IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 632 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 11, 2009 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

To encourage, enhance, and integrate Silver Alert plans 

throughout the United States, to authorize grants for 

the assistance of organizations to find missing adults, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 TITLE I—SILVER ALERT 

2 COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK 

3 SECTION 101. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Silver Alert 

5 Act 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

7 For purposes of this title: 

8 (1) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

9 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com10 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 

11 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common12 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

13 (2) MISSING SENIOR.—The term ‘‘missing sen14 ior’’ refers to any individual who— 

15 (A) is reported to, or identified by, a law 

16 enforcement agency as a missing person; and 

17 (B) meets the requirements to be des18 ignated as a missing senior, as determined by 

19 the State in which the individual is reported or 

20 identified as a missing person. 

21 SEC. 103. SILVER ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

22 The Attorney General shall, subject to the availability 

23 of appropriations under section 107, establish a national 

24 Silver Alert communications network within the Depart25 ment of Justice to provide assistance to regional and local 


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1 search efforts for missing seniors through the initiation, 

2 facilitation, and promotion of local elements of the net3 work (known as Silver Alert plans) in coordination with 

4 States, units of local government, law enforcement agen5 cies, and other concerned entities with expertise in pro6 viding services to seniors. 

7 SEC. 104. SILVER ALERT COORDINATOR. 

8 (a) NATIONAL COORDINATOR WITHIN DEPARTMENT

9 OF JUSTICE.—The Attorney General shall designate an 

10 individual of the Department of Justice to act as the na11 tional coordinator of the Silver Alert communications net12 work. The individual so designated shall be known as the 

13 Silver Alert Coordinator of the Department of Justice (re14 ferred to in this title as the ‘‘Coordinator’’). 

15 (b) DUTIES OF THE COORDINATOR.—In acting as the 

16 national coordinator of the Silver Alert communications 

17 network, the Coordinator shall— 

18 (1) work with States to encourage the develop19 ment of additional Silver Alert plans in the network; 

20 (2) establish voluntary guidelines for States to 

21 use in developing Silver Alert plans that will pro22 mote compatible and integrated Silver Alert plans 

23 throughout the United States, including— 

24 (A) a list of the resources necessary to es25 tablish a Silver Alert plan; 


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1 (B) criteria for evaluating whether a situa2 tion warrants issuing a Silver Alert, taking into 

3 consideration the need for the use of such 

4 Alerts to be limited in scope because the effec5 tiveness of the Silver Alert communications net6 work may be affected by overuse, including cri7 teria to determine— 

8 (i) whether the mental capacity of a 

9 senior who is missing, and the cir10 cumstances of his or her disappearance, 

11 warrant the issuance a Silver Alert; and 

12 (ii) whether the individual who reports 

13 that a senior is missing is an appropriate 

14 and credible source on which to base the 

15 issuance of a Silver Alert; 

16 (C) a description of the appropriate uses of 

17 the Silver Alert name to readily identify the na18 ture of search efforts for missing seniors; and 

19 (D) recommendations on how to protect 

20 the privacy, dignity, independence, and auton21 omy of any missing senior who may be the sub22 ject of a Silver Alert; 

23 (3) develop proposed protocols for efforts to re24 cover missing seniors and to reduce the number of 

25 seniors who are reported missing, including protocols 


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1 for procedures that are needed from the time of ini2 tial notification of a law enforcement agency that 

3 the senior is missing through the time of the return 

4 of the senior to family, guardian, or domicile, as ap5 propriate, including— 

6 (A) public safety communications protocol; 

7 (B) case management protocol; 

8 (C) command center operations; 

9 (D) reunification protocol; and 

10 (E) incident review, evaluation, debriefing, 

11 and public information procedures; 

12 (4) work with States to ensure appropriate re13 gional coordination of various elements of the net14 work; 

15 (5) establish an advisory group to assist States, 

16 units of local government, law enforcement agencies, 

17 and other entities involved in the Silver Alert com18 munications network with initiating, facilitating, and 

