Home > 106th Congressional Bills > S. 249 (is) To provide funding for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, to reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, and for other purposes. [Introduced in Senate] ...S. 249 (is) To provide funding for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, to reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, and for other purposes. [Introduced in Senate] ...
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 249
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To provide funding for the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children, to reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Missing, Exploited, and Runaway
Children Protection Act''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN.
(a) Findings.--Section 402 of the Missing Children's Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 5771) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(9) for 14 years, the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children has--
``(A) served as the national resource center and
clearinghouse congressionally mandated under the
provisions of the Missing Children's Assistance Act of
1984; and
``(B) worked in partnership with the Department of
Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the
Department of the Treasury, the Department of State,
and many other agencies in the effort to find missing
children and prevent child victimization;
``(10) Congress has given the Center, which is a private
non-profit corporation, access to the National Crime
Information Center of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and
the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System;
``(11) since 1987, the Center has operated the National
Child Pornography Tipline, in conjunction with the United
States Customs Service and the United States Postal Inspection
Service and, beginning this year, the Center established a new
CyberTipline on child exploitation, thus becoming `the 911 for
the Internet';
``(12) in light of statistics that time is of the essence
in cases of child abduction, the Director of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation in February of 1997 created a new NCIC child
abduction (`CA') flag to provide the Center immediate
notification in the most serious cases, resulting in 642 `CA'
notifications to the Center and helping the Center to have its
highest recovery rate in history;
``(13) the Center has established a national and
increasingly worldwide network, linking the Center online with
each of the missing children clearinghouses operated by the 50
States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, as well as
with Scotland Yard in the United Kingdom, the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police, INTERPOL headquarters in Lyon, France, and
others, which has enabled the Center to transmit images and
information regarding missing children to law enforcement
across the United States and around the world instantly;
``(14) from its inception in 1984 through March 31, 1998,
the Center has--
``(A) handled 1,203,974 calls through its 24-hour
toll-free hotline (1-800-THE-LOST) and currently
averages 700 calls per day;
``(B) trained 146,284 law enforcement, criminal and
juvenile justice, and healthcare professionals in child
sexual exploitation and missing child case detection,
identification, investigation, and prevention;
``(C) disseminated 15,491,344 free publications to
citizens and professionals; and
``(D) worked with law enforcement on the cases of
59,481 missing children, resulting in the recovery of
40,180 children;
``(15) the demand for the services of the Center is growing
dramatically, as evidenced by the fact that in 1997, the Center
handled 129,100 calls, an all-time record, and by the fact that
its new Internet website (www.missingkids.com) receives
1,500,000 `hits' every day, and is linked with hundreds of
other websites to provide real-time images of breaking cases of
missing children;
``(16) in 1997, the Center provided policy training to 256
police chiefs and sheriffs from 50 States and Guam at its new
Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training Center;
``(17) the programs of the Center have had a remarkable
impact, such as in the fight against infant abductions in
partnership with the healthcare industry, during which the
Center has performed 668 onsite hospital walk-throughs and
inspections, and trained 45,065 hospital administrators,
nurses, and security personnel, and thereby helped to reduce
infant abductions in the United States by 82 percent;
``(18) the Center is now playing a significant role in
international child abduction cases, serving as a
representative of the Department of State at cases under The
Hague Convention, and successfully resolving the cases of 343
international child abductions, and providing greater support
to parents in the United States;
``(19) the Center is a model of public/private partnership,
raising private sector funds to match congressional
appropriations and receiving extensive private in-kind support,
including advanced technology provided by the computer industry
such as imaging technology used to age the photographs of long-
term missing children and to reconstruct facial images of
unidentified deceased children;
``(20) the Center was 1 of only 10 of 300 major national
charities given an A+ grade in 1997 by the American Institute
of Philanthropy; and
``(21) the Center has been redesignated as the Nation's
missing children clearinghouse and resource center once every 3
years through a competitive selection process conducted by the
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the
Department of Justice, and has received grants from that Office
to conduct the crucial purposes of the Center.''.
(b) Definitions.--Section 403 of the Missing Children's Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 5772) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) the term `Center' means the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children.''.
