By State Rep. Brent Jacobson

Last week Wednesday, I joined my colleagues on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee to vote on four bills and hear testimony on three others. The bills I voted for strengthen protections for vulnerable adults and children, and ensure that sexual assault kits are processed in a timely manner.

Assembly Bill 19: Current law gives a number of protections to crime victims over the age of 60. This bill extends those protections to adults who have conditions that prevent them from taking care of themselves and leave them vulnerable to abuse.

Assembly Bill 236: Last year, it was revealed that over 97% of sexual assault kits were not processed within the 6 month deadline mandated in law. This bill ensures that those deadlines are met so that victims of sexual assault can see timely justice.

Assembly Bill 252: This bill requires child welfare agencies to notify the Department of Defense if they suspect a member of the armed forces or National Guard has abused their child. This legislation has already been adopted by 35 other states.

Assembly Bill 477: Under current law, parents can have a Missing Child Alert issued for missing children who are 10 or younger. This bill raises the age to 12, expanding this valuable tool to more parents.

These bills are all common-sense adjustments to ensure victims receive justice, and Wisconsin kids are safe. I’m proud to report that these bills passed on strong, bipartisan votes. I look forward to voting for them again on the Assembly Floor!
Finally, we also heard testimony on several other bills. One of these is AB 412, which I am the second author on. This legislation was inspired by the tragic story of Zoey Chafer, a young girl who died after chronic abuse and neglect by her parents. While multiple reports were filed by doctors and teachers, child protective services never sent those reports to law enforcement. This bill changes our laws to ensure that every case of suspected child abuse is forwarded to law enforcement, preventing what happened to Zoey from happening to other kids.