Lincoln Legislation Would Support Northwest Arkansas Community College's Critical Work to Prevent Child Abuse

Press Release

U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln today introduced legislation to ensure that child protection workers and attorneys, medical and mental health professionals, law enforcement officers and forensic interviewers have access to adequate training to handle cases of child maltreatment. By making it possible for Congress to designate funds to the National Child Protection Training Center (NCPTC) for educational programs and services aimed at eliminating child abuse, the legislation would bolster the good work being done by the nonprofit NCPTC, support its goal of establishing four regional training centers, and further advance the work being done at Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville, which has already been designated as the NCPTC's first regional training center.

"Northwest Arkansas Community College, as a part of the National Child Protection Training Center, is poised to become a nationwide leader in eliminating child abuse through the educational and training services it offers," Lincoln said. "By making certain that NCPTC has a reliable source of funding, we can ensure that Northwest Arkansas Community College is able share its training resources to ensure the welfare of our children in Arkansas and around the region. It is critical that Northwest Arkansas Community College is able to expand its reach."

While the National Child Protection Training Center currently operates as a nonprofit agency that trains students and child protection professionals to better recognize, react and respond to child abuse, it has to be funded year-to-year through private contributions along with requests it makes to Congress for funds. This revenue stream is uncertain. Lincoln's legislation would establish the National Child Protection Training Center under law, ensuring it would receive a more reliable funding stream to carry out its good work.

Northwest Arkansas Community College is currently working with the center to help develop undergraduate and graduate child protection curricula. These courses, taught at universities, law schools, seminaries, and medical schools, are designed to better prepare future child protection professionals to respond to cases of child abuse.

"This legislation would greatly enhance the delivery of these national educational and training programs by creating a role for Congress as a partner with the National Child Protection Training Center to end child abuse as we know it," said Northwest Arkansas Community College President Becky Paneitz. "We have learned that today's professionals feel tremendously under-prepared in their fight against child abuse and that the training is beginning to impact the effectiveness of child abuse reporting, investigating and prosecuting. Tomorrow's professionals are embracing the opportunity for more education as they prepare for careers that will require them to support children and the prevention of abusive crimes against them."

While the NCPTC is headquartered in Minnesota, it hopes to expand its operation to include facilities in each region of the country. The Northwest Arkansas Community College facility is the first regional center (for the South), and will continue to play a critical role in disseminating model undergraduate child protection curricula in the area. These regional centers will also conduct 60 weeks of intensive training for child protection professionals already in the field (15 weeks per center).

The NCPTC also works to assist states in establishing intensive forensic interview training courses, which instruct professionals in how to question a child to find out if he or she has been mistreated. These courses, entitled ChildFirst, have been established or are in the process of being established in 17 states.

Each year, NCPTC trainers travel to every region of the country, training about 10,000 prosecutors, law enforcement officers, social workers and other child protection officials.

The bill also establishes grant programs that will assist state and local child protection professionals in developing and expanding statewide forensic interview training programs, and in developing and implementing model undergraduate and graduate curricula on child abuse and neglect.

"Hubert Humphrey once said 'life is to be enjoyed and not simply endured,'" said Victor Vieth, Director of the National Child Protection Training Center. "Sadly, for millions of maltreated children life is, at best, endured. The National Child Protection Training Act introduced by Senator Lincoln holds forth real promise to significantly improve our nation's ability to protect children in need. This is truly a historic moment."

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