Hello! My name is Joel Turner, and I am a rising junior enrolled in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences at University of Pittsburgh. I am an Economics (BS) and History (BA) double major undertaking a project in the Brackenridge program this summer with the assistance of Dr. Eladio Bobadilla, an esteemed historian and researcher who specializes in U.S. social movements. While I am predominantly interested in the humanitarian, economic, and political motivations behind the implementation of CAPTA, specifically, Dr. Bobadilla maintains an interest in CAPTA’s relationship to the broader historical context of children’s movements throughout the 1970s, all of which helps to create a well-rounded and diverse perspective.

But what exactly is CAPTA, and to what extent does its existence explain the relationship between Watergate and CPS?

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) of 1974 arrived at a unique point in time. Just three years after vetoing the Comprehensive Child Development Act of 1971, President Nixon was so inclined to implement CAPTA as law under the 93rd Congress, notwithstanding various other proposed acts that targeted child welfare, including the Education for Handicapped Children Act, the Schoolchildren’s Assistance Act, the Child Development Personnel Training Act, and the Child Nutrition Act. Congress continued to advocate the importance of CAPTA in following years, and in 1976, amended CAPTA to allow for the funding of a federal agency whose purpose was to prevent and treat child abuse – the earliest federal prototype for CPS. But of course, what does any of this have to do with Watergate?

Initially, this project was created to determine whether economic or humanitarian motivations played a larger role in the implementation of CAPTA – but that was before realizing something noteworthy about the timeline. First, President Nixon vetoed the Comprehensive Child Development Act in 1971; then, on June 17, 1972, the Watergate Scandal occurred; then, following the Watergate Scandal, CAPTA is proposed in Congress on Tuesday, March 13, 1973; then, the Watergate Hearings occurred from May 1973 to November 1973; and finally, CAPTA is enacted on January 31, 1974 – just after President Nixon’s impeachment (October 1973), but just before the impeachment hearings began (May 1974). Upon discovering this series of events, it felt necessary to add another motivation to this project – was CAPTA implemented do to economic, humanitarian, or political concerns?

The reason that this question is important is two-fold: First, if we can better understand why our legislators implement a given policy, then we can better manage the policies that are being implemented. For instance, while CAPTA was a groundbreaking piece of federal legislation, it remains severely under-funded to-date, lending credence to the theory that its implementation was a political maneuver intended to help President Nixon recover from Watergate. If this was, in fact, the case, then it might have been possible to use CAPTA as leverage against Nixon, creating a much stronger program with means to accomplish its given purpose. And second, as an Economics and History double major, I hope to use my knowledge in the field of public policy post-graduation, as either a political consultant or a judge. Of course, either of these two positions would involve a lengthy post-graduation plan (either graduate- or law school), and so that is where I hope to find myself after leaving the university.

But most importantly, I hope that the research methods and practices that I learn throughout the Brackenridge program will bring me closer to my goal of making the world a better place. I began this project not as an economist, nor as a historian, but as someone who had, at many times, an unfortunate childhood – one that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone else. I decided to research CAPTA because it seemed like a way to protect others from the same experience – an entrance into the world of juvenile law. Throughout the remainder of my time in the Brackenridge program, I hope to learn as much as possible about this world, and how I can make a difference in it.