PREVENT Act

This Act may be cited as the “Preventing Risk and Exploitation through Validated Education and Network-based Training Act” or the “PREVENT Act”.

Title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 317V of such Act (42 U.S.C. 247b–24) the following:

“317W. Program on child sexual abuse prevention.—

(a) In general.— The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall maintain and expand a program on child sexual abuse prevention.

(b) Program components.— The program under subsection (a) shall—

(1) identify gaps in research and practice that are important to address in the efforts of the Federal Government to promote primary prevention of child sexual abuse; and

(2) address such gaps and improve such research and practice, including by—

(A) improving surveillance systems and data collection for monitoring child sexual abuse, including technology-facilitated child sexual abuse;

(B) increasing understanding of risk and protective factors for child sexual abuse perpetration and victimization;

(C) strengthening existing, and developing new, evidence-based policies, programs, and practices for the primary prevention of child sexual abuse;

(D) increasing dissemination and implementation of evidence-based strategies for child sexual abuse prevention; and

(E) increasing understanding of the rise in technology-facilitated child sexual abuse and development of evidence-based strategies to address such abuse.

(c) Authorization of appropriations.— To carry out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.”.