1999CRH3513A MISSING, EXPLOITED, AND RUNAWAY CHILDREN PROTECTION ACT, Part 1/2
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[Congressional Record: May 25, 1999 (House)]
[Page H3513-H3521]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr25my99-85]
MISSING, EXPLOITED, AND RUNAWAY CHILDREN PROTECTION ACT
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
Senate bill (S. 249) to provide funding for the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children, to reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless
Youth Act, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
S. 249
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, Exploited, and
Runaway Children Protection Act''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN.
(a) Findings.--Section 402 of the Missing Children's
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5771) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and
inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(9) for 14 years, the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children has--
``(A) served as the national resource center and
clearinghouse congressionally mandated under the provisions
of the Missing Children's Assistance Act of 1984; and
``(B) worked 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;
``(10) Congress has given the Center, which is a private
non-profit corporation, access to the National Crime
Information Center of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
and the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System;
``(11) since 1987, the Center has operated the National
Child Pornography Tipline, in conjunction with the United
States Customs Service and the United States Postal
Inspection Service and, beginning this year, the Center
established a new CyberTipline on child exploitation, thus
becoming `the 911 for the Internet';
``(12) in light of statistics that time is of the essence
in cases of child abduction, the Director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation in February of 1997 created a new
NCIC child abduction (`CA') flag to provide the Center
immediate notification in the most serious cases, resulting
in 642 `CA' notifications to the Center and helping the
Center to have its highest recovery rate in history;
``(13) the Center has established 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 has enabled the Center to transmit
images and information regarding missing children to law
enforcement across the United States and around the world
instantly;
``(14) from its inception in 1984 through March 31, 1998,
the Center has--
``(A) handled 1,203,974 calls through its 24-hour toll-free
hotline (1-800-THE-LOST) and currently averages 700 calls per
day;
``(B) trained 146,284 law enforcement, criminal and
juvenile justice, and healthcare professionals in child
sexual exploitation and missing child case detection,
identification, investigation, and prevention;
``(C) disseminated 15,491,344 free publications to citizens
and professionals; and
``(D) worked with law enforcement on the cases of 59,481
missing children, resulting in the recovery of 40,180
children;
``(15) the demand for the services of the Center is growing
dramatically, as evidenced by the fact that in 1997, the
Center handled 129,100 calls, an all-time record, and by the
fact that its new Internet website (www.missingkids.com)
receives 1,500,000 `hits' every day, and is linked with
hundreds of other websites to provide real-time images of
breaking cases of missing children;
``(16) in 1997, the Center provided policy training to 256
police chiefs and sheriffs from 50 States and Guam at its new
Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training Center;
``(17) the programs of the Center have had a remarkable
impact, such as in the fight against infant abductions in
partnership with the healthcare industry, during which the
Center has performed 668 onsite hospital walk-throughs and
inspections, and trained 45,065 hospital administrators,
nurses, and security personnel, and thereby helped to reduce
infant abductions in the United States by 82 percent;
``(18) the Center is now playing a significant role in
international child abduction cases, serving as a
representative of the Department of State at cases under The
Hague Convention, and successfully resolving the cases of 343
international child abductions, and providing greater support
to parents in the United States;
``(19) the Center is a model of public/private partnership,
raising private sector funds to match congressional
appropriations and receiving extensive private in-kind
support, including advanced technology provided by the
computer industry such as imaging technology used to age the
photographs of long-term missing children and to reconstruct
facial images of unidentified deceased children;
``(20) the Center was 1 of only 10 of 300 major national
charities given an A+ grade in 1997 by the American Institute
of Philanthropy; and
``(21) the Center has been redesignated as the Nation's
missing children clearinghouse and resource center once every
3 years through a competitive selection process conducted by
the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of
the Department of Justice, and has received grants from that
Office to conduct the crucial purposes of the Center.''.
(b) Definitions.--Section 403 of the Missing Children's
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5772) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) the term `Center' means the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children.''.
(c) Duties and Functions of the Administrator.--Section 404
of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5773) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
(2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
``(b) Annual Grant to National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children.--
``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall annually make a
grant to the Center, which shall be used to--
``(A)(i) operate a national 24-hour toll-free telephone
line by which individuals may report information regarding
the location of any missing child, or other child 13 years of
age or younger whose whereabouts are unknown to such child's
legal custodian, and request information pertaining to
procedures necessary to reunite such child with such child's
legal custodian; and
``(ii) coordinate the operation of such telephone line with
the operation of the national communications system referred
to in part C of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C.
