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[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1808 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1808

  To amend and improve the Missing Children's Assistance Act, and for 
                            other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 30, 2017

  Mr. Guthrie (for himself and Mr. Courtney) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
                               Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To amend and improve the Missing Children's Assistance 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 ``Improving Support for Missing and 
Exploited Children Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Section 402 of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5771) is amended--
            (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows: to read 
        as follows:
            ``(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 such parent's consent, under 
        circumstances which immediately place the child in grave 
        danger;'',
            (2) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5),
            (3) in paragraph (6) by inserting ``, including child sex 
        trafficking and sextortion'' after ``exploitation'',
            (4) in paragraph (8) by adding ``and'' at the end,
            (5) by striking paragraph (9),
            (6) by amending paragraph (10) to read as follows:
            ``(10) a key component of such programs is 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, the United States 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, nongovernmental organizations, and 
                corporate partners across the United States and around 
                the world instantly.'', and
            (7) by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), (8), and (10) as 
        paragraphs (4), (5), (6), and (7), respectively.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 403 of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5772) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``legal custodian'' each place it 
                appears and inserting ``parent'',
                    (B) in subparagraph (A) by striking ``custodian's'' 
                and inserting ``parent's'', and
                    (C) in subparagraph (C) by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting a semicolon,
            (2) in paragraph (2) by striking ``and'' at the end and 
        inserting a semicolon,
            (3) in paragraph (3) by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and'', and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) the term `parent' includes a legal guardian or other 
        individual standing in loco parentis (such as a grandparent or 
        stepparent with whom the child lives, or an individual who is 
        legally responsible for the child's welfare).''.

SEC. 4. DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.

    Section 404 of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5773(b)) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (3) by striking ``telephone line'' 
                and inserting ``hotline'', and
                    (B) in paragraph (6)(E)--
                            (i) by striking ``telephone line'' and 
                        inserting ``hotline'',
                            (ii) by striking ``(b)(1)(A) and'' and 
                        inserting ``(b)(1)(A),'', and
                            (iii) by inserting ``, and the number and 
                        types of reports to the tipline established 
                        under subsection (b)(1)(K)(i)'' before the 
                        semicolon at the end, and
            (2) in subsection (b)(1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) by striking ``telephone line'' each 
                        place it appears and inserting ``hotline'', and
                            (ii) by striking ``legal custodian'' and 
                        inserting ``parent'',
                    (B) in subparagraph (C)--
                            (i) in clause (i)--
                                    (I) by striking ``restaurant'' and 
                                inserting ``food'', and
                                    (II) by striking ``and'' at the 
                                end,
                            (ii) in clause (ii) by adding ``and'' at 
                        the end, and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iii) innovative and model programs, 
                        services, and legislation that benefit missing 
                        and exploited children;'',
                    (C) by striking subparagraphs (E), (F), and (G),
                    (D) by amending subparagraph (H) to read as 
                follows:
                    ``(H) provide technical assistance and training to 
                families, law enforcement agencies, State and local 
                governments, elements of the criminal justice system, 
                nongovernmental agencies, local educational agencies, 
                and the general public--
                            ``(i) in the prevention, investigation, 
                        prosecution, and treatment of cases involving 
                        missing and exploited children;
                            ``(ii) to respond to foster children 
                        missing from the State child welfare system in 
                        coordination with child welfare agencies and 
                        courts handling juvenile justice and dependency 
                        matters; and
                            ``(iii) in the identification, location, 
                        and recovery of victims of, and children at 
                        risk for, child sex trafficking;'',
                    (E) by amending subparagraphs (I), (J), and (K) to 
                read as follows:
                    ``(I) provide assistance to families, law 
                enforcement agencies, State and local governments, 
                nongovernmental agencies, child-serving professionals, 
                and other individuals involved in the location and 
                recovery of missing and abducted children, both 
                nationally, and in cooperation with the Department of 
                State, internationally;
                    ``(J) provide support and technical assistance to 
                child-serving professionals involved in helping to 
                recover missing and exploited children by searching 
                public records databases to help in the identification, 
                location, and recovery of such children, and help in 
                the location and identification of potential abductors 
                and offenders;
                    ``(K) provide forensic and direct on-site technical 
                assistance and consultation to families, law 
                enforcement agencies, child-serving professionals, and 
                nongovernmental organizations in child abduction and 
                exploitation cases, including facial reconstruction of 
                skeletal remains and similar techniques to assist in 
                the identification of unidentified deceased 
                children;'',
                    (F) by striking subparagraphs (L) and (M),
                    (G) by amending subparagraph (N) to read as 
                follows:
                    ``(N) provide training, technical assistance, and 
                information to nongovernmental organizations relating 
                to non-compliant sex offenders and to law enforcement 
                agencies in identifying and locating such 
                individuals;'',
                    (H) by striking subparagraph (P),
                    (I) by amending subparagraph (Q) to read as 
                follows:
                    ``(Q) work with families, law enforcement agencies, 
                Internet service providers, electronic payment service 
                providers, technology companies, nongovernmental 
                organizations, and others on methods to reduce the 
                existence and distribution of online images and videos 
                of sexually exploited children--
                            ``(i) by operating a tipline to provide to 
                        individuals and electronic service providers an 
                        effective means of reporting Internet-related 
                        and other instances of child sexual 
                        exploitation in the areas of--
                                    ``(I) possession, manufacture, and 
                                distribution of child pornography;
                                    ``(II) online enticement of 
                                children for sexual acts;
                                    ``(III) child sex trafficking;
                                    ``(IV) sex tourism involving 
                                children;
                                    ``(V) extra familial child sexual 
                                molestation;
                                    ``(VI) unsolicited obscene material 
                                sent to a child;
                                    ``(VII) misleading domain names; 
                                and
                                    ``(VIII) misleading words or 
                                digital images on the Internet,
                        and subsequently to make such reports available 
                        to the appropriate law enforcement agency for 
                        its review and potential investigation;
                            ``(ii) by operating a child victim 
                        identification program to assist law 
                        enforcement agencies in identifying victims of 
                        child pornography and other sexual crimes to 
                        support the recovery of children from sexually 
                        exploitative situations; and
                            ``(iii) by utilizing emerging technologies 
                        to provide additional outreach and educational 
                        materials to parents and families;'',
                    (J) by striking subparagraph (R),
                    (K) by amending subparagraphs (S) and (T) to read 
                as follows:
                    ``(S) develop and disseminate programs and 
                information to families, child-serving professionals, 
                law enforcement agencies, State and local governments, 
                nongovernmental organizations, schools, local 
                educational agencies, child-serving organizations, and 
                the general public on--
                            ``(i) the prevention of child abduction and 
                        sexual exploitation;
                            ``(ii) internet safety, including tips for 
                        social media and cyberbullying; and
                            ``(iii) sexting and sextortion; and
                    ``(T) provide technical assistance and training to 
                local educational agencies, schools, State and local 
                law enforcement agencies, individuals, and other 
                nongovernmental organizations that assist with finding 
                missing and abducted children in identifying and 
                recovering such children.'', and
                    (L) by redesignating subparagraphs (G), (H), (I), 
                (J), (K), (O), (Q), (S), and (T) as subparagraphs (E) 
                through (M), respectively.