19 promoting Silver Alert plans, which shall include— 

20 (A) to the maximum extent practicable, 

21 representation from the various geographic re22 gions of the United States; and 

23 (B) members who are— 


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1 (i) representatives of senior citizen ad2 vocacy groups, law enforcement agencies, 

3 and public safety communications; 

4 (ii) broadcasters, first responders, dis5 patchers, and radio station personnel; and 

6 (iii) representatives of any other indi7 viduals or organizations that the Coordi8 nator determines are necessary to the suc9 cess of the Silver Alert communications 

10 network; and 

11 (6) act as the nationwide point of contact for— 

12 (A) the development of the network; and 

13 (B) regional coordination of alerts for 

14 missing seniors through the network. 

15 (c) COORDINATION.— 

16 (1) COORDINATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.— 

17 The Coordinator shall coordinate and consult with 

18 the Secretary of Transportation, the Federal Com19 munications Commission, the Assistant Secretary for 

20 Aging of the Department of Health and Human 

21 Services, the head of the Missing Alzheimer’s Dis22 ease Patient Alert Program, and other appropriate 

23 offices of the Department of Justice in carrying out 

24 activities under this title. 


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1 (2) STATE AND LOCAL COORDINATION.—The 

2 Coordinator shall consult with local broadcasters and 

3 State and local law enforcement agencies in estab4 lishing minimum standards under section 105 and in 

5 carrying out other activities under this title, as ap6 propriate. 

7 (d) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than one year 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

9 thereafter, the Coordinator shall submit to Congress a re10 port on the activities of the Coordinator and the effective11 ness and status of the Silver Alert plans of each State 

12 that has established or is in the process of establishing 

13 such a plan. Each such report shall include— 

14 (1) a list of States that have established Silver 

15 Alert plans; 

16 (2) a list of States that are in the process of 

17 establishing Silver Alert plans; 

18 (3) for each State that has established such a 

19 plan, to the extent the data is available— 

20 (A) the number of Silver Alerts issued; 

21 (B) the number of individuals located suc22 cessfully; 

23 (C) the average period of time between the 

24 issuance of a Silver Alert and the location of 

25 the individual for whom such Alert was issued; 


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1 (D) the State agency or authority issuing 

2 Silver Alerts, and the process by which Silver 

3 Alerts are disseminated; 

4 (E) the cost of establishing and operating 

5 such a plan; 

6 (F) the criteria used by the State to deter7 mine whether to issue a Silver Alert; and 

8 (G) the extent to which missing individuals 

9 for whom Silver Alerts were issued crossed 

10 State lines; 

11 (4) actions States have taken to protect the pri12 vacy and dignity of the individuals for whom Silver 

13 Alerts are issued; 

14 (5) ways that States have facilitated and im15 proved communication about missing individuals be16 tween families, caregivers, law enforcement officials, 

17 and other authorities; and 

18 (6) any other information the Coordinator de19 termines to be appropriate. 

20 SEC. 105. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE AND DIS21 SEMINATION OF ALERTS THROUGH SILVER 

22 ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF MINIMUM STANDARDS.— 

24 Subject to subsection (b), the Coordinator shall establish 

25 minimum standards for— 


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1 (1) the issuance of alerts through the Silver 

2 Alert communications network; and 

3 (2) the extent of the dissemination of alerts 

4 issued through the network. 

5 (b) LIMITATIONS.— 

6 (1) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—The min7 imum standards established under subsection (a) of 

8 this section, and any other guidelines and programs 

9 established under section 104, shall be adoptable on 

10 a voluntary basis only. 

11 (2) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The 

12 minimum standards shall, to the maximum extent 

13 practicable (as determined by the Coordinator in 

14 consultation with State and local law enforcement 

15 agencies), provide that appropriate information re16 lating to the special needs of a missing senior (in17 cluding health care needs) are disseminated to the 

18 appropriate law enforcement, public health, and 

19 other public officials. 