5714-11);
``(B) operate the official national resource center and
information clearinghouse for missing and exploited children;
``(C) provide to State and local governments, public and
private nonprofit agencies, and individuals, information
regarding--
``(i) free or low-cost legal, restaurant, lodging, and
transportation services that are available for the benefit of
missing and exploited children and their families; and
``(ii) the existence and nature of programs being carried
out by Federal agencies to assist missing and exploited
children and their families;
``(D) coordinate public and private programs that locate,
recover, or reunite missing children with their families;
``(E) disseminate, on a national basis, information
relating to innovative and model programs, services, and
legislation that benefit missing and exploited children;
``(F) provide technical assistance and training to law
enforcement agencies, State and local governments, elements
of the criminal justice system, public and private nonprofit
agencies, and individuals in the prevention, investigation,
prosecution, and treatment of cases involving missing and
exploited children; and
``(G) provide assistance to families and law enforcement
agencies in locating and recovering missing and exploited
children, both nationally and internationally.
``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this
subsection,
[[Page H3514]]
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000, 2001, 2002, and
2003.
``(c) National Incidence Studies.--The Administrator,
either by making grants to or entering into contracts with
public agencies or nonprofit private agencies, shall--
``(1) periodically conduct national incidence studies to
determine for a given year the actual number of children
reported missing each year, the number of children who are
victims of abduction by strangers, the number of children who
are the victims of parental kidnapings, and the number of
children who are recovered each year; and
``(2) provide to State and local governments, public and
private nonprofit agencies, and individuals information to
facilitate the lawful use of school records and birth
certificates to identify and locate missing children.''.
(d) National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.--
Section 405(a) of the Missing Children's Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5775(a)) is amended by inserting ``the Center and
with'' before ``public agencies''.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 408 of the
Missing Children's Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5777) is amended
by striking ``1997 through 2001'' and inserting ``2000
through 2003''.
SEC. 3. RUNAWAY AND HOMELESS YOUTH.
(a) Findings.--Section 302 of the Runaway and Homeless
Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``accurate reporting of
the problem nationally and to develop'' and inserting ``an
accurate national reporting system to report the problem, and
to assist in the development of''; and
(2) by striking paragraph (8) and inserting the following:
``(8) services for runaway and homeless youth are needed in
urban, suburban, and rural areas;''.
(b) Authority To Make Grants for Centers and Services.--
Section 311 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C.
5711) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
``(a) Grants for Centers and Services.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall make grants to
public and nonprofit private entities (and combinations of
such entities) to establish and operate (including
renovation) local centers to provide services for runaway and
homeless youth and for the families of such youth.
``(2) Services provided.--Services provided under paragraph
(1)--
``(A) shall be provided as an alternative to involving
runaway and homeless youth in the law enforcement, child
welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice systems;
``(B) shall include--
``(i) safe and appropriate shelter; and
``(ii) individual, family, and group counseling, as
appropriate; and
``(C) may include--
``(i) street-based services;
``(ii) home-based services for families with youth at risk
of separation from the family; and
``(iii) drug abuse education and prevention services.'';
(2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ``the Trust Territory
of the Pacific Islands,''; and
(3) by striking subsections (c) and (d).
(c) Eligibility.--Section 312 of the Runaway and Homeless
Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5712) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (8), by striking ``paragraph (6)'' and
inserting ``paragraph (7)'';
(B) in paragraph (10), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(C) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(12) shall submit to the Secretary an annual report that
includes, with respect to the year for which the report is
submitted--
``(A) information regarding the activities carried out
under this part;
``(B) the achievements of the project under this part
carried out by the applicant; and
``(C) statistical summaries describing--
``(i) the number and the characteristics of the runaway and
homeless youth, and youth at risk of family separation, who
participate in the project; and
``(ii) the services provided to such youth by the
project.''; and
(2) by striking subsections (c) and (d) and inserting the
following:
``(c) Applicants Providing Street-Based Services.--To be
eligible to use assistance under section 311(a)(2)(C)(i) to
provide street-based services, the applicant shall include in
the plan required by subsection (b) assurances that in
providing such services the applicant will--
``(1) provide qualified supervision of staff, including on-
street supervision by appropriately trained staff;
``(2) provide backup personnel for on-street staff;
``(3) provide initial and periodic training of staff who
provide such services; and
``(4) conduct outreach activities for runaway and homeless
youth, and street youth.
