Sec. 201. National Sexual Assault Care and Treatment Task Force
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/bill/116/s/402/is/section-201A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Secretary shall establish a task force to be known as the SASCA Task Force (referred to in this section as the Task Force ) to identify barriers to improving access to SAFE/SANE and other forensic medical examiners. The Task Force shall include a representative from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Indian Health Service, the Office for Victims of Crime of the Department of Justice, the Office on Women’s Health of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Office on Violence Against Women of the Department of Justice, a survivor of sexual assault, and representatives from regional and national organizations with expertise in forensic nursing, rape trauma or crisis counseling, investigating rape and gender violence cases, survivors’ advocacy and support, sexual assault prevention education, rural health, and responding to sexual violence in Native communities.
To assist and standardize State-level efforts to improve medical forensic evidence collection relating to sexual assault, the Task Force shall— identify barriers to the recruitment, training, and retention of SAFEs, SARTs, SANEs, and others who perform such examinations; make recommendations for improving access to medical forensic examinations, including the feasibility of, or barriers to, utilizing mobile units; improve coordination of services, and other protocols regarding the care and treatment of sexual assault survivors and the preservation of evidence between law enforcement officials and health care providers; and update national minimum standards for forensic medical examiner training and forensic medical evidence collection relating to sexual assault.
Not later than 1 year after first convening, the Task Force shall report to the Secretary in a public document on— the recommendation for best practices with respect to improving medical forensic evidence collection relating to sexual assault; and the national minimum standards for MFEs and treatments relating to sexual assault. Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the findings and conclusions of the Task Force.
The Secretary shall convene an annual stakeholder meeting to address gaps in health care provider care relating to sexual assault that includes the Task Force.