SEC. 5. GRANTS.

    Section 405 of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5775) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (7) by striking ``(as defined in 
                section 403(1)(A))'', and
                    (B) in paragraph (8)--
                            (i) by striking ``legal custodians'' and 
                        inserting ``parents'', and
                            (ii) by striking ``custodians''' and 
                        inserting ``parents''', and
            (2) in subsection (b)(1)(A) by striking ``legal 
        custodians'' and inserting ``parents''.

SEC. 6. REPORTING.

    The Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5771 et seq.) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating sections 407 and 408 as sections 408 
        and 409, respectively, and
            (2) by inserting after section 406 the following:

``SEC. 407. REPORTING.

    ``(a) Required Reporting.--As a condition of receiving funds under 
section 404(b), the grant recipient shall, based solely on reports 
received by the grantee and not involving any data collection by the 
grantee other than those reports, annually provide to the Administrator 
and make available to the general public, as appropriate--
            ``(1) the number of children nationwide who are reported to 
        the grantee as missing;
            ``(2) the number of children nationwide who are reported to 
        the grantee as victims of non-family abductions;
            ``(3) the number of children nationwide who are reported to 
        the grantee as victims of family abductions; and
            ``(4) the number of missing and abducted children recovered 
        nationwide whose recovery was reported to the grantee.
    ``(b) Incidence of Attempted Child Abductions.--As a condition of 
receiving funds under section 404(b), the grant recipient shall--
            ``(1) track the incidence of attempted child abductions in 
        order to identify links and patterns;
            ``(2) provide such information to law enforcement agencies; 
        and
            ``(3) make such information available to the general 
        public, as appropriate.''.
                                 <all>
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