[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1925 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1925

 To reauthorize programs under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act and 
     the Missing Children's Assistance Act, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 1, 2003

Mr. Gingrey (for himself, Mr. Boehner, Mr. George Miller of California, 
Mr. Hoekstra, Mr. Porter, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Norwood, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. 
Wilson of South Carolina, and Mr. Burns) introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To reauthorize programs under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act and 
     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 ``Runaway, Homeless, and Missing 
Children Protection Act''.

         TITLE I--AMENDMENTS TO RUNAWAY AND HOMELESS YOUTH ACT

SEC. 101. AMENDMENT TO FINDINGS.

    Section 302 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701) 
is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 302. FINDINGS.

    ``The Congress finds that--
            ``(1) juveniles who have become homeless or who leave and 
        remain away from home without parental permission, are at risk 
        of developing, and have a disproportionate share of, serious 
        health, behavioral, and emotional problems because they lack 
        sufficient resources to obtain care and may live on the street 
        for extended periods thereby endangering themselves and 
        creating a substantial law enforcement problem for communities 
        in which they congregate;
            ``(2) many such young people, because of their age and 
        situation, are urgently in need of temporary shelter and 
        services, including services that are linguistically 
        appropriate and acknowledge the environment of youth seeking 
        these services;
            ``(3) in view of the interstate nature of the problem, it 
        is the responsibility of the Federal Government to develop an 
        accurate national reporting system to report the problem, and 
        to assist in the development of an effective system of care 
        (including preventive and aftercare services, emergency shelter 
        services, extended residential shelter, and street outreach 
        services) outside the welfare system and the law enforcement 
        system;
            ``(4) to make a successful transition to adulthood, runaway 
        youth, homeless youth, and other street youth need 
        opportunities to complete high school or earn a general 
        equivalency degree, learn job skills, and obtain employment; 
        and
            ``(5) improved coordination and collaboration between the 
        Federal programs that serve runaway and homeless youth are 
        necessary for the development of a long-term strategy for 
        responding to the needs of this population.''.

SEC. 102. RECOGNITION OF STATE LAW RELATING TO CAPACITY LIMITATION ON 
              ELIGIBLE RUNAWAY AND HOMELESS YOUTH CENTERS.

    Section 312(b)(2)(A) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 
U.S.C. 5712(b)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting after ``youth'' the 
following: ``, except where the applicant assures that the State where 
it is located has a State or local law or regulation that requires a 
higher maximum to comply with licensure requirements for children and 
youth serving facilities''.

SEC. 103. MATERNITY GROUP HOMES.

    (a) Eligibility.--Section 322(a)(1) of the Runaway and Homeless 
Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714-2(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting after ``group homes,'' the following: 
        ``including maternity group homes,''; and
            (2) by inserting after ``use of credit,'' the following: 
        ``parenting skills (as appropriate),''.
    (b) Definition.--Section 322 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5714-2) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(c) Definition.--In this part, the term `maternity group home' 
means a community-based, adult-supervised transitional youth living 
arrangement that provides pregnant or parenting teens and their 
children with a supportive and supervised living arrangement in which 
such pregnant or parenting teens are required to learn parenting 
skills, including child development, family budgeting, health and 
nutrition, and other skills to promote their long-term economic 
independence in order to ensure the well-being of their children.''.

SEC. 104. LIMITED EXTENSION OF 540-DAY SHELTER ELIGIBILITY PERIOD.

    Section 322(a)(2) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 
5714-2(a)(2)) is amended by inserting after ``days'' the following: ``, 
except that a youth in a program under this part who is under the age 
of 18 years on the last day of the 540-day period may, if otherwise 
qualified for the program, remain in the program until the earlier of 
the youth's 18th birthday or the 180th day after the end of the 540-day 
period''.

SEC. 105. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Other Than Part E.--Section 388(a)(1) of the Runaway and 
Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5751(a)(1)) is amended by striking 
``years 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003'' and inserting ``year 2003, 
$105,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, and such sums as may be necessary 
for fiscal years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008''.
    (b) Part E.--Section 388(a)(4) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5751(a)(4)) is amended by striking ``2000, 2001, 2002, 
and'' and inserting ``, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008''.
    (c) Part B Allocation.--Section 388(a)(2)(B) of the Runaway and 
Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5751(a)(2)(B)) is amended by striking 
``not less than 20 percent, and not more than 30 percent'' and 
inserting ``45 percent and, in those fiscal years in which continuation 
grant obligations and the quality and number of applicants for parts A 
and B warrant, not more than 55 percent''.

SEC. 106. PART A PLAN COORDINATION ASSURANCES.

