### §11291. Findings

The Congress finds that—

(1) each year tens of thousands of children run away, or are abducted or removed, from the control of a parent having legal custody without the consent of that parent, under circumstances which immediately place the child in grave danger;

(2) many missing children are at great risk of both physical harm and sexual exploitation;

(3) many missing children are runaways;

(4) growing numbers of children are the victims of child sexual exploitation, including child sex trafficking and sextortion, increasingly involving the use of new technology to access the Internet;

(5) children may be separated from their parents or legal guardians as a result of national disasters such as hurricanes and floods;

(6) sex offenders pose a threat to children; and

(7) the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention administers programs under this subchapter, including programs that prevent and address offenses committed against vulnerable children and support missing children's organizations, including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that—

(A) serves as a nonprofit, national resource center and clearinghouse to provide assistance to victims, families, child-serving professionals, and the general public;

(B) works with the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of State, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, other agencies, and nongovernmental organizations in the effort to find missing children and to prevent child victimization; and

(C) coordinates with each of the missing children clearinghouses operated by the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and international organizations to transmit images and information regarding missing and exploited children to law enforcement agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and corporate partners across the United States and around the world instantly.

(Pub. L. 93–415, title IV, §402, as added Pub. L. 98–473, title II, §660, Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2125; amended Pub. L. 106–71, §2(a), Oct. 12, 1999, 113 Stat. 1032; Pub. L. 108–96, title II, §201, Oct. 10, 2003, 117 Stat. 1171; Pub. L. 110–240, §2, June 3, 2008, 122 Stat. 1560; Pub. L. 113–38, §2(a), Sept. 30, 2013, 127 Stat. 527; Pub. L. 115–267, §2(a), Oct. 11, 2018, 132 Stat. 3756; Pub. L. 115–393, title II, §202(a), Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5267.)

#### **Editorial Notes**

#### Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 5771 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

#### Prior Provisions

A prior section 402 of Pub. L. 93–415 amended section 3888 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, and repealed section 3889 of Title 42, and was repealed by Pub. L. 95–115, §10, Oct. 3, 1977, 91 Stat. 1061, and Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title II, §12221(a)(4), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1894.

#### Amendments

2018—Pub. L. 115–393 made amendments to this section substantially identical to those made by Pub. L. 115–267, §2(a). See Amendment notes below. Text of section is based on amendments by Pub. L. 115–267.

Par. (1). Pub. L. 115–267, §2(a)(1), amended par. (1) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (1) read as follows: "each year thousands of children are abducted or removed from the control of a parent having legal custody without such parent's consent, under circumstances which immediately place the child in grave danger;".

Par. (4). Pub. L. 115–267, §2(a)(2)–(4), redesignated par. (6) as (4), inserted ", including child sex trafficking and sextortion" after "exploitation", and struck out former par. (4) which read as follows: "in many cases, parents and local law enforcement officials have neither the resources nor the expertise to mount expanded search efforts;".

Par. (5). Pub. L. 115–267, §2(a)(2), (3), redesignated par. (7) as (5) and struck out former par. (5) which read as follows: "abducted children are frequently moved from one locality to another, requiring the cooperation and coordination of local, State, and Federal law enforcement efforts;".

Par. (6). Pub. L. 115–267, §2(a)(3), (5), redesignated par. (8) as (6) and inserted "and" at end. Former par. (6) redesignated (4).

Par. (7). Pub. L. 115–267, §2(a)(3), (6), redesignated par. (10) as (7) and amended it generally. Prior to amendment, text related to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Former par. (7) redesignated (5).

Pars. (8) to (10). Pub. L. 115–267, §2(a)(2), (3), redesignated pars. (8) and (10) as (6) and (7), respectively, and struck out par. (9) which read as follows: "the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention administers programs under this chapter through the Child Protection Division, including programs which prevent or address offenses committed against vulnerable children and which support missing children's organizations; and".

2013—Pub. L. 113–38 added par. (3) and redesignated former pars. (3) to (9) as (4) to (10), respectively.

2008—Pub. L. 110–240 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section consisted of pars. (1) to (5) stating findings of Congress concerning missing or abducted children and the role of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

2003—Pub. L. 108–96 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section consisted of pars. (1) to (21) stating findings of Congress.

1999—Pars. (9) to (21). Pub. L. 106–71 added pars. (9) to (21).

#### **Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries**

#### Effective Date of 2018 Amendment

Pub. L. 115–267, §4, Oct. 11, 2018, 132 Stat. 3760, provided that:

"(a) Effective Date.—Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act [see section 1 of Pub. L. 115–267, set out as a Short Title of 2018 Amendment note under section 10101 of this title] and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 11, 2018].

"(b) Application of Amendments.—The amendments made by section 2 [enacting section 11295a of this title and amending this section and sections 11292 to 11294, 11296, and 11297 of this title] shall apply with respect to fiscal years that begin after September 30, 2018."

#### Effective Date

Subchapter effective Oct. 12, 1984, see section 670(a) of Pub. L. 98–473, set out as an Effective Date of 1984 Amendment note under section 11101 of this title.

#### Short Title

For short title of title IV of Pub. L. 93–415, which is classified to this subchapter, as the "Missing Children's Assistance Act", see section 401 of Pub. L. 93–415, set out as a Short Title of 1974 Act note under section 10101 of this title.