(c) Duties and Functions of the Administrator.--Section 404 of the
Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5773) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
(2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
``(b) Annual Grant to National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children.--
``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall annually make a
grant to the Center, which shall be used to--
``(A)(i) operate a national 24-hour toll-free
telephone line by which individuals may report
information regarding the location of any missing
child, or other child 13 years of age or younger whose
whereabouts are unknown to such child's legal
custodian, and request information pertaining to
procedures necessary to reunite such child with such
child's legal custodian; and
``(ii) coordinate the operation of such telephone
line with the operation of the national communications
system referred to in part C of the Runaway and
Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714-11);
``(B) operate the official national resource center
and information clearinghouse for missing and exploited
children;
``(C) provide to State and local governments,
public and private nonprofit agencies, and individuals,
information regarding--
``(i) free or low-cost legal, restaurant,
lodging, and transportation services that are
available for the benefit of missing and
exploited children and their families; and
``(ii) the existence and nature of programs
being carried out by Federal agencies to assist
missing and exploited children and their
families;
``(D) coordinate public and private programs that
locate, recover, or reunite missing children with their
families;
``(E) disseminate, on a national basis, information
relating to innovative and model programs, services,
and legislation that benefit missing and exploited
children;
``(F) provide technical assistance and training to
law enforcement agencies, State and local governments,
elements of the criminal justice system, public and
private nonprofit agencies, and individuals in the
prevention, investigation, prosecution, and treatment
of cases involving missing and exploited children; and
``(G) provide assistance to families and law
enforcement agencies in locating and recovering missing
and exploited children, both nationally and
internationally.
``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this
subsection, $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000, 2001,
2002, 2003, and 2004.
``(c) National Incidence Studies.--The Administrator, either by
making grants to or entering into contracts with public agencies or
nonprofit private agencies, shall--
``(1) periodically conduct national incidence studies to
determine for a given year the actual number of children
reported missing each year, the number of children who are
victims of abduction by strangers, the number of children who
are the victims of parental kidnapings, and the number of
children who are recovered each year; and
``(2) provide to State and local governments, public and
private nonprofit agencies, and individuals information to
facilitate the lawful use of school records and birth
certificates to identify and locate missing children.''.
(d) National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.--Section
405(a) of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5775(a)) is
amended by inserting ``the Center and with'' before ``public
agencies''.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 408 of the Missing
Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5777) is amended by striking
``1997 through 2001'' and inserting ``2000 through 2004''.
SEC. 3. RUNAWAY AND HOMELESS YOUTH.
(a) Findings.--Section 302 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act
(42 U.S.C. 5701) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``accurate reporting of
the problem nationally and to develop'' and inserting ``an
accurate national reporting system to report the problem, and
to assist in the development of''; and
(2) by striking paragraph (8) and inserting the following:
``(8) services for runaway and homeless youth are needed in
urban, suburban, and rural areas;''.
(b) Authority To Make Grants for Centers and Services.--Section 311
of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5711) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
``(a) Grants for Centers and Services.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall make grants to
public and nonprofit private entities (and combinations of such
entities) to establish and operate (including renovation) local
centers to provide services for runaway and homeless youth and
for the families of such youth.
``(2) Services provided.--Services provided under paragraph
(1)--
``(A) shall be provided as an alternative to
involving runaway and homeless youth in the law
enforcement, child welfare, mental health, and juvenile
justice systems;
``(B) shall include--
``(i) safe and appropriate shelter; and
``(ii) individual, family, and group
counseling, as appropriate; and
``(C) may include--
``(i) street-based services;
``(ii) home-based services for families
with youth at risk of separation from the
family; and
``(iii) drug abuse education and prevention
services.'';
(2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ``the Trust Territory
of the Pacific Islands,''; and
(3) by striking subsections (c) and (d).
(c) Eligibility.--Section 312 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act
(42 U.S.C. 5712) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (8), by striking ``paragraph (6)''
and inserting ``paragraph (7)'';
(B) in paragraph (10), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(C) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(12) shall submit to the Secretary an annual report that
includes, with respect to the year for which the report is
submitted--
``(A) information regarding the activities carried
out under this part;
``(B) the achievements of the project under this
part carried out by the applicant; and
``(C) statistical summaries describing--
``(i) the number and the characteristics of
the runaway and homeless youth, and youth at
risk of family separation, who participate in
the project; and
``(ii) the services provided to such youth
by the project.''; and
(2) by striking subsections (c) and (d) and inserting the
following:
``(c) Applicants Providing Street-Based Services.--To be eligible
to use assistance under section 311(a)(2)(C)(i) to provide street-based
services, the applicant shall include in the plan required by
subsection (b) assurances that in providing such services the applicant
will--
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