tion over competing State custody determinations, and 
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Assist-
ance to Missing and Exploited Children Act of 2004’’. 
SEC. 2. APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS PROVI-
SIONS TO NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING 
AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN AND ITS EM-
PLOYEES. 
Section 7 of the International Child Abduction Rem-
edies Act (42 U.S.C. 11606) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(f) LIMITED LIABILITY OF ENTITIES REGARDING 
DELEGATED
AUTHORITY.—For purposes of section 
1346(b)(1) and chapter 171 of title 28, United States 
Code, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Chil-
dren, when carrying out responsibilities of the United 
States Central Authority under this Act, pursuant to a 
delegation of authority by the Central Authority, and any 
other entity to whom such responsibilities are delegated 
by the Central Authority, when carrying out such respon-
sibilities, shall be deemed to be part of the Department 
of State, and any employee of the Center or such entity, 
while acting within the scope of his or her employment
in carrying out such delegated responsibilities, shall be 
deemed to be an employee of the Government.’’. 
SEC. 3. JURISDICTION OVER COMPETING STATE CUSTODY 
ORDERS. 
Section 1738A of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(i) If a court of one State makes a child custody 
determination in accordance with subsection (c) and if 
that determination is in conflict with a determination 
made by another State in accordance with subsection (c), 
a contestant for whom such a determination was made 
may bring an action in the district court of the United 
States the district of which includes the resident of such 
contestant to determine which determination shall pre-
vail.’’. 
SEC. 4. NATIONAL REGISTRY OF CUSTODY ORDERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall estab-
lish a national child custody and visitation registry in 
which shall be entered—
(1) certified copies of custody and visitation or-
ders made by courts throughout the United States; 
(2) information identifying pending proceedings 
in courts throughout the United States for orders 
described in paragraph (1), and for modification or 
enforcement of those orders; and
(3) information identifying proceedings filed in 
any court in the United States pursuant to the 
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Inter-
national Child Abduction and the International 
Child Abduction Remedies Act, and resulting orders. 
(b) COOPERATION.—The Attorney General shall seek 
the cooperation of the Federal courts and the courts of 
each State and the District of Columbia in providing rel-
evant information to the registry on an ongoing basis. The 
Attorney General shall provide such financial and tech-
nical assistance as necessary to carry out subsection (a). 
(c) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION IN REGISTRY.—
(1) DISCLOSURE.—Upon request filed in ac-
cordance with paragraph (3), by a court, law en-
forcement official, or a contestant of child custody or 
his or her legal representative, the Attorney General 
shall provide information in the Registry to that 
court, official, contestant, or representative. 
(2) NONDISCLOSURE.—Information in the Reg-
istry shall not be disclosed to any person if the At-
torney General has reasonable cause to believe, 
based upon notice by a State or otherwise, that the 
disclosure of the information could be harmful to the 
custodial parent of a child or that child, except that
such information may be disclosed to a court or an 
agent of a court, if—
(A) upon receipt of information from the 
Secretary, the court determines whether disclo-
sure to any other person of that information 
could be harmful to the parent or the child; and 
(B) if the court determines that disclosure 
of such information to any other person could 
be harmful, the court and its agents shall not 
make any such disclosure. 
(3) FORM AND MANNER OF REQUEST FOR IN-
FORMATION.—A request for information under this 
subsection shall be filed in such manner and form as 
the Attorney General shall by regulation prescribe 
and shall be accompanied or supported by such doc-
uments as the Attorney General may determine to 
be necessary. 
SEC. 5. DETENTION OF CHILDREN IN CERTAIN CIR-
CUMSTANCES. 
(a) DETENTION OF CHILDREN.—Law enforcement 
officials of any State or local government or the Federal 
Government may detain—
(1) any child listed under any category of the 
Missing Person File by the National Crime Informa-
tion Center, and
(2) any child accompanying an adult who is ar-
rested for suspected abduction of the child in viola-
tion of a child custody order, 
for purposes of allowing the lawful determination of the 
proper disposition of the child in accordance with the most 
recent valid custody determination applicable to the child. 
(b) INTERIM CUSTODY.—Upon detaining a child 
under subsection (a), the law enforcement officials in-
volved shall ensure that the child is surrendered, at the 
earliest practicable time, to the appropriate State child 
protective services agency or child welfare agency. 
SEC. 6. INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION REMEDIES. 
(a) LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF PARENTAL 
KIDNAPPING; TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—
Section 7 of the International Child Abduction Remedies 
Act (42 U.S.C. 11606), as amended by section 2 of this 
Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsections: 
‘‘(g) GRANTS FOR LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS 
OF PARENTAL KIDNAPPING; TRAINING AND TECHNICAL 
ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(1) FUNDING FOR LEGAL ASSISTANCE; TRAIN-
ING
AND
TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE.—The United 
States Central Authority shall establish a program—
‘‘(A) to provide funding to legal services 
providers, including private attorneys, public of-
ficials acting pursuant to the Uniform Child 
Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, 
legal aid programs, and law school clinical pro-
grams, to provide direct legal or advocacy serv-
ices on behalf of persons seeking remedies 
under the Convention, or other civil or criminal 
remedies in interstate or international parental 
kidnapping cases; and 
‘‘(B) to provide training and technical as-
sistance to legal services providers, State court 
judges, and law students on the civil and crimi-
nal laws pertaining to interstate and inter-
national parental kidnapping, in order to im-
prove the capacity to provide legal assistance 
described in paragraph (1) and adjudicate cases 
involving remedies described in such paragraph. 
‘‘(2) PROVISION
OF
TRAINING.—The United 
States Central Authority may carry out subpara-
graph (B) of paragraph (1) directly or through 
grants to appropriate nonprofit organizations, State 
judicial educators, national, State, and local bar as-
sociations, and law schools. The United States Cen-
tral Authority shall require recipients of such grants