S. 249

One Hundred Sixth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,

the sixth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine

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 a semicolon; 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

nonprofit 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;
S. 249—2

‘‘(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 tollfree 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 longterm 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
S. 249—3

‘‘(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
S. 249—4

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, and 2003.

‘‘(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 2003’’.

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—
S. 249—5

‘‘(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—

‘‘(1) provide qualified supervision of staff, including onstreet supervision by appropriately trained staff;

‘‘(2) provide backup personnel for on-street staff;

‘‘(3) provide initial and periodic training of staff who provide

such services; and

‘‘(4) conduct outreach activities for runaway and homeless

youth, and street youth.

‘‘(d) APPLICANTS PROVIDING HOME-BASED SERVICES.—To be

eligible to use assistance under section 311(a) to provide homebased services described in section 311(a)(2)(C)(ii), an applicant

shall include in the plan required by subsection (b) assurances

that in providing such services the applicant will—

‘‘(1) provide counseling and information to youth and the

families (including unrelated individuals in the family households) of such youth, including services relating to basic life

skills, interpersonal skill building, educational advancement,
S. 249—6

job attainment skills, mental and physical health care, parenting skills, financial planning, and referral to sources of

other needed services;

‘‘(2) provide directly, or through an arrangement made

by the applicant, 24-hour service to respond to family crises

(including immediate access to temporary shelter for runaway

and homeless youth, and youth at risk of separation from

the family);

‘‘(3) establish, in partnership with the families of runaway

and homeless youth, and youth at risk of separation from

the family, objectives and measures of success to be achieved

as a result of receiving home-based services;

‘‘(4) provide initial and periodic training of staff who provide

home-based services; and

‘‘(5) ensure that—

‘‘(A) caseloads will remain sufficiently low to allow

for intensive (5 to 20 hours per week) involvement with

each family receiving such services; and

‘‘(B) staff providing such services will receive qualified

supervision.

‘‘(e) APPLICANTS PROVIDING DRUG ABUSE EDUCATION AND

PREVENTION SERVICES.—To be eligible to use assistance under section 311(a)(2)(C)(iii) to provide drug abuse education and prevention

services, an applicant shall include in the plan required by subsection (b)—

‘‘(1) a description of—

‘‘(A) the types of such services that the applicant proposes to provide;

‘‘(B) the objectives of such services; and

‘‘(C) the types of information and training to be provided to individuals providing such services to runaway

and homeless youth; and

‘‘(2) an assurance that in providing such services the

applicant shall conduct outreach activities for runaway and

homeless youth.’’.

(d) APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS.—Section 313 of the Runaway

and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5713) is amended to read

as follows:

‘‘SEC. 313. APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An application by a public or private entity

for a grant under section 311(a) may be approved by the Secretary

after taking into consideration, with respect to the State in which

such entity proposes to provide services under this part—

‘‘(1) the geographical distribution in such State of the proposed services under this part for which all grant applicants

request approval; and

‘‘(2) which areas of such State have the greatest need

for such services.

‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In selecting applications for grants under section 311(a), the Secretary shall give priority to—

‘‘(1) eligible applicants who have demonstrated experience

in providing services to runaway and homeless youth; and

‘‘(2) eligible applicants that request grants of less than

$200,000.’’.
S. 249—7

(e) AUTHORITY FOR TRANSITIONAL LIVING GRANT PROGRAM.—

Section 321 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C.

5714–1) is amended—

(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘PURPOSE AND’’;

(2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘(a)’’; and

(3) by striking subsection (b).

(f) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 322(a)(9) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714–2(a)(9)) is amended by inserting

‘‘, and the services provided to such youth by such project,’’ after

‘‘such project’’.

(g) COORDINATION.—Section 341 of the Runaway and Homeless

Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714–21) is amended to read as follows:

‘‘SEC. 341. COORDINATION.

‘‘With respect to matters relating to the health, education,

employment, and housing of runaway and homeless youth, the

Secretary—

‘‘(1) in conjunction with the Attorney General, shall coordinate the activities of agencies of the Department of Health

and Human Services with activities under any other Federal

juvenile crime control, prevention, and juvenile offender

accountability program and with the activities of other Federal

entities; and

‘‘(2) shall coordinate the activities of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services with the activities of

other Federal entities and with the activities of entities that

are eligible to receive grants under this title.’’.

