Federal government will now investigate child abuse in facilities it funds

The federal government has issued a new rule that requires its Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to investigate child abuse and neglect in facilities it funds. This means ORR will now directly handle investigations and keep a registry of perpetrators, rather than relying solely on state systems.

Before this rule, the federal government funded facilities that cared for children but largely relied on state and local authorities to investigate abuse. This created gaps, especially for children moved across state lines or in facilities not fully covered by state systems. Now, the federal government takes direct responsibility for these investigations, closing a long-standing loophole.