An act to amend the Missing Children's Assistance Act, and for other purposes
PL 115-267 (S.3354), enacted 10/11/2018

132 STAT. 3756 
PUBLIC LAW 115–267—OCT. 11, 2018 
Public Law 115–267 
115th Congress 
An Act 
To amend the Missing Children’s Assistance 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 Children’s Assistance 
Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. IMPROVING SUPPORT FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHIL-
DREN. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Section 402 of the Missing Children’s Assistance 
Act (34 U.S.C. 11291) is amended— 
(1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows: 
‘‘(1) each year tens of thousands of children run away, 
or are abducted or removed, from the control of a parent having 
legal custody without the consent of that parent, under cir-
cumstances which immediately place the child in grave 
danger;’’; 
(2) by striking paragraphs (4), (5), and (9); 
(3) by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), (8), and (10) as 
paragraphs (4), (5), (6), and (7), respectively; 
(4) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated, by inserting ‘‘, 
including child sex trafficking and sextortion’’ after ‘‘exploi-
tation’’; 
(5) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by adding ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; and 
(6) by amending paragraph (7), as so redesignated, to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(7) the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preven-
tion administers programs under this title, including programs 
that prevent and address offenses committed against vulnerable 
children and support missing children’s organizations, including 
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that— 
‘‘(A) serves as a nonprofit, national resource center 
and clearinghouse to provide assistance to victims, families, 
child-serving professionals, and the general public; 
‘‘(B) works with the Department of Justice, the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals 
Service, the Department of the Treasury, the Department 
of State, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the 
United States Secret Service, the United States Postal 
Inspection Service, other agencies, and nongovernmental 
organizations in the effort to find missing children and 
to prevent child victimization; and 
34 USC 10101 
note. 
Missing 
Children’s 
Assistance Act 
of 2018. 
Oct. 11, 2018 
[S. 3354] 
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132 STAT. 3757 
PUBLIC LAW 115–267—OCT. 11, 2018 
‘‘(C) coordinates with each of the missing children 
clearinghouses operated by the 50 States, the District of 
Columbia, Puerto Rico, and international organizations to 
transmit images and information regarding missing and 
exploited children to law enforcement agencies, nongovern-
mental organizations, and corporate partners across the 
United States and around the world instantly.’’. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 403 of the Missing Children’s Assist-
ance Act (34 U.S.C. 11292) is amended— 
(1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) the term ‘missing child’ means any individual less 
than 18 years of age whose whereabouts are unknown to such 
individual’s parent;’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(3) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) the term ‘parent’ includes a legal guardian or other 
individual who may lawfully exercise parental rights with 
respect to the child.’’. 
(c) DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.—Section 
404 of the Missing Children’s Assistance Act (34 U.S.C. 11293) 
is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘telephone line’’ and 
inserting ‘‘hotline’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (6)(E)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘telephone line’’ and inserting ‘‘hot-
line’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘(b)(1)(A) and’’ and inserting 
‘‘(b)(1)(A),’’; and 
(iii) by inserting ‘‘, and the number and types 
of reports to the tipline established under subsection 
(b)(1)(K)(i)’’ before the semicolon at the end; 
(2) in subsection (b)(1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘telephone line’’ each place it 
appears and inserting ‘‘hotline’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘legal custodian’’ and inserting 
‘‘parent’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (C)— 
(i) in clause (i)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘restaurant’’ and inserting 
‘‘food’’; and 
(II) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(ii) in clause (ii) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(iii) innovative and model programs, services, and 
legislation that benefit missing and exploited chil-
dren;’’; 
(C) by striking subparagraphs (E), (F), (G), (L), (M), 
(P) and (R); 
(D) by redesignating subparagraphs (H) through (K) 
as subparagraphs (E) through (H), respectively; 
(E) by redesignating subparagraphs (N) and (O) as 
subparagraphs (I) and (J), respectively; 
Coordination. 
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132 STAT. 3758 
PUBLIC LAW 115–267—OCT. 11, 2018 
(F) by redesignating subparagraph (Q) as subpara-
graph (K); 
(G) by redesignating subparagraphs (S) through (V) 
as subparagraphs (L) through (O), respectively; 
(H) by amending subparagraph (E), as so redesignated, 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(E) provide technical assistance and training to fami-
lies, law enforcement agencies, State and local govern-
ments, elements of the criminal justice system, nongovern-
mental agencies, local educational agencies, and the general 
public— 
‘‘(i) in the prevention, investigation, prosecution, 
and treatment of cases involving missing and exploited 
children; 
‘‘(ii) to respond to foster children missing from 
the State child welfare system in coordination with 
child welfare agencies and courts handling juvenile 
justice and dependency matters; and 
‘‘(iii) in the identification, location, and recovery 
of victims of, and children at risk for, child sex traf-
ficking;’’; 
(I) by amending subparagraphs (F), (G), and (H), as 
so redesignated, to read as follows: 
‘‘(F) provide assistance to families, law enforcement 
agencies, State and local governments, nongovernmental 
agencies, child-serving professionals, and other individuals 
involved in the location and recovery of missing and 
abducted children nationally and, in cooperation with the 
Department of State, internationally; 
‘‘(G) provide support and technical assistance to child- 
serving professionals involved in helping to recover missing 
and exploited children by searching public records data-
bases to help in the identification, location, and recovery 
of such children, and help in the location and identification 
of potential abductors and offenders; 
‘‘(H) provide forensic and direct on-site technical assist-
ance and consultation to families, law enforcement agen-
cies, child-serving professionals, and nongovernmental 
organizations in child abduction and exploitation cases, 
including facial reconstruction of skeletal remains and 
similar techniques to assist in the identification of unidenti-
fied deceased children;’’; 
(J) by amending subparagraph (I), as so redesignated, 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(I) provide training, technical assistance, and informa-
tion to nongovernmental organizations relating to non- 
compliant sex offenders and to law enforcement agencies 
in identifying and locating such individuals;’’; 
(K) by amending subparagraph (K), as so redesignated, 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(K) work with families, law enforcement agencies, 
electronic service providers, electronic payment service pro-
viders, technology companies, nongovernmental organiza-
tions, and others on methods to reduce the existence and 
distribution of online images and videos of sexually 
exploited children— 
‘‘(i) by operating a tipline to— 
Consultation. 