    Section 312(b)(4)(B) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 
U.S.C. 5712(b)(4)(B)) is amended by striking ``personnel'' and all that 
follows through the semicolon and inserting ``McKinney-Vento school 
district liaisons, designated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the 
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11432 (g)(1)(J)(ii)), 
to assure that runaway and homeless youth are provided information 
about the educational services available to such youth under subtitle B 
of title VII of that Act;''.

SEC. 107. PART B PLAN COORDINATION AGREEMENT.

    Section 322(a) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 
5714-2(a)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon at the end of 
        paragraph (13);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (14) and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(15) to coordinate services with McKinney-Vento school 
        district liaisons, designated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of 
        the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
        11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)), to assure that runaway and homeless youth 
        are provided information about the educational services 
        available to such youth under subtitle B of title VII of that 
        Act.''.

SEC. 108. PART B PLAN DEVELOPMENT.

    Section 322(a)(7) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 
5714-2(a)(7)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(7) to develop an adequate plan to ensure proper referral 
        of homeless youth to social service, law enforcement, 
        educational (including post-secondary education), vocational, 
        training (including services and programs for youth available 
        under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998), welfare (including 
        programs under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
        Reconciliation Act of 1996), legal service, and health care 
        programs and to help integrate and coordinate such services for 
        youths;''.

SEC. 109. REPORT ON STRATEGIES TO END YOUTH HOMELESSNESS.

    Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the 
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, shall submit to the 
Congress a report on strategies to end youth homelessness.

SEC. 110. EVALUATION ON HOUSING SERVICES AND STRATEGIES.

    Section 386 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5732) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Evaluation on Housing Services and Strategies.--The Secretary 
shall conduct an evaluation of such programs funded under part B of 
this Act to report on long-term housing outcomes for youth 12 to 18 
months after exiting the program. The evaluation of any such program 
should provide information on housing services available to youth upon 
exiting the program, including assistance in locating and retaining 
permanent housing and referrals to other residential programs. In 
addition, the evaluation should identify housing models and placement 
strategies that prevent future episodes of homelessness.''.

SEC. 111. AGE LIMIT FOR HOMELESS YOUTH.

    Section 387(3)(A)(i) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 
U.S.C. 5732a(3)(A)(i)) is amended by inserting after ``of age'' the 
following: ``, or, in the case of a youth seeking shelter in a center 
under part A, not more than 18 years of age''.

       TITLE II--AMENDMENTS TO MISSING CHILDREN'S ASSISTANCE ACT

SEC. 201. AMENDMENT TO FINDINGS.

    Section 402 of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5771) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 402. FINDINGS.

    ``The Congress finds that--
            ``(1) each year thousands of children are abducted or 
        removed from the control of a parent having legal custody 
        without such parent's consent, under circumstances which 
        immediately place the child in grave danger;
            ``(2) many missing children are at great risk of both 
        physical harm and sexual exploitation;
            ``(3) in many cases, parents and local law enforcement 
        officials have neither the resources nor the expertise to mount 
        expanded search efforts;
            ``(4) abducted children are frequently moved from one 
        locality to another, requiring the cooperation and coordination 
        of local, State, and Federal law enforcement efforts;
            ``(5) the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
        Children--
                    ``(A) serves as the national resource center and 
                clearinghouse;
                    ``(B) works in partnership with the Department of 
                Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the 
                Department of the Treasury, the Department of State, 
                and many other agencies in the effort to find missing 
                children and prevent child victimization; and
                    ``(C) operates a national and increasingly 
                worldwide network, linking the Center online with each 
                of the missing children clearinghouses operated by the 
                50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, 
                as well as with Scotland Yard in the United Kingdom, 
                the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, INTERPOL 
                headquarters in Lyon, France, and others, which enable 
                the Center to transmit images and information regarding 
                missing children to law enforcement across the United 
                States and around the world instantly.''.

SEC. 202. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Annual Grant to National Center for Missing and Exploited 
Children.--Section 404(b)(2) of the Missing Children's Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5773(b)(2)) is amended by striking ``each of fiscal years 
2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003'' and inserting ``fiscal year 2003 and 
$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008''.
    (b) In General.--Section 408(a) of the Missing Children's 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5777(a)) is amended by striking ``2000 
through 2003'' and inserting ``2003 through 2008''.

SEC. 203. CREATION OF CYBER TIPLINE.

    Section 404(b)(1) of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 5773(b)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (G), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(H) coordinate the operation of a cyber tipline 
                to provide online users an effective means of reporting 
                Internet-related child sexual exploitation in the areas 
                of--
                            ``(i) distribution of child pornography;
                            ``(ii) online enticement of children for 
                        sexual acts; and
                            ``(iii) child prostitution.''.
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