(h) AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS FOR RESEARCH, EVALUATION, DEMONSTRATION, AND SERVICE PROJECTS.—Section 343 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714–23) is amended—

(1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘EVALUATION,’’ after ‘‘RESEARCH,’’;

(2) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘evaluation,’’ after

‘‘research,’’; and

(3) in subsection (b)—

(A) by striking paragraph (2); and

(B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (10) as

paragraphs (2) through (9), respectively.

(i) STUDY.—Part D of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act

(42 U.S.C. 5731 et seq.) is amended by adding after section 344

the following:

‘‘SEC. 345. STUDY.

‘‘The Secretary shall conduct a study of a representative sample

of runaways to determine the percent who leave home because

of sexual abuse. The report on the study shall include—

‘‘(1) in the case of sexual abuse, the relationship of the

assaulter to the runaway; and

‘‘(2) recommendations on how Federal laws may be changed

to reduce sexual assaults on children.

The study shall be completed to enable the Secretary to make

a report to the committees of Congress with jurisdiction over this

Act, and to make such report available to the public, within one

year of the date of the enactment of this section.’’.

(j) ASSISTANCE TO POTENTIAL GRANTEES.—Section 371 of the

Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714a) is amended

by striking the last sentence.
S. 249—8

(k) REPORTS.—Section 381 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth

Act (42 U.S.C. 5715) is amended to read as follows:

‘‘SEC. 381. REPORTS.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than April 1, 2000, and biennially

thereafter, the Secretary shall submit, to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and

the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, a report on the

status, activities, and accomplishments of entities that receive

grants under parts A, B, C, D, and E, with particular attention

to—

‘‘(1) in the case of centers funded under part A, the ability

or effectiveness of such centers in—

‘‘(A) alleviating the problems of runaway and homeless

youth;

‘‘(B) if applicable or appropriate, reuniting such youth

with their families and encouraging the resolution of

intrafamily problems through counseling and other services;

‘‘(C) strengthening family relationships and encouraging stable living conditions for such youth; and

‘‘(D) assisting such youth to decide upon a future course

of action; and

‘‘(2) in the case of projects funded under part B—

‘‘(A) the number and characteristics of homeless youth

served by such projects;

‘‘(B) the types of activities carried out by such projects;

‘‘(C) the effectiveness of such projects in alleviating

the problems of homeless youth;

‘‘(D) the effectiveness of such projects in preparing

homeless youth for self-sufficiency;

‘‘(E) the effectiveness of such projects in assisting

homeless youth to decide upon future education, employment, and independent living;

‘‘(F) the ability of such projects to encourage the resolution of intrafamily problems through counseling and

development of self-sufficient living skills; and

‘‘(G) activities and programs planned by such projects

for the following fiscal year.

‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF REPORTS.—The Secretary shall include in

each report submitted under subsection (a), summaries of—

‘‘(1) the evaluations performed by the Secretary under section 386; and

‘‘(2) descriptions of the qualifications of, and training provided to, individuals involved in carrying out such evaluations.’’.

(l) EVALUATION.—Section 384 of the Runaway and Homeless

Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5732) is amended to read as follows:

‘‘SEC. 386. EVALUATION AND INFORMATION.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If a grantee receives grants for 3 consecutive

fiscal years under part A, B, C, D, or E (in the alternative), then

the Secretary shall evaluate such grantee on-site, not less frequently

than once in the period of such 3 consecutive fiscal years, for

purposes of—

‘‘(1) determining whether such grants are being used for

the purposes for which such grants are made by the Secretary;

‘‘(2) collecting additional information for the report required

by section 384; and
S. 249—9

‘‘(3) providing such information and assistance to such

grantee as will enable such grantee to improve the operation

of the centers, projects, and activities for which such grants

are made.

‘‘(b) COOPERATION.—Recipients of grants under this title shall

cooperate with the Secretary’s efforts to carry out evaluations, and

to collect information, under this title.’’.

(m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 385 of the

Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5751) is amended

to read as follows:

‘‘SEC. 388. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title (other than part E) such sums

as may be necessary for fiscal years 2000, 2001, 2002, and

2003.

‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—

‘‘(A) PARTS A AND B.—From the amount appropriated

under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall

reserve not less than 90 percent to carry out parts A

and B.

