A MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDER & CEO
I am delighted to welcome you to CHILD USA’s Annual Gala celebrating leaders of the Civil Rights Movement for Children. As we make more and more progress securing rights for children and child victims, we are thankful to have our many generous supporters by our side. This year, we are proud to share many achievements with you. CHILD USA continues to lead the nation on statute of limitations (SOL) reform. Our Annual SOL Tracker continues to be the resource lawyers need with its weekly updates. As of September, 2023, 38 states and the federal government have introduced bills to extend or completely eliminate the statutes of limitations (SOLs) on child sex abuse claims. CHILD USA has submitted testimony to more than 30 committees in various states across the nation urging lawmakers to adopt these bills. New SOL reform laws are going into effect in 11 states, including Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington. CHILD USA and CHILD USAdvocacy were heavily involved in the hard-fought passage of Maryland’s new law, which eliminates the civil SOL for child sex abuse and opens a permanent revival window for all stet claims. We have also completed the manuscript for the book every lawyer will need in their office! Reform bills in Kansas eliminated the criminal SOL for Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) crimes, as well as extending and reviving the civil SOL for CSAM offenses. Additionally, CHILD USA has filed amicus briefs in over 10 lawsuits to ensure survivors continue to enjoy, and do not lose, their expanded access to justice provided by extended and revived SOLs.
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CHILD Global entered the global arena for SOL Reform as we formed a partnership with the Brave Movement. We released a major report for the Council of Europe, advocating for the elimination of the Child Sex Abuse (CSA) SOLs across Europe: Justice Unleashed: Ending Limitations, Protecting Children. Next up is The Americas Report, which will provide the CSA SOLs in North, Central, and South America. We are increasingly turning our attention to CSAM issues. CHILD USA has made significant strides in our initiative to improve children’s access to medical care. We continue to track and update exemptions to childhood vaccine requirements nationwide on our website and to provide crucial testimony in response to legislation aimed at rolling back children’s rights to medical care. For example, CHILD USA successfully countered six bills that were introduced in the Maine legislature aimed at restoring religious and philosophical exemptions to childhood vaccine laws. As the number of these bills continues to rise, CHILD USA is at the forefront of the fight to protect children from these harmful laws. We have also written multiple op-eds and blogs highlighting the harms of extreme religious liberty on children’s access to medical care, particularly in the case of abortion. CHILD USA published a White Paper on the dangers of abortion restrictions on pregnant children, who are victims of rape and incest. CHILD USA is working to ensure every child has the right to a quality education as we partner with the Amish Heritage Foundation and the Coalition for Responsible Homeschooling to work on protecting each child’s right to an education in each state in the United States. Currently, not every state guarantees this right in their Constitution, but this coalition will be educating lawmakers on the facts of educational neglect and the cost to society. During 2023, our Social Science Department expanded its reach to share the results of major research projects with the scholarly world and the public. We presented findings on child abuse in athletics and in schools, as well as cutting-edge information on delayed disclosure and the economic impact of CSA at six conferences and CLEs. We have two peer-reviewed articles on overlapping forms of athlete abuse and effects on mental health in review with the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma, and look forward to publication this winter. In addition, we are in the process of publishing a law review article criticizing the practice of forced reunification camps for children involved in custody battles. Our other reports this year pushed back on misinformation about the fiscal impact of SOL reform and raised the alarm about impacts of abortion bans on children. CHILD USA’s Social Science Department continues to lead the way on providing the facts about SOL reform and CSA. Check out our 2023 Delayed Disclosure Factsheet to stay up to date on the best research! In 2024, CHILD USA looks forward to continuing the fight for children’s civil rights as the think tank for children through its innovative pairing of legal analysis and social science research to guide formation of the best laws and policies of child protection. All this is possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. I personally extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for supporting our mission. Thank you for walking beside us in the fight for children’s civil rights. Sincerely,
Professor Marci A. Hamilton Founder & CEO