20 (3) GEOGRAPHIC AREAS.—The minimum stand21 ards shall, to the maximum extent practicable (as 

22 determined by the Coordinator in consultation with 

23 State and local law enforcement agencies), provide 

24 that the dissemination of an alert through the Silver 

25 Alert communications network be limited to the geoVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:24 Feb 12, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H632.RFS H632

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1 graphic areas which the missing senior could reason2 ably reach, considering the missing senior’s cir3 cumstances and physical and mental condition, the 

4 modes of transportation available to the missing sen5 ior, and the circumstances of the disappearance. 

6 (4) AGE REQUIREMENTS.—The minimum 

7 standards shall not include any specific age require8 ment for an individual to be classified as a missing 

9 senior for purposes of the Silver Alert communica10 tion network. Age requirements for determinations 

11 of whether an individual is a missing senior shall be 

12 determined by each State, and may vary from State 

13 to State. 

14 (5) PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES PROTEC15 TIONS.—The minimum standards shall— 

16 (A) ensure that alerts issued through the 

17 Silver Alert communications network comply 

18 with all applicable Federal, State, and local pri19 vacy laws and regulations; and 

20 (B) include standards that specifically pro21 vide for the protection of the civil liberties and 

22 sensitive medical information of missing sen23 iors. 

24 (6) STATE AND LOCAL VOLUNTARY COORDINA25 TION.—In carrying out the activities under subVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:24 Feb 12, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H632.RFS H632

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1 section (a), the Coordinator may not interfere with 

2 the current system of voluntary coordination be3 tween local broadcasters and State and local law en4 forcement agencies for purposes of the Silver Alert 

5 communications network. 

6 SEC. 106. TRAINING AND OTHER RESOURCES. 

7 (a) TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.—The 

8 Coordinator shall make available to States, units of local 

9 government, law enforcement agencies, and other con10 cerned entities that are involved in initiating, facilitating, 

11 or promoting Silver Alert plans, including broadcasters, 

12 first responders, dispatchers, public safety communica13 tions personnel, and radio station personnel— 

14 (1) training and educational programs related 

15 to the Silver Alert communication network and the 

16 capabilities, limitations, and anticipated behaviors of 

17 missing seniors, which shall be updated regularly to 

18 encourage the use of new tools, technologies, and re19 sources in Silver Alert plans; and 

20 (2) informational materials, including bro21 chures, videos, posters, and websites to support and 

22 supplement such training and educational programs. 

23 (b) COORDINATION.—The Coordinator shall coordi24 nate— 


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1 (1) with the Assistant Secretary for Aging of 

2 the Department of Health and Human Services in 

3 developing the training and educational programs 

4 and materials under subsection (a); and 

5 (2) with the head of the Missing Alzheimer’s 

6 Disease Patient Alert Program within the Depart7 ment of Justice, to determine if any existing mate8 rial with respect to training programs or educational 

9 materials developed or used as part of such Patient 

10 Alert Program are appropriate and may be used for 

11 the programs under subsection (a). 

12 SEC. 107. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 

13 SILVER ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

14 There are authorized to be appropriated to the De15 partment of Justice such sums as may be necessary to 

16 carry out the Silver Alert communications network as au17 thorized under this title. 

18 SEC. 108. GRANT PROGRAM FOR SUPPORT OF SILVER 

19 ALERT PLANS. 

20 (a) GRANT PROGRAM.—Subject to the availability of 

21 appropriations to carry out this section, the Attorney Gen22 eral shall carry out a program to provide grants to States 

23 for the development and enhancement of programs and 

24 activities for the support of Silver Alert plans and the Sil25 ver Alert communications network. 


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1 (b) ACTIVITIES.—Activities funded by grants under 

2 the program under subsection (a) may include— 

3 (1) the development and implementation of edu4 cation and training programs, and associated mate5 rials, relating to Silver Alert plans; 

6 (2) the development and implementation of law 

7 enforcement programs, and associated equipment, 

8 relating to Silver Alert plans; 

9 (3) the development and implementation of new 

10 technologies to improve Silver Alert communications; 

11 and 

12 (4) such other activities as the Attorney Gen13 eral considers appropriate for supporting the Silver 

14 Alert communications network. 

15 (c) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 

16 of any activities funded by a grant under the program 

17 under subsection (a) may not exceed 50 percent. 