‘‘(B) PART B.—Of the amount reserved under subparagraph (A), not less than 20 percent, and not more than

30 percent, shall be reserved to carry out part B.

‘‘(3) PARTS C AND D.—In each fiscal year, after reserving

the amounts required by paragraph (2), the Secretary shall

use the remaining amount (if any) to carry out parts C and

D.

‘‘(b) SEPARATE IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED.—No funds appropriated to carry out this title may be combined with funds appropriated under any other Act if the purpose of combining such

funds is to make a single discretionary grant, or a single discretionary payment, unless such funds are separately identified in

all grants and contracts and are used for the purposes specified

in this title.’’.

(n) SEXUAL ABUSE PREVENTION PROGRAM.— (1) AUTHORITY FOR PROGRAM.—The Runaway and Homeless

Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.) is amended—

(A) by striking the heading for part F;

(B) by redesignating part E as part F; and

(C) by inserting after part D the following:

‘‘PART E—SEXUAL ABUSE PREVENTION

PROGRAM

‘‘SEC. 351. AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make grants to nonprofit

private agencies for the purpose of providing street-based services

to runaway and homeless, and street youth, who have been subjected to, or are at risk of being subjected to, sexual abuse, prostitution, or sexual exploitation.

‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In selecting applicants to receive grants under

subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to nonprofit private

agencies that have experience in providing services to runaway

and homeless, and street youth.’’.
S. 249—10

(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 388(a) of

the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5751), as

amended by subsection (m) of this section, is amended by

adding at the end the following:

‘‘(4) PART E.—There is authorized to be appropriated to

carry out part E such sums as may be necessary for fiscal

years 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003.’’.

(o) CONSOLIDATED REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—The Runaway

and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.) is amended

by inserting after section 383 the following:

‘‘SEC. 385. CONSOLIDATED REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.

‘‘With respect to funds available to carry out parts A, B, C,

D, and E, nothing in this title shall be construed to prohibit the

Secretary from—

‘‘(1) announcing, in a single announcement, the availability

of funds for grants under 2 or more of such parts; and

‘‘(2) reviewing applications for grants under 2 or more

of such parts in a single, consolidated application review

process.’’.

(p) DEFINITIONS.—The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42

U.S.C. 5701 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 386,

as amended by subsection (l) of this section, the following:

‘‘SEC. 387. DEFINITIONS.

‘‘In this title:

‘‘(1) DRUG ABUSE EDUCATION AND PREVENTION SERVICES.— The term ‘drug abuse education and prevention services’—

‘‘(A) means services to runaway and homeless youth

to prevent or reduce the illicit use of drugs by such youth;

and

‘‘(B) may include—

‘‘(i) individual, family, group, and peer counseling;

‘‘(ii) drop-in services;

‘‘(iii) assistance to runaway and homeless youth

in rural areas (including the development of community support groups);

‘‘(iv) information and training relating to the illicit

use of drugs by runaway and homeless youth, to

individuals involved in providing services to such

youth; and

‘‘(v) activities to improve the availability of local

drug abuse prevention services to runaway and homeless youth.

‘‘(2) HOME-BASED SERVICES.—The term ‘home-based

services’—

‘‘(A) means services provided to youth and their families for the purpose of—

‘‘(i) preventing such youth from running away, or

otherwise becoming separated, from their families; and

‘‘(ii) assisting runaway youth to return to their

families; and

‘‘(B) includes services that are provided in the residences of families (to the extent practicable), including—

‘‘(i) intensive individual and family counseling; and

‘‘(ii) training relating to life skills and parenting.

‘‘(3) HOMELESS YOUTH.—The term ‘homeless youth’ means

an individual—
S. 249—11

‘‘(A) who is—

‘‘(i) not more than 21 years of age; and

‘‘(ii) for the purposes of part B, not less than 16

years of age;

‘‘(B) for whom it is not possible to live in a safe environment with a relative; and

‘‘(C) who has no other safe alternative living arrangement.

