ATLANTA — State Representative Wes Cantrell (R-Cantrell) today announced that House Bill 725, The Child Abuse Records Protection Act, was signed into law by Governor Nathan Deal on Tuesday, April 26, 2016 at a bill signing ceremony in the governor’s office. HB 725, legislation authored by Rep. Cantrell, will serve to protect the confidentiality of records held by Children Advocacy Centers (CAC) relating to child abuse cases.
“I consider it a tremendous honor to help develop and carry this bill on behalf of Georgia Children’s Advocacy Centers,” said Rep. Cantrell. “Over the last year, I have met with CAC personnel, prosecuting and criminal defense attorneys, representatives of DFCS and our Superior Court Judges, and it has been an extremely helpful and informative process. The Child Abuse Records Protection Act is dedicated to protecting the most vulnerable citizens in our society – children who are the victims of abuse. I’m grateful to Governor Deal for his support and for the support of my colleagues in the House and Senate, all of whom voted for this important measure.”
Children who have been the victims of sexual abuse, severe physical and/or mental abuse, or witness domestic violence or a violent crime are taken to a CAC to help them recover from their traumatic experience. They are then interviewed by a specially trained expert who knows how to appropriately interview a child abuse victim, and this highly sensitive forensic interview is video recorded at the CAC. Last year Georgia CACs conducted over 9,000 confidential, forensic interviews.
HB 725, The Child Abuse Records Protection Act, will ensure the confidentiality of these child abuse records by legally requiring that such records are only used appropriately.
“The current statute is remote, unclear, and unknown to many of the very people who have authority over these interviews and to those who would like to have custody of them,” added Rep Cantrell. “Consequently, these interviews can potentially wind up in the hands of the wrong people. If we do not clarify the law, child pornographers and others could develop a black market for these interviews and the damage done to the most vulnerable citizens in our society would be immense.”
“HB 725 is a much needed protection of this critical evidence in criminal cases involving children who have been abused,” said Chuck Spahos, Director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia. “Affording these protections promotes the use of Child Advocacy Centers and trained counselors instead of police interrogation rooms. Rep Cantrell’s pursuit of this very important issue was timely and resulted in the passage of the most important piece of legislation this session relating to the protection of children and victims of crime.”
“I believe this legislation is the strongest in the nation in terms of not just preventing the unauthorized release of these highly sensitive child abuse records, but also in establishing an effective framework to allow a judge to determine which parties in a court case should have access to them,” said Andrew Agatston, CEO and General Counsel, Children’s Advocacy Centers of Georgia. “My hope is that other states will now follow Georgia’s lead.”
“This legislation will go a very long way in protecting children from the unwanted disclosure of their most personal and often painful recollection of an abusive situation and further helps to ensure that a child’s words can only be used in a legal, thoughtful manner,” said Nancy Chandler, Former CEO of the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy. “All of us that work with Children’s Advocacy Centers in Georgia, from Fort Oglethorpe to Valdosta and from Carrollton to Augusta are grateful to Representative Cantrell for his leadership on this most important issue. The protection of our children from unwanted and adverse consequences of their courage to speak of their abuse should never be taken lightly.”
The Children’s Advocacy Centers of Georgia began in 1989 with the establishment of five centers. Currently, there are 46 CACs which serve over 90 percent of the state. The mission of each CAC is to lessen the trauma suffered by children who have been abused by providing evaluation in a safe, caring place and to encourage collaboration of services for the benefit of the child, family and community. All CACs provide additional child abuse prevention, intervention, and education services.
For more information on HB 725, please click here.
Representative Wes Cantrell represents the citizens of District 22, which includes portions of Cherokee, Forsyth and Fulton Counties. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2014 and currently serves on the Juvenile Justice, Education and Small Business Development committees.
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