Native Youth and Tribal Officer Protection Act

To protect Native children and promote public safety in Indian country. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Native Youth and Tribal Officer Protection Act 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) American Indians and Alaska Natives are 2.5 times more likely to experience violent crimes and at least 2 times more likely to experience rape or sexual assault crimes. (2) The vast majority of American Indian and Alaska Native victims, 96 percent of female and 89 percent of male victims, report being victimized by a non-Indian. (3) According to a 2010 Government Accountability Office report, United States Attorneys declined to prosecute nearly 52 percent of violent crimes that occur in Indian country. (4) More than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime. (5) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, homicide is the third leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women between 10 and 24 years of age and the fifth leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native women between 25 and 34 years of age. (6) On some reservations, American Indian women are murdered at more than 10 times the national average. (7) Tribal prosecutors report that the majority of domestic violence cases involve children either as witnesses or victims, and the Department of Justice reports that American Indian and Alaska Native children suffer exposure to violence at some of the highest rates in the United States. (8) Childhood exposure to violence has immediate and long term effects, including increased rates of altered neurological development, poor physical and mental health, poor school performance, substance abuse, and overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system. (9) Violence against children and crimes associated with dating violence and domestic violence increase the number of instances of trauma in Tribal communities, which— (A) affects health outcomes; (B) reduces educational attainment; (C) hinders economic growth; and (D) undermines public safety. (10) Domestic violence calls are among the most dangerous calls that law enforcement receives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report shows that police officers, including Tribal police officers, are assaulted when responding to disturbance calls more often than under any other circumstances. (11) The complicated jurisdictional structure in Indian country— (A) requires a high degree of commitment and cooperation among Tribal, Federal, and State law enforcement officials; and (B) when that cooperation breaks down, results in a significant negative impact on the ability to provide public safety to Indian communities. (12) The Indian Law and Order Commission, established by Congress to review Federal criminal justice policies and practices in Indian country, issued a report in 2013 entitled A Roadmap for Making Native America Safer (13) Restoring and enhancing local, Tribal capacity to address violent crimes provides for greater local control, safety, accountability, and transparency. (14) Tribal communities should be able to protect themselves from dating violence, domestic violence, child violence, and violence committed against members of the Tribal justice system. 3. Protection of Native children and Tribal communities Section 204 of Public Law 90–284 25 U.S.C. 1304 (1) in the section heading, by striking domestic violence domestic violence, child violence, and violence against law enforcement officers (2) in subsection (a)— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking means violence means covered conduct (B) in paragraph (2)— (i) by striking means violence means covered conduct (ii) by striking where the violence occurs where the covered conduct occurs (C) in paragraph (4), by striking domestic violence tribal (D) in paragraph (6)— (i) in the paragraph heading, by striking domestic violence tribal (ii) by striking domestic violence tribal (E) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as paragraphs (12) and (13), respectively; (F) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5) as paragraphs (6) through (10), respectively; (G) by inserting before paragraph (6) (as redesignated by subparagraph (F)) the following: (1) Caregiver The term caregiver (A) the parent, guardian, or legal custodian of the child; (B) the spouse or intimate partner of a parent, guardian, or legal custodian of the child; (C) any relative of the child, including a parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, stepparent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, or half-sister; (D) a person who resides or has resided regularly or intermittently in the same dwelling as the child; (E) a person who provides or has provided care for the child in or out of the home of the child; (F) any person who exercises or has exercised temporary or permanent control over the child; or (G) any person who temporarily or permanently supervises or has supervised the child. (2) Child The term child (A) the age of 18; or (B) except in the case of sexual abuse, the age specified by the child protection law of the participating tribe that has jurisdiction over the Indian country where the child resides. (3) Child violence The term child violence (4) Covered conduct The term covered conduct (A) involves the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another; and (B) violates the criminal law of the Indian tribe that has jurisdiction over the Indian country where the conduct