Implementation of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1988 by the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect

GAO discussed the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect's (NCCAN) implementation of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) of 1988. GAO noted that: (1) although NCCAN addressed the requirements of CAPTA to varying degrees, staff and resource shortages hindered its grant administration; and (2) NCCAN implementation of CAPTA provisions did not satisfy all of the requirements. GAO also noted that there was concern about whether: (1) a full staff allotment would enable NCCAN to administer about 300 grants annually; and (2) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) could adequately manage its grant administration work load, and that NCCAN may repeat past failures noted in earlier reports. GAO believes that, if HHS does not give priority attention to NCCAN issues, Congress may wish to consider either lowering its expectations for NCCAN or achieving CAPTA goals by other means.