[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.

                                  <all>