occurs. (5) Covered individual The term covered individual (A) authorized under law to— (i) engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, arrest, pretrial detention, prosecution, or adjudication of an offense or the sentencing, including the probation, parole, incarceration, or rehabilitation, of an individual; or (ii) serve as a probation or pretrial services officer; and (B) carrying out an activity described in paragraph (11)(C). ; and (H) by inserting after paragraph (10) (as redesignated by subparagraph (F)) the following: (11) Related conduct The term related conduct (A) against a covered individual; (B) by a person— (i) who is subject to special tribal criminal jurisdiction; and (ii) has committed criminal conduct that falls into one or more of the categories described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (c); and (C) in the course of resisting or interfering with the prevention, detection, investigation, arrest, pretrial detention, prosecution, adjudication, or sentencing, including the probation, parole, incarceration, or rehabilitation, of that person relating to that criminal conduct. ; (3) in subsection (b)— (A) by striking domestic violence tribal (B) in paragraph (4)(B)(iii), in the matter preceding subclause (I), by striking , or dating partner , dating partner, or caregiver (4) in subsection (c)— (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking domestic violence tribal (B) in paragraph (1)— (i) in the paragraph heading, by striking and dating violence , dating violence, and child violence (ii) by striking or dating violence , dating violence, or child violence (C) by adding at the end the following: (3) Related conduct An act of related conduct that occurs in the Indian country of the participating tribe. ; (5) in subsection (d), by striking domestic violence tribal (6) in subsection (f)— (A) by striking special domestic violence special tribal (B) in paragraph (2), by striking prosecutes (A) a crime of domestic violence; (B) a crime of dating violence; (C) a crime of child violence; (D) a criminal violation of a protection order; or (E) a crime of related conduct; ; and (C) in paragraph (4), by inserting child violence, related conduct, dating violence, (7) in subsection (h), by striking “2014 through 2018” and inserting “2020 through 2024”. 4. Increased interagency coordination (a) In general The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the Secretaries 25 U.S.C. 5304 (b) Coordination of Federal Indian facilities with national domestic violence hotline grantees The Secretaries shall ensure that information for contacting any toll-free telephone hotline operated by recipients of a grant authorized by section 313 of the Family Violence Protective Services Act ( 42 U.S.C. 10413 (1) the Indian Health Services; (2) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; or (3) the Bureau of Indian Education. (c) Coordination on training Federal indian program employees To recognize and respond to domestic violence The Secretaries (acting through the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, the Director of the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Director of the Indian Health Service) shall coordinate with the Director of the Office on Violence Against Women of the Department of Justice and the Associate Commissioner for the Family and Youth Services Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that training materials on recognizing and responding to domestic violence are available to Tribal and Federal employees of— (1) the Indian Health Services; (2) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and (3) the Bureau of Indian Education. 5. Report (a) In general The Secretary of the Interior (acting through the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs) and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (acting through the Director of the Indian Health Service) shall jointly submit a report to— (1) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate; and (2) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives. (b) Contents of the report The report required under subsection (a) shall include a description of the degree of effectiveness of— (1) Federal programs that are intended to build the capacity of criminal justice systems of Indian tribes to investigate and prosecute offenses relating to dating violence, domestic violence, child violence, and related conduct (as defined in section 204 of Public Law 90–284 25 U.S.C. 1304 (2) the required coordination activities required under section 4, including compliance with the posting of domestic violence victim service access information required under section 4(b); and (3) the interagency employee training material development required under section 4(c). (c) Timing The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit the report required under subsection (a) by not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

Summary: Native Youth and Tribal Officer Protection Act This bill extends tribal jurisdiction over the following crimes: violence committed against a child by a caregiver; violence against law enforcement officers involved in preventing, investigating, arresting, or prosecuting a person for domestic violence, dating violence, or child violence; attempted dating violence or domestic violence; or threatened dating violence or domestic violence. In addition, the bill reauthorizes grants to tribal governments for exercising tribal criminal jurisdiction for those crimes through FY2024.