[115th Congress Public Law 267]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[[Page 3755]]
MISSING CHILDREN'S ASSISTANCE
ACT OF 2018
[[Page 132 STAT. 3756]]
Public Law 115-267
115th Congress
An Act
To amend the Missing Children's Assistance Act, and for other
purposes. <<NOTE: Oct. 11, 2018 - [S. 3354]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Missing
Children's Assistance Act of 2018.>>
SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 34 USC 10101 note.>> SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Missing Children's Assistance Act of
2018''.
SEC. 2. IMPROVING SUPPORT FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN.
(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
circumstances 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
``exploitation'';
(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
Prevention 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
[[Page 132 STAT. 3757]]
``(C) <<NOTE: Coordination.>> 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, nongovernmental organizations,
and corporate partners across the United States and
around the world instantly.''.
(b) Definitions.--Section 403 of the Missing Children's Assistance
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 ``hotline'';
(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 children;'';
(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;
[[Page 132 STAT. 3758]]
(F) by redesignating subparagraph (Q) as
subparagraph (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
families, law enforcement agencies, State and local
governments, elements of the criminal justice system,
nongovernmental agencies, local educational agencies,
and the general public--
``(i) in the prevention, investigation,
prosecution, and treatment of cases involving
missing and exploited children;
``(ii) <<NOTE: Coordination.>> 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 trafficking;'';
(I) by amending subparagraphs (F), (G), and (H), as
so redesignated, to read as follows:
``(F) <<NOTE: Cooperation.>> 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 databases to help in the identification,
location, and recovery of such children, and help in the
location and identification of potential abductors and
offenders;
``(H) <<NOTE: Consultation.>> provide forensic and
direct on-site technical assistance and consultation to
families, law enforcement agencies, 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
unidentified deceased children;'';
(J) by amending subparagraph (I), as so
redesignated, to read as follows:
``(I) provide training, technical assistance, and
information 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
providers, technology companies, nongovernmental
organizations, 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--
[[Page 132 STAT. 3759]]
``(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 distribution 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 molestation;
``(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 program 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 parents and families;''; and
(L) by amending subparagraphs (L) and (M), as so
redesignated, to read as follows:
``(L) develop and disseminate programs and
information to families, child-serving professionals,
law enforcement agencies, State and local governments,
nongovernmental 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
enforcement 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 ``parents' ''; and
(2) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by striking ``legal
custodians'' and inserting ``parents''.
[[Page 132 STAT. 3760]]
(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. <<NOTE: 34 USC 11295a.>> REPORTING.
``(a) Required Reporting. <<NOTE: Public information.>> --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 appropriate--
``(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 condition 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) <<NOTE: Public information.>> 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 Children's
Assistance Act, as so redesignated by section 2, is amended by striking
``2018'' and inserting ``2023''.
SEC. 4. <<NOTE: 34 USC 11291 note.>> 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.
[[Page 132 STAT. 3761]]
(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.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 3354:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 164 (2018):
Sept. 27, considered and passed Senate.
Sept. 28, considered and passed House.
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