``(d) Applicants Providing Home-Based Services.--To be
eligible to use assistance under section 311(a) to provide
home-based services described in section 311(a)(2)(C)(ii), an
applicant shall include in the plan required by subsection
(b) assurances that in providing such services the applicant
will--
``(1) provide counseling and information to youth and the
families (including unrelated individuals in the family
households) of such youth, including services relating to
basic life skills, interpersonal skill building, educational
advancement, job attainment skills, mental and physical
health care, parenting skills, financial planning, and
referral to sources of other needed services;
``(2) provide directly, or through an arrangement made by
the applicant, 24-hour service to respond to family crises
(including immediate access to temporary shelter for runaway
and homeless youth, and youth at risk of separation from the
family);
``(3) establish, in partnership with the families of
runaway and homeless youth, and youth at risk of separation
from the family, objectives and measures of success to be
achieved as a result of receiving home-based services;
``(4) provide initial and periodic training of staff who
provide home-based services; and
``(5) ensure that--
``(A) caseloads will remain sufficiently low to allow for
intensive (5 to 20 hours per week) involvement with each
family receiving such services; and
``(B) staff providing such services will receive qualified
supervision.
``(e) Applicants Providing Drug Abuse Education and
Prevention Services.--To be eligible to use assistance under
section 311(a)(2)(C)(iii) to provide drug abuse education and
prevention services, an applicant shall include in the plan
required by subsection (b)--
``(1) a description of--
``(A) the types of such services that the applicant
proposes to provide;
``(B) the objectives of such services; and
``(C) the types of information and training to be provided
to individuals providing such services to runaway and
homeless youth; and
``(2) an assurance that in providing such services the
applicant shall conduct outreach activities for runaway and
homeless youth.''.
(d) Approval of Applications.--Section 313 of the Runaway
and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5713) is amended to read as
follows:
``SEC. 313. APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS.
``(a) In General.--An application by a public or private
entity for a grant under section 311(a) may be approved by
the Secretary after taking into consideration, with respect
to the State in which such entity proposes to provide
services under this part--
``(1) the geographical distribution in such State of the
proposed services under this part for which all grant
applicants request approval; and
``(2) which areas of such State have the greatest need for
such services.
``(b) Priority.--In selecting applications for grants under
section 311(a), the Secretary shall give priority to--
``(1) eligible applicants who have demonstrated experience
in providing services to runaway and homeless youth; and
``(2) eligible applicants that request grants of less than
$200,000.''.
(e) Authority for Transitional Living Grant Program.--
Section 321 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C.
5714-1) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``purpose and'';
(2) in subsection (a), by striking ``(a)''; and
(3) by striking subsection (b).
(f) Eligibility.--Section 322(a)(9) of the Runaway and
Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714-2(a)(9)) is amended by
inserting ``, and the services provided to such youth by such
project,'' after ``such project''.
(g) Coordination.--Section 341 of the Runaway and Homeless
Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714-21) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 341. COORDINATION.
``With respect to matters relating to the health,
education, employment, and housing of runaway and homeless
youth, the Secretary--
``(1) in conjunction with the Attorney General, shall
coordinate the activities of agencies of the Department of
Health and Human Services with activities under any other
Federal juvenile crime control, prevention, and juvenile
offender accountability program and with the activities of
other Federal entities; and
``(2) shall coordinate the activities of agencies of the
Department of Health and Human Services with the activities
of other Federal entities and with the activities of entities
that are eligible to receive grants under this title.''.
(h) Authority To Make Grants for Research, Evaluation,
Demonstration, and Service Projects.--Section 343 of the
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714-23) is
amended--
(1) in the section heading, by inserting ``evaluation,''
after ``research,'';
(2) in subsection (a), by inserting ``evaluation,'' after
``research,''; and
(3) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking paragraph (2); and
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (10) as
paragraphs (2) through (9), respectively.
(i) Study.--Part D of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act
(42 U.S.C. 5731 et seq.) is amended by adding after section
344 the following:
``SEC. 345. STUDY
``The Secretary shall conduct a study of a representative
sample of runaways to determine the percent who leave home
because of sexual abuse. The report on the study shall
include--
``(1) in the case of sexual abuse , the relationship of the
assaulter to the runaway; and
``(2) recommendations on how Federal laws may be changed to
reduce sexual assaults on children.
