U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Chris Coons (Del.), co-chairs of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, and U.S. Senators Jeff Sessions (Ala.) and Mazie Hirono (Hawaii) introduced bipartisan legislation Tuesday to reauthorize the “Victims of Child Abuse Act” (VOCAA), which provides funding for Children’s Advocacy Centers that serve child victims of violent crimes and help law enforcement hold perpetrators accountable.

Though the success of these federal-state and public-private partnerships have earned them broad bipartisan support, Congressional authorization for Children’s Advocacy Centers lapsed in 2005, and most recently the President’s proposed budgets for 2013 and 2014 have zeroed out federal funding. The VOCAA Reauthorization Act of 2013 would restore funding for Children’s Advocacy Centers and strengthen oversight of this critical program.

“There are 22 Child Advocacy Centers located in Missouri, which serve around 7,000 of our state’s most vulnerable children each year by coordinating the investigation, treatment, and prosecution of child abuse cases,” Blunt said. “This bill allows Child Advocacy Centers in Missouri and across the country to continue to provide a safe haven for child abuse victims and helps law enforcement hold perpetrators accountable for their actions.”