SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Silver Alert Grant Program Act of 
2008''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) create a grant program to encourage the establishment 
        and improvement of State-administered notification systems to 
        help find missing seniors and other individuals with 
        Alzheimer's disease and other dementia-related illnesses before 
        the missing seniors and other individuals harm themselves or 
        others;
            (2) promote best practices, based on the experiences of 
        existing Silver Alert systems, to guide the establishment of 
        new Silver Alert systems and the improvement of existing Silver 
        Alert systems; and
            (3) increase awareness about the need for coordinated 
        efforts between families, caregivers, local communities, and 
        law enforcement authorities to help locate missing individuals 
        as quickly as possible to increase the chances of safely 
        reuniting the individuals with their families.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) According to the National Institute on Aging at the 
        National Institutes of Health, as many as 5,000,000 people in 
        the United States may suffer from Alzheimer's disease.
            (2) The National Institute on Aging reports that, although 
        Alzheimer's disease usually impacts people age 60 and older, 
        younger people can also be affected, and the risk of developing 
        Alzheimer's disease increases with age.
            (3) An analysis of data on Alzheimer's disease in the 
        United States shows that 1 in 8 people over the age of 65 have 
        Alzheimer's disease, and that every 71 seconds another 
        individual in the United States develops the disease.
            (4) The aging of the members of the baby boomer generation 
        will increase the number of people suffering from Alzheimer's 
        disease and other dementia-related illnesses in the coming 
        years.
            (5) The Alzheimer's Association estimates that more than 60 
        percent of people suffering from Alzheimer's disease will 
        wander away from their homes or care-giving facilities during 
        their lifetimes.
            (6) Alzheimer's disease and other dementia-related 
        illnesses leave their victims confused, disoriented, and often 
        unable return to their to homes, families, or care-giving 
        facilities.
            (7) States such as Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, North 
        Carolina, and Texas have established State-administered 
        notification systems, modeled after the highly successful Amber 
        Alert system, to help disseminate relevant information about 
        missing seniors and those with other dementia-related illnesses 
        to law enforcement and other appropriate authorities in an 
        expeditious manner. The experiences of these States have shown 
        that the timely notification and dissemination of appropriate 
        information about missing individuals greatly increases the 
        chances of that the individuals will be located.
            (8) Other States have explored the development of such 
        systems but have faced difficulty creating and implementing 
        such systems due to budget constraints.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) Silver Alert systems--
                    (A) should include definitive criteria for issuing 
                Silver Alerts to ensure that the impact of such Alerts 
                is not lessened by overly frequent notifications;
                    (B) should not permit a determination of whether to 
                issue a Silver Alert to be based solely on the age of 
                the missing individual;
                    (C) should only be used to issue Silver Alerts with 
                respect to individuals who are incapable of making 
                personal care decisions or managing their own personal 
                affairs;
                    (D) should only be initiated by a person--
                            (i) who has had recent contact with the 
                        missing individual with respect to whom a 
                        Silver Alert may be issued; and
                            (ii) who is a legal guardian, a close 
                        family member, a resident of the same 
                        household, or a caregiver of the missing 
                        individual;
                    (E) should protect the privacy, dignity, 
                independence, and autonomy of the individuals with 
                respect to whom Silver Alerts are issued;
                    (F) should encourage the training of law 
                enforcement officers and other first responders about 
                the most appropriate methods of locating missing 
                individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other 
                dementia-related illnesses, determining whether an 
                individual suffers from a dementia-related illness, and 
                the most effective way to communicate with such an 
                individual; and
                    (G) should encourage coordination between 
                appropriate State officials administering such systems 
                and local entities administering programs under the 
                Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program; and
            (2) the Federal Government can play an important role in 
        preventing injuries and loss of life among those with 
        Alzheimer's disease and other dementia-related illnesses by 
        helping States defray the costs of establishing, implementing, 
        and improving Silver Alert systems.

SEC. 4. SILVER ALERT SYSTEM GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Grant Program Authorized.--The Attorney General is authorized 
to award grants to States to--
            (1) establish and implement a Silver Alert system; or
            (2) make improvements to an existing Silver Alert system.
    (b) Grant Period; Minimum Award.--
            (1) Grant period.--Each grant under this section shall be 
        awarded for a one-year period, and may be renewed for 
        additional one-year periods as the Attorney General determines 
        to be appropriate.
            (2) Minimum award.--Each grant awarded to a State under 
        this section shall be for an amount that is not less than 
        $100,000.
    (c) Regulations.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall prescribe such 
regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section, including--
            (1) eligibility and application criteria for States 
        desiring to receive a grant under this section; and
            (2) selection criteria to be used by the Attorney General 
        to select the States that will receive a grant under this 
        section.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $5,600,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2009 through 2013.

SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT ON SILVER ALERT SYSTEMS.

    Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, 
and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall prepare and make 
available to the House of Representatives and the Senate a report 
related to Silver Alert systems, which shall include--
            (1) a list of States that have established Silver Alert 
        systems;
            (2) for each State that has established such a system--
                    (A) the number of Silver Alerts issued;
                    (B) the number of individuals located successfully;
                    (C) the average period of time between the issuance 
                of a Silver Alert and the location of the individual 
                for whom such Alert was issued;
                    (D) the State agency or authority issuing Silver 
                Alerts, and the process by which Silver Alerts are 
                disseminated;
                    (E) the cost of establishing and operating such a 
                system;
                    (F) the criteria used by the State to determine 
                whether to issue a Silver Alert; and
                    (G) the extent to which missing individuals for 
                whom Silver Alerts were issued crossed State lines;
            (3) actions States have taken to protect the privacy and 
        dignity of the individuals for whom Silver Alerts are issued;
            (4) ways that States have facilitated and improved 
        communication about missing individuals between families, 
        caregivers, law enforcement officials, and other authorities; 
        and
            (5) any other information the Attorney General determines 
        to be appropriate.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purposes of this Act:
            (1) Silver alert system.--The term ``Silver Alert system'' 
        means a State-administered notification system to help locate 
        missing individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other 
        dementia-related illnesses.
            (2) State.--The term State means each of the several States 
        of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 
        Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin 
        Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands.
Silver Alert Grant Program Act of 2008 - Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to states to implement or improve a Silver Alert system. Defines "Silver Alert system" to mean a state-administered notification system to help locate missing individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other dementia-related illnesses.

Requires the Attorney General to report to Congress on Silver Alert systems, including: (1) a list of states that have established such systems; (2) information on each state's system; (3) actions states have taken to protect the privacy and dignity of the individuals for whom Silver Alerts are issued; and (4) ways that states have facilitated and improved communication about missing individuals between families, caregivers, law enforcement officials, and other authorities.
To authorize a grant program to help establish and improve State-administered notification systems to help locate missing individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other dementia-related illnesses, and for other purposes.