[[Page H3515]]
The study shall be completed to enable the Secretary to make
a report to the committees of Congress with jurisdiction over
this Act, and to make such report available to the public,
within one year of the date of the enactment of this
section.''
(j) Assistance to Potential Grantees.--Section 371 of the
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714a) is amended
by striking the last sentence.
(k) Reports.--Section 381 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth
Act (42 U.S.C. 5715) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 381. REPORTS.
``(a) In General.--Not later than April 1, 2000, and
biennially thereafter, the Secretary shall submit, to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the
Senate, a report on the status, activities, and
accomplishments of entities that receive grants under parts
A, B, C, D, and E, with particular attention to--
``(1) in the case of centers funded under part A, the
ability or effectiveness of such centers in--
``(A) alleviating the problems of runaway and homeless
youth;
``(B) if applicable or appropriate, reuniting such youth
with their families and encouraging the resolution of
intrafamily problems through counseling and other services;
``(C) strengthening family relationships and encouraging
stable living conditions for such youth; and
``(D) assisting such youth to decide upon a future course
of action; and
``(2) in the case of projects funded under part B--
``(A) the number and characteristics of homeless youth
served by such projects;
``(B) the types of activities carried out by such projects;
``(C) the effectiveness of such projects in alleviating the
problems of homeless youth;
``(D) the effectiveness of such projects in preparing
homeless youth for self-sufficiency;
``(E) the effectiveness of such projects in assisting
homeless youth to decide upon future education, employment,
and independent living;
``(F) the ability of such projects to encourage the
resolution of intrafamily problems through counseling and
development of self-sufficient living skills; and
``(G) activities and programs planned by such projects for
the following fiscal year.
``(b) Contents of Reports.--The Secretary shall include in
each report submitted under subsection (a), summaries of--
``(1) the evaluations performed by the Secretary under
section 386; and
``(2) descriptions of the qualifications of, and training
provided to, individuals involved in carrying out such
evaluations.''.
(l) Evaluation.--Section 384 of the Runaway and Homeless
Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5732) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 386. EVALUATION AND INFORMATION.
``(a) In General.--If a grantee receives grants for 3
consecutive fiscal years under part A, B, C, D, or E (in the
alternative), then the Secretary shall evaluate such grantee
on-site, not less frequently than once in the period of such
3 consecutive fiscal years, for purposes of--
``(1) determining whether such grants are being used for
the purposes for which such grants are made by the Secretary;
``(2) collecting additional information for the report
required by section 384; and
``(3) providing such information and assistance to such
grantee as will enable such grantee to improve the operation
of the centers, projects, and activities for which such
grants are made.
``(b) Cooperation.--Recipients of grants under this title
shall cooperate with the Secretary's efforts to carry out
evaluations, and to collect information, under this title.''.
(m) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 385 of the
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5751) is amended to
read as follows:
``SEC. 388. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
``(a) In General.--
``(1) Authorization.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this title (other than part E) such
sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2000, 2001, 2002,
and 2003.
``(2) Allocation.--
``(A) Parts a and b.--From the amount appropriated under
paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve
not less than 90 percent to carry out parts A and B.
``(B) Part b.--Of the amount reserved under subparagraph
(A), not less than 20 percent, and not more than 30 percent,
shall be reserved to carry out part B.
``(3) Parts c and d.--In each fiscal year, after reserving
the amounts required by paragraph (2), the Secretary shall
use the remaining amount (if any) to carry out parts C and D.
``(b) Separate Identification Required.--No funds
appropriated to carry out this title may be combined with
funds appropriated under any other Act if the purpose of
combining such funds is to make a single discretionary grant,
or a single discretionary payment, unless such funds are
separately identified in all grants and contracts and are
used for the purposes specified in this title.''.
(n) Sexual Abuse Prevention Program.--
(1) Authority for program.--The Runaway and Homeless Youth
Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.) is amended--
(A) by striking the heading for part F;
(B) by redesignating part E as part F; and
(C) by inserting after part D the following:
``PART E--SEXUAL ABUSE PREVENTION PROGRAM
``SEC. 351. AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary may make grants to
nonprofit private agencies for the purpose of providing
street-based services to runaway and homeless, and street
youth, who have been subjected to, or are at risk of being
subjected to, sexual abuse, prostitution, or sexual
exploitation.
``(b) Priority.--In selecting applicants to receive grants
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to
nonprofit private agencies that have experience in providing
services to runaway and homeless, and street youth.''.
