National Child Abuse Prevention Month, 2024

Proclamation 10718 of March 29, 2024

National Child Abuse Prevention Month, 2024

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

There is no greater sin than the abuse of power,
especially when that abuse is directed at a child.
During National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we stand
together to prevent abuse and neglect, support brave
survivors, and build strong communities and families
where every child can grow up happy and safe.

For far too many children across America, the violence,
fear, and intimidation associated with physical and
emotional abuse define their most formative years. The
emotional scars can last a lifetime, making it hard to
form healthy relationships, upending their futures, and
perpetuating a toxic cycle of abuse. As a United States
Senator, I fought to change that by writing and
championing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the
first law of its kind, which helped secure safety and
justice for women and children impacted by domestic
violence. Since then, each time we reauthorized VAWA,
we have made it stronger--including in 2022, when we
increased authorized resources available to children
who have been exposed to domestic violence and extended
greater jurisdiction to Tribal Courts prosecuting child
abuse cases on their own lands.

We are also working to prevent abuse and give survivors
the resources they need to heal and thrive. The
American Rescue Plan invested $350 million in improving
child protective services at the State level and in
expanding local child abuse prevention programs. In
2022, I signed a bill that eliminates the Federal
statute of limitations for civil claims filed by
survivors of child sexual abuse so they can still
pursue justice as adults. The Department of Justice is
also investing in Children's Advocacy Centers across
the country to help law enforcement investigate and
prosecute child sexual abuse and exploitation,
including acts committed online. The Department of
Homeland Security is launching a Government-led
campaign to combat the threat of child abuse and
exploitation online, which will bring awareness to this
growing threat; teach children, parents, caregivers,
and educators how to report these crimes; and offer
resources to survivors.

Every child in America deserves to grow up safe,
supported, and surrounded by love. This month, we
remember that we all play a part in making that real.
For more information on how to recognize and report
child abuse or neglect and to support loving families
and safe communities visit childwelfare.gov.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 2024 as
National Child Abuse Prevention Month. I call upon all
Americans to observe this month by joining together as
a Nation to promote the safety and well-being of all
children and families and to recognize the child
welfare professionals and allies who work tirelessly to
protect our children. Let us also honor the strength
and resilience of survivors of child abuse.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
eighth.