a limitation described in subclause (I); and

(III)

the retention systems of the child protective services agency securely manage the storage and distribution of such a recording with access controls and role-based permission management.

(4) State

The term State means—

(A)

each of the several States;

(B)

the District of Columbia;

(C)

the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and

(D)

any territory or possession of the United States.

(b) Grants

The Director may award a grant to an eligible entity for the purpose of recording and storing all child welfare interviews conducted by the eligible entity.

(c) Application

An eligible entity seeking a grant under this section shall submit to the Director an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Director may require.

(d) Use of funds

Amounts received under a grant under this section shall be used exclusively for costs directly associated with conducting and retaining for 5 years the recording of all child welfare interviews by a child protective services agency of a State, including initial interviews conducted during a family assessment.

(e) Funding

The Director shall carry out this section using amounts otherwise available to the Director.