I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3965

To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to improve the ability 

of State and local governments to prevent the abduction of children 

by family members, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 11, 2004

Ms. WOOLSEY (for herself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of 

Texas, Mr. FROST, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. BACA, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. MOORE, Mr. CARDOZA, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. 

CHABOT, Mr. PAYNE, and Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to improve 

the ability of State and local governments to prevent 

the abduction of children by family members, 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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Family Abduction Pre5 vention Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 
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1 (1) Each year more than 203,000 children in 

2 the United States (approximately 78 percent of all 

3 abducted children) are abducted by a family mem4 ber, usually a parent. 

5 (2) More than half of the parents who abduct 

6 their children have a history of alcohol or substance 

7 abuse, a criminal record, or a history of violence. 

8 (3) The most common motive for family abduc9 tion is revenge against the other parent, not pro10 tecting the child’s safety. 

11 (4) Children who are abducted by family mem12 bers suffer emotional, psychological, and often phys13 ical abuse at the hands of their abductors. 

14 (5) Children who are victims of family abduc15 tions are forced to leave behind family, friends, their 

16 homes, their neighborhoods, their schools, and all 

17 that is familiar to them. 

18 (6) Children who are victims of family abduc19 tions are often told that the parent who did not 

20 abduct the child has died, does not love them, or will 

21 harm them. 

22 (7) Children who are abducted by their parents 

23 or other family members are sometimes forced to 

24 live in fear of discovery and may be compelled to 
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1 conceal their true identity, including their real 

2 names, family histories, and even their gender. 

3 (8) Children who are victims of family abduc4 tions are often denied the opportunity to attend 

5 school or to receive health and dental care. 

6 (9) Child psychologists and law enforcement au7 thorities now classify family abduction as a form of 

8 child abuse. 

9 (10) Approximately 70 percent of local law en10 forcement agencies do not have written guidelines 

11 for what to do in the event of a family abduction or 

12 how to facilitate the recovery of an abducted child. 

13 (11) The first few hours of a family abduction 

14 are crucial to recovering an abducted child. Valuable 

15 hours are lost when law enforcement is not prepared 

16 to employ the most effective techniques to locate and 

17 recover abducted children. 

18 (12) When parents who may be inclined to 

19 abduct their own children receive counseling and 

20 education on the harm suffered by children under 

21 these circumstances, the incidence of family abduc22 tions is greatly reduced. 

23 (13) Where practiced, the flagging of school 

24 records has proven to be an effective tool in assisting 

25 law enforcement authorities find abducted children. 
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1 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO STATES. 

2 (a) MATCHING GRANTS.—The Attorney General shall 

3 make grants to States for projects involving—

4 (1) the extradition of individuals suspected of 

5 committing a family abduction back to the State 

6 from which the child was taken; 

7 (2) the investigation by State and local law en8 forcement agencies of family abduction cases; 

9 (3) the training of State and local law enforce10 ment agencies in responding to family abductions 

11 and recovering abducted children, including the de12 velopment of written guidelines and technical assist13 ance; 

14 (4) outreach and media campaigns to educate 

15 parents on the dangers of family abductions; and 

16 (5) the flagging of school records. 

17 (b) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—Not less than 50 

18 percent of the cost of a project for which a grant is made 

19 under this section shall be provided by non-Federal 

20 sources. 

21 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) The term ‘‘family abduction’’ means the 

24 taking, keeping, or concealing of a child or children 

25 by a parent, other family member, or person acting 

26 on behalf of the parent or family member, that pre-
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1 vents another individual from exercising lawful cus2 tody or visitation rights. 

3 (2) The term ‘‘flagging’’ means the process of 

4 notifying law enforcement authorities of the name 

5 and address of any person requesting the school 

6 records of an abducted child. 

7 (3) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ means any Indian 

8 tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or com9 munity, including any Alaska Native village or re10 gional or village corporation as defined in or estab11 lished pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settle12 ment Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), which is recog13 nized as eligible for the special programs and serv14 ices provided by the United States to Indians be15 cause of their status as Indians. 

16 (4) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 

17 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

18 of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

19 Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Vir20 gin Islands, any territory or possession of the United 

21 States, and any Indian tribe. 

22 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 For the purpose of carrying out this Act, there are 

24 authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General 
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1 $500,000 for fiscal year 2005 and such sums as may be 

2 necessary for each of fiscal years 2006 and 2007.

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