WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema partnered with Republican Senator Susan Collins (Maine) to introduce bipartisan legislation establishing a National Child Crisis Hotline.
“Funding a National Child Crisis Hotline helps prevent child abuse and support survivors—an especially important goal as we continue to navigate the pandemic which has increased the demand on family and child services,” said Sinema.
“We are proud to work with Senator Sinema, our hometown senator, as she presses this bill forward to provide important resources to children in need,” Childhelp Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO Sara O’Meara said. “We know that so many children are at a crisis point and need immediate access to a lifeline of hope. This bill will ensure that resources and support are available 24/7, through multiple avenues, no matter what. We applaud Senator Sinema and her colleagues for their work to protect children in Arizona and across the nation.”
Sinema’s legislation authorizes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to grant $2 million to a nonprofit entity with appropriate experience to support the ongoing operation of the hotline through Fiscal Year 2026. Childhelp, headquartered in Phoenix, is an example of a national nonprofit that could apply for the funding to support the expansion of their Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline.
The National Child Abuse Hotline is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and it reported a 439% increase in texts/online chat in March of 2020 (compared to the same month in 2019) and a 20% increase in calls in April of 2020. Calls can come from children at risk for abuse, distressed parents seeking crisis intervention, and concerned individuals who suspect child abuse. The hotline receives about 100,000 calls a year and 1,000 text conversations a month. Childhelp is the only major national hotline staffed primarily by masters-level social workers who are trained to provide crisis counseling to minors facing abuse.
Sinema’s Arizona offices fully operate with a team of experienced social workers trained to assist Arizonans facing hardship. Arizonans in need of help should email casework@sinema.senate.gov.