‘‘(4) STREET-BASED SERVICES.—The term ‘street-based

services’—

‘‘(A) means services provided to runaway and homeless

youth, and street youth, in areas where they congregate,

designed to assist such youth in making healthy personal

choices regarding where they live and how they behave;

and

‘‘(B) may include—

‘‘(i) identification of and outreach to runaway and

homeless youth, and street youth;

‘‘(ii) crisis intervention and counseling;

‘‘(iii) information and referral for housing;

‘‘(iv) information and referral for transitional living

and health care services;

‘‘(v) advocacy, education, and prevention services

related to—

‘‘(I) alcohol and drug abuse;

‘‘(II) sexual exploitation;

‘‘(III) sexually transmitted diseases, including

human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); and

‘‘(IV) physical and sexual assault.

‘‘(5) STREET YOUTH.—The term ‘street youth’ means an

individual who—

‘‘(A) is—

‘‘(i) a runaway youth; or

‘‘(ii) indefinitely or intermittently a homeless

youth; and

‘‘(B) spends a significant amount of time on the street

or in other areas that increase the risk to such youth

for sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, prostitution, or drug

abuse.

‘‘(6) TRANSITIONAL LIVING YOUTH PROJECT.—The term

‘transitional living youth project’ means a project that provides

shelter and services designed to promote a transition to selfsufficient living and to prevent long-term dependency on social

services.

‘‘(7) YOUTH AT RISK OF SEPARATION FROM THE FAMILY.—

The term ‘youth at risk of separation from the family’ means

an individual—

‘‘(A) who is less than 18 years of age; and

‘‘(B)(i) who has a history of running away from the

family of such individual;

‘‘(ii) whose parent, guardian, or custodian is not willing

to provide for the basic needs of such individual; or

‘‘(iii) who is at risk of entering the child welfare system

or juvenile justice system as a result of the lack of services

available to the family to meet such needs.’’.

(q) REDESIGNATION OF SECTIONS.—Sections 371, 372, 381, 382,

and 383 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714b–
S. 249—12

5851 et seq.), as amended by this Act, are redesignated as sections

380, 381, 382, 383, and 384, respectively.

(r) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—The Runaway and Homeless

Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.) is amended—

(1) in section 331, in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘With’’

and all that follows through ‘‘the Secretary’’, and inserting

‘‘The Secretary’’; and

(2) in section 344(a)(1), by striking ‘‘With’’ and all that

follows through ‘‘the Secretary’’, and inserting ‘‘The Secretary’’.

SEC. 4. STUDY OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE.

(a) CONTRACT FOR STUDY.—Not later than 60 days after the

date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall

enter into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences for

the purposes of conducting a study regarding the antecedents of

school violence in urban, suburban, and rural schools, including

the incidents of school violence that occurred in Pearl, Mississippi;

Paducah, Kentucky; Jonesboro, Arkansas; Springfield, Oregon;

Edinboro, Pennsylvania; Fayetteville, Tennessee; Littleton, Colorado; and Conyers, Georgia. Under the terms of such contract,

the National Academy of Sciences shall appoint a panel that will—

(1) review the relevant research about adolescent violence

in general and school violence in particular, including the

existing longitudinal and cross-sectional studies on youth that

are relevant to examining violent behavior;

(2) relate what can be learned from past and current

research and surveys to specific incidents of school shootings;

(3) interview relevant individuals, if possible, such as the

perpetrators of such incidents, their families, their friends,

their teachers, mental health providers, and others; and

(4) give particular attention to such issues as—

(A) the perpetrators’ early development, families,

communities, school experiences, and utilization of mental

health services;

(B) the relationship between perpetrators and their

victims;

(C) how the perpetrators gained access to firearms;

(D) the impact of cultural influences and exposure

to the media, video games, and the Internet; and

(E) such other issues as the panel deems important

or relevant to the purpose of the study.

The National Academy of Sciences shall utilize professionals with

expertise in such issues, including psychiatrists, social workers,

behavioral and social scientists, practitioners, epidemiologists, statisticians, and methodologists.

(b) REPORT.—The National Academy of Sciences shall submit

a report containing the results of the study required by subsection

(a), to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President

pro tempore of the Senate, the Chair and ranking minority Member

of the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House

of Representatives, and the Chair and ranking minority Member

of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of

the Senate, not later than January 1, 2001, or 18 months after

entering into the contract required by such subsection, whichever

is earlier.
S. 249—13

(c) APPROPRIATION.—Of the funds made available under Public

Law 105–277 for the Department of Education, $2,100,000 shall

be made available to carry out this section.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.