View Rule

The Department of Defense will remove internal policy contained in the rule which pertained to DoD employees and military Service members, and will leave only the information that affects military dependents and other civilians.  In accordance with statute, the rule will also propose to add content to address problematic sexual behavior in children and youth (PSB-CY) via a Coordinated Community Response (CCR). The ultimate goal of this expansion is to develop the capacity to identify, report, respond, and intervene with appropriate treatment and services to help military-affiliated children, youth, and their families who have been impacted. The revision supports a recommendation of the DoD Regulatory Reform Task Force.

Statement of Need:

The Family Advocacy Program (FAP) is the congressionally mandated Department of Defense policy proponent and program which, through a coordinated community response model, addresses prevention of and response to child abuse and neglect, domestic abuse, and problematic sexual behavior in children and youth involving military families. Through the Military Services, FAP serves as the entity that offers and provides public awareness and training to Service members and their families, implements prevention initiatives specific to child abuse and domestic abuse, coordinates with child welfare services (in cases of child abuse), ensures child and adult victim safety, provides victim advocacy and support, and manages the Incident Determination Committee process for determining if an incident of child abuse or domestic abuse meets the clinical threshold for intervention services and entry into the Department’s FAP Central Registry for tracking trends. Congress recently expanded FAP’s scope to include the responsibility to address problematic sexual behavior in children and youth involving military families.

This rule will exclude policy that affects only DoD employees and military Service members to provide clarity for the public, consolidate 32 CFR part 60 as a subpart to streamline the FAP rules, and to incorporate recent legislative requirements in section 13031 of 42 U.S.C., sections 544, 574, and 575 of Public Law 114-328, and section 1089 of Public Law 115-232.

Summary of the Legal Basis:

This regulation is under the authorities of section 13031 of 42 U.S.C. and section 575 of Public Law 114-328, which establishes reporting requirements for covered professionals working in the armed services and members of the chain of command who have credible information that an act of child abuse or neglect has occurred in a military family, sections 544 and 574 of Public Law 114-328, which requires reporting to Congress on incidents of sexual abuse involving military members and child abuse and neglect and domestic abuse in military families, and section 1089 of Public Law 115-232, which establishes the responsibility of FAP to review all alleged incidents of juvenile problematic sexual behavior. These legislative actions require the Department to proscribe these regulations and carry out these actions in the service of military Service members and families.

Alternatives:

The alternative considered was to not take this action, which would have multiple negative impacts on the public. Without these installation-centric services as a whole, the burden would be shifted to the civilian sector. Service members and their families will return to the civilian community after their service to our country is complete. Prevention and intervention services for child abuse, domestic abuse, and problematic sexual behavior in children and youth targeting at-risk military families while on active duty are designed and delivered to reduce the risk of re-occurrence of family violence after this transition is complete. Without updating the reporting requirements for suspected incidents of child abuse, the safety and well-being of military children is at risk. Considering the negative impacts listed here, we are moving forward with the preferred option, which is this rulemaking.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

Providing the full spectrum of Family Advocacy Program services, with the inclusion of new statutory requirements, at military installations with command sponsored families as described in this rule is to be determined. Through this notice of interim final rulemaking further analysis will be completed.

The benefit to the Department and to the public is to provide an effective and well-coordinated community response to reports of child abuse and neglect, domestic abuse, and problematic sexual behavior in children and youth involving military Service members and their families that addresses the unique aspects of military life to include frequent moves, deployments, and length separations. In Fiscal Year 2018, the DoD Family Advocacy Program assessed 16,912 unrestricted reports of domestic abuse and 12,850 reports of child abuse and neglect. Of those, 8,039 met the criteria for domestic abuse and 6,010 met the criteria for child abuse and neglect. The assessment of these reports is best accomplished by a standardized and well-coordinated approach involving social services, medical treatment, law enforcement, and command to promote the safety and well-being of all those referred and to preserve the readiness of our military. Referrals that meet the criteria for domestic abuse or child abuse and neglect require clinical assessment, treatment, rehabilitation and ongoing monitoring and risk management of offenders. Standard requirements and clinical guidelines based on the best available research in the field enable the Family Advocacy Program to promote effective intervention with offenders and potentially reduce recidivism, thus reducing the long-term cost of child abuse and neglect and domestic abuse. Addressing problematic sexual behavior in children and youth represents an expansion of the mission of FAP, requiring new policies and services based on the best available research in the field.

The estimated annual cost to the public is $308,265 (as estimated for the PRA package sent May 2017). The previous PRA certified the cost to the public as $500,068, which was calculated based on a single year of data. Using better data points (e.g., average over 10 years, a more accurate representation of respondents and hourly wage), we estimate the regulation now represents a burden reduction of $191,803. Examples of the public include military family members and DoD contractors involved in allegations of child abuse and neglect and domestic abuse.

Risks:

If the Department fails to make these changes to the rule, the public will not be provided necessary services to prevent and intervene in cases of problematic sexual behavior in children and youth. In addition, suspected cases of child abuse and neglect may not get adequately reported to the appropriate authorities, threatening the safety and well-being of military children and risking fatality.