[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1978 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1978

To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to improve the ability 
of State and local governments to prevent the abduction of children by 
                family members, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 2, 2009

Ms. Woolsey (for herself, Mr. Gary G. Miller of California, Mr. Stark, 
 Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, and Mr. Grijalva) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to improve the ability 
of State and local governments to prevent the abduction of children by 
                family members, 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 ``Family Abduction Prevention Act of 
2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) each year more than 203,000 children in the United 
        States (approximately 78 percent of all abducted children) are 
        abducted by a family member, usually a parent;
            (2) more than half of the parents who abduct their children 
        have a history of alcohol or substance abuse, a criminal 
        record, or a history of violence;
            (3) the most common motive for family abduction is revenge 
        against the other parent, not protecting the child's safety;
            (4) children who are abducted by family members suffer 
        emotional, psychological, and often physical abuse at the hands 
        of their abductors;
            (5) children who are victims of family abductions are 
        forced to leave behind family, friends, their homes, their 
        neighborhoods, their schools, and all that is familiar to them;
            (6) children who are victims of family abductions are often 
        told that the parent who did not abduct the child has died, 
        does not love them, or will harm them;
            (7) children who are abducted by their parents or other 
        family members are sometimes forced to live in fear of 
        discovery and may be compelled to conceal their true identity, 
        including their real names, family histories, and even their 
        gender;
            (8) children who are victims of family abductions are often 
        denied the opportunity to attend school or to receive health 
        and dental care;
            (9) child psychologists and law enforcement authorities now 
        classify family abduction as a form of child abuse;
            (10) approximately 70 percent of local law enforcement 
        agencies do not have written guidelines for what to do in the 
        event of a family abduction or how to facilitate the recovery 
        of an abducted child;
            (11) the first few hours of a family abduction are crucial 
        to recovering an abducted child, and valuable hours are lost 
        when law enforcement is not prepared to employ the most 
        effective techniques to locate and recover abducted children;
            (12) when parents who may be inclined to abduct their own 
        children receive counseling and education on the harm suffered 
        by children under these circumstances, the incidence of family 
        abductions is greatly reduced; and
            (13) where practiced, the flagging of school records has 
        proven to be an effective tool in assisting law enforcement 
        authorities find abducted children.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Family abduction.--The term ``family abduction'' means 
        the taking, keeping, or concealing of a child or children by a 
        parent, other family member, or person acting on behalf of the 
        parent or family member, that prevents another individual from 
        exercising lawful custody or visitation rights.
            (2) Flagging.--The term ``flagging'' means the process of 
        notifying law enforcement authorities of the name and address 
        of any person requesting the school records of an abducted 
        child.
            (3) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' means any 
        Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or 
        community, including any Alaska Native village or regional or 
        village corporation as defined in or established pursuant to 
        the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et 
        seq.), which is recognized as eligible for the special programs 
        and services provided by the United States to Indians because 
        of their status as Indians.
            (4) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
        Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 
        American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, any territory or 
        possession of the United States, and any Indian tribe.

SEC. 4. GRANTS TO STATES.

    (a) Matching Grants.--The Attorney General shall make grants to 
States for projects involving--
            (1) the extradition of individuals suspected of committing 
        a family abduction;
            (2) the investigation by State and local law enforcement 
        agencies of family abduction cases;
            (3) the training of State and local law enforcement 
        agencies in responding to family abductions and recovering 
        abducted children, including the development of written 
        guidelines and technical assistance;
            (4) outreach and media campaigns to educate parents on the 
        dangers of family abductions; and
            (5) the flagging of school records.
    (b) Matching Requirement.--Not less than 50 percent of the cost of 
a project for which a grant is made under this section shall be 
provided by non-Federal sources.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    For the purpose of carrying out this Act, there are authorized to 
be appropriated to the Attorney General such sums as may be necessary 
for each of the fiscal years 2010, 2011, and 2012.
                                 <all>