Cooperation. 
Coordination. 
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132 STAT. 3759 
PUBLIC LAW 115–267—OCT. 11, 2018 
‘‘(I) provide to individuals and electronic 
service providers an effective means of reporting 
internet-related and other instances of child sexual 
exploitation in the areas of— 
‘‘(aa) possession, manufacture, and dis-
tribution of child pornography; 
‘‘(bb) online enticement of children for 
sexual acts; 
‘‘(cc) child sex trafficking; 
‘‘(dd) sex tourism involving children; 
‘‘(ee) extra-familial child sexual molesta-
tion; 
‘‘(ff) unsolicited obscene material sent to 
a child; 
‘‘(gg) misleading domain names; and 
‘‘(hh) misleading words or digital images 
on the internet; and 
‘‘(II) make reports received through the tipline 
available to the appropriate law enforcement 
agency for its review and potential investigation; 
‘‘(ii) by operating a child victim identification pro-
gram to assist law enforcement agencies in identifying 
victims of child pornography and other sexual crimes 
to support the recovery of children from sexually 
exploitative situations; and 
‘‘(iii) by utilizing emerging technologies to provide 
additional outreach and educational materials to par-
ents and families;’’; and 
(L) by amending subparagraphs (L) and (M), as so 
redesignated, to read as follows: 
‘‘(L) develop and disseminate programs and informa-
tion to families, child-serving professionals, law enforce-
ment agencies, State and local governments, nongovern-
mental organizations, schools, local educational agencies, 
child-serving organizations, and the general public on— 
‘‘(i) the prevention of child abduction and sexual 
exploitation; 
‘‘(ii) internet safety, including tips for social media 
and cyberbullying; and 
‘‘(iii) sexting and sextortion; 
‘‘(M) provide technical assistance and training to local 
educational agencies, schools, State and local law enforce-
ment agencies, individuals, and other nongovernmental 
organizations that assist with finding missing and abducted 
children in identifying and recovering such children;’’. 
(d) GRANTS.—Section 405 of the Missing Children’s Assistance 
Act (34 U.S.C. 11294) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘(as defined in section 
403(1)(A))’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (8)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘legal custodians’’ and inserting 
‘‘parents’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘custodians’ ’’ and inserting ‘‘par-
ents’ ’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘legal custodians’’ 
and inserting ‘‘parents’’. 
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132 STAT. 3760 
PUBLIC LAW 115–267—OCT. 11, 2018 
(e) REPORTING.—The Missing Children’s Assistance Act (34 
U.S.C. 11291 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 407 and 408 as sections 408 
and 409, respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after section 406 (34 U.S.C. 11295) the 
following: 
‘‘SEC. 407. REPORTING. 
‘‘(a) REQUIRED REPORTING.—As a condition of receiving funds 
under section 404(b), the grant recipient shall, based solely on 
reports received by the grantee and not involving any data collection 
by the grantee other than those reports, annually provide to the 
Administrator and make available to the general public, as appro-
priate— 
‘‘(1) the number of children nationwide who are reported 
to the grantee as missing; 
‘‘(2) the number of children nationwide who are reported 
to the grantee as victims of non-family abductions; 
‘‘(3) the number of children nationwide who are reported 
to the grantee as victims of family abductions; and 
‘‘(4) the number of missing children recovered nationwide 
whose recovery was reported to the grantee. 
‘‘(b) INCIDENCE OF ATTEMPTED CHILD ABDUCTIONS.—As a condi-
tion of receiving funds under section 404(b), the grant recipient 
shall— 
‘‘(1) track the incidence of attempted child abductions in 
order to identify links and patterns; 
‘‘(2) provide such information to law enforcement agencies; 
and 
‘‘(3) make such information available to the general public, 
as appropriate.’’. 
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; AUDIT REQUIREMENT. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 409(a) of the 
Missing Children’s Assistance Act, as so redesignated by section 
2, is amended by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 
(b) AUDIT REQUIREMENT.—Section 408(1) of the Missing Chil-
dren’s Assistance Act, as so redesignated by section 2, is amended 
by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS. 
(a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as provided in subsection (b), 
this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 
on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
34 USC 11291 
note. 
Public 
information. 
Public 
information. 
34 USC 11295a. 
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132 STAT. 3761 
PUBLIC LAW 115–267—OCT. 11, 2018 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 3354: 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 164 (2018): 
Sept. 27, considered and passed Senate. 
Sept. 28, considered and passed House. 
(b) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.—The amendments made by 
section 2 shall apply with respect to fiscal years that begin after 
September 30, 2018. 
Approved October 11, 2018. 
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