18 (d) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS ON GEOGRAPHIC

19 BASIS.—The Attorney General shall, to the maximum ex20 tent practicable, ensure the distribution of grants under 

21 the program under subsection (a) on an equitable basis 

22 throughout the various regions of the United States. 

23 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—The Attorney General shall 

24 prescribe requirements, including application require25 ments, for grants under the program under subsection (a). 


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1 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 (1) There is authorized to be appropriated to 

3 the Department of Justice $5,000,000 for each of 

4 the fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to carry out this 

5 section and, in addition, $5,000,000 for each of the 

6 fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to carry out sub7 section (b)(3). 

8 (2) Amounts appropriated pursuant to the au9 thorization of appropriations in paragraph (1) shall 

10 remain available until expended. 

11 TITLE II—KRISTEN’S ACT 

12 REAUTHORIZATION 

13 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This title may be cited as ‘‘Kristen’s Act Reauthor15 ization of 2009’’. 

16 SEC. 202. FINDINGS. 

17 Congress finds the following: 

18 (1) Every year thousands of adults become 

19 missing due to advanced age, diminished mental ca20 pacity, or foul play. Often there is no information 

21 regarding the whereabouts of these adults and many 

22 of them are never reunited with their families. 

23 (2) Missing adults are at great risk of both 

24 physical harm and sexual exploitation. 


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1 (3) In most cases, families and local law en2 forcement officials have neither the resources nor 

3 the expertise to undertake appropriate search efforts 

4 for a missing adult. 

5 (4) The search for a missing adult requires co6 operation and coordination among Federal, State, 

7 and local law enforcement agencies and assistance 

8 from distant communities where the adult may be lo9 cated. 

10 (5) Federal assistance is urgently needed to 

11 help with coordination among such agencies. 

12 SEC. 203. GRANTS FOR THE ASSISTANCE OF ORGANIZA13 TIONS TO FIND MISSING ADULTS. 

14 (a) GRANTS.— 

15 (1) GRANT PROGRAM.—Subject to the avail16 ability of appropriations to carry out this section, 

17 the Attorney General shall make competitive grants 

18 to public agencies or nonprofit private organizations, 

19 or combinations thereof, to— 

20 (A) maintain a national resource center 

21 and information clearinghouse for missing and 

22 unidentified adults; 

23 (B) maintain a national, interconnected 

24 database for the purpose of tracking missing 

25 adults who are determined by law enforcement 


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1 to be endangered due to age, diminished mental 

2 capacity, or the circumstances of disappearance, 

3 when foul play is suspected or circumstances 

4 are unknown; 

5 (C) coordinate public and private programs 

6 that locate or recover missing adults or reunite 

7 missing adults with their families; 

8 (D) provide assistance and training to law 

9 enforcement agencies, State and local govern10 ments, elements of the criminal justice system, 

11 nonprofit organizations, and individuals in the 

12 prevention, investigation, prosecution, and 

13 treatment of cases involving missing adults; 

14 (E) provide assistance to families in locat15 ing and recovering missing adults; and 

16 (F) assist in public notification and victim 

17 advocacy related to missing adults. 

18 (2) APPLICATIONS.—The Attorney General 

19 shall periodically solicit applications for grants under 

20 this section by publishing a request for applications 

21 in the Federal Register and by posting such a re22 quest on the website of the Department of Justice. 

23 (b) OTHER DUTIES.—The Attorney General shall— 


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1 (1) coordinate programs relating to missing 

2 adults that are funded by the Federal Government; 

3 and 

4 (2) encourage coordination between State and 

5 local law enforcement and public agencies and non6 profit private organizations receiving a grant pursu7 ant to subsection (a). 

8 SEC. 204. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

10 this title $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 

11 2020. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 10, 

2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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