ND HB1237

Establishes a task force on prevention of sexual abuse of children from the effective date through September 30, 2024, to develop a comprehensive statewide approach ensuring appropriate policies, funding, staffing, resources, and programming are available.

Task force consists of 17+ members including legislators, department heads, school officials, law enforcement, children's advocacy representatives, domestic violence crisis center representatives, faith-based community members, and school counselors appointed by various state officials.

Task force shall focus on increasing child sexual abuse prevention education, improving interagency data collection and sharing, supporting investigations and prosecutions of child sexual abuse, increasing trauma-informed services, and implementing recommendations from the November 2018 final report on child sexual abuse prevention.

Recommendations may include statutory changes, awareness education proposals, developmentally appropriate resources for prekindergarten through grade twelve students, school personnel training, parent education in school handbooks, and counseling resources for affected students.

Task force must submit reports to legislative management and the governor before July 1 of each even-numbered year and must submit a final report before July 1, 2024.