# Project Safe Childhood Act: What You Need to Know

This bill updates and strengthens a federal program designed to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, particularly crimes that happen online. The Project Safe Childhood program brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute people who sexually abuse children or create, distribute, or possess child sexual abuse material (what was previously called child pornography).

The bill modernizes how law enforcement tackles these crimes by establishing clear priorities and best practices. Instead of treating all cases the same way, agencies will now focus their resources on identifying actual child victims and catching the most dangerous offenders—people who have committed multiple types of abuse, work in positions of trust with children, or help others commit these crimes. The law also encourages law enforcement to use new technology and investigative techniques to find victims and offenders, rather than only responding to tips that come in. Each federal prosecutor's office must create a specific plan for their district that coordinates with local police, state investigators, and specialized task forces to work together more effectively.

The bill emphasizes victim support and rescue. It requires law enforcement to use trauma-informed approaches when working with child victims and mandates that successful cases—where children are identified and rescued—be tracked and reported publicly so communities know the program is working. The law also pushes agencies to share information about child sexual abuse material with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which helps identify victims across different cases.

For everyday people, this means law enforcement will have better tools, clearer priorities, and more coordination to catch predators and rescue exploited children. The focus on identifying serious offenders and actual victims means resources go toward stopping the most dangerous criminals rather than being spread too thin across every case.

Project Safe Childhood Act

Wasserman Schultz, Debbie

Project Safe Childhood Act This bill modifies&nbsp;and&nbsp;reauthorizes&nbsp;through FY2028 the Project Safe Childhood Program within the Department of Justice. The program coordinates child sexual exploitation investigations and prosecutions across federal, state, and local law enforcement; provides training to law enforcement on best practices; and supports public education programs.