42 U.S.C. § 13013 : US Code - Section 13013: Strengthening of court-appointed special advocate program

Search 42 U.S.C. § 13013 : US Code - Section 13013: Strengthening of court-appointed special advocate program

(a) In general
The Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention shall make grants to initiate, sustain, and
expand the court-appointed special advocate program.
(b) Grantee organizations
(1) An organization to which a grant is made pursuant to
subsection (a) of this section -
(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
(B) may be a local public or not-for-profit agency that has
demonstrated the willingness to initiate, sustain, and 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, sustain, and
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 5673 and 5676 of this title.
(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.
(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.