(2) Authorization of appropriations.--Section 388(a) of the
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5751), as amended
by subsection (m) of this section, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(4) Part e.--There is authorized to be appropriated to
carry out part E such sums as may be necessary for fiscal
years 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003.''.
(o) Consolidated Review of Applications.--The Runaway and
Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.) is amended by
inserting after section 383 the following:
``SEC. 385. CONSOLIDATED REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.
``With respect to funds available to carry out parts A, B,
C, D, and E, nothing in this title shall be construed to
prohibit the Secretary from--
``(1) announcing, in a single announcement, the
availability of funds for grants under 2 or more of such
parts; and
``(2) reviewing applications for grants under 2 or more of
such parts in a single, consolidated application review
process.''.
(p) Definitions.--The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42
U.S.C. 5701 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section
386, as amended by subsection (l) of this section, the
following:
``SEC. 387. DEFINITIONS.
``In this title:
``(1) Drug abuse education and prevention services.--The
term `drug abuse education and prevention services'--
``(A) means services to runaway and homeless youth to
prevent or reduce the illicit use of drugs by such youth; and
``(B) may include--
``(i) individual, family, group, and peer counseling;
``(ii) drop-in services;
``(iii) assistance to runaway and homeless youth in rural
areas (including the development of community support
groups);
``(iv) information and training relating to the illicit use
of drugs by runaway and homeless youth, to individuals
involved in providing services to such youth; and
``(v) activities to improve the availability of local drug
abuse prevention services to runaway and homeless youth.
``(2) Home-based services.--The term `home-based
services'--
``(A) means services provided to youth and their families
for the purpose of--
``(i) preventing such youth from running away, or otherwise
becoming separated, from their families; and
``(ii) assisting runaway youth to return to their families;
and
``(B) includes services that are provided in the residences
of families (to the extent practicable), including--
``(i) intensive individual and family counseling; and
``(ii) training relating to life skills and parenting.
``(3) Homeless youth.--The term `homeless youth' means an
individual--
``(A) who is--
``(i) not more than 21 years of age; and
``(ii) for the purposes of part B, not less than 16 years
of age;
``(B) for whom it is not possible to live in a safe
environment with a relative; and
``(C) who has no other safe alternative living arrangement.
``(4) Street-based services.--The term `street-based
services'--
``(A) means services provided to runaway and homeless
youth, and street youth, in areas where they congregate,
designed to assist such youth in making healthy personal
choices regarding where they live and how they behave; and
``(B) may include--
``(i) identification of and outreach to runaway and
homeless youth, and street youth;
``(ii) crisis intervention and counseling;
``(iii) information and referral for housing;
``(iv) information and referral for transitional living and
health care services;
``(v) advocacy, education, and prevention services related
to--
``(I) alcohol and drug abuse;
``(II) sexual exploitation;
``(III) sexually transmitted diseases, including human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV); and
``(IV) physical and sexual assault.
``(5) Street youth.--The term `street youth' means an
individual who--
``(A) is--
``(i) a runaway youth; or
``(ii) indefinitely or intermittently a homeless youth; and
``(B) spends a significant amount of time on the street or
in other areas that increase the risk to such youth for
sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, prostitution, or drug
abuse.
``(6) Transitional living youth project.--The term
`transitional living youth project' means a project that
provides shelter and
[[Page H3516]]
services designed to promote a transition to self-sufficient
living and to prevent long-term dependency on social
services.
``(7) Youth at risk of separation from the family.--The
term `youth at risk of separation from the family' means an
individual--
``(A) who is less than 18 years of age; and
``(B)(i) who has a history of running away from the family
of such individual;
``(ii) whose parent, guardian, or custodian is not willing
to provide for the basic needs of such individual; or
``(iii) who is at risk of entering the child welfare system
or juvenile justice system as a result of the lack of
services available to the family to meet such needs.''.
(q) Redesignation of Sections.--Sections 371, 372, 381,
382, and 383 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C.
5714b-5851 et seq.), as amended by this Act, are redesignated
as sections 380, 381, 382, 383, and 384, respectively.
(r) Technical Amendments.--The Runaway and Homeless Youth
Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 331, in the first sentence, by striking
``With'' and all that follows through ``the Secretary'', and
inserting ``The Secretary''; and
(2) in section 344(a)(1), by striking ``With'' and all that
follows through ``the Secretary'', and inserting ``The
Secretary''.
SEC. 4. STUDY OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE.
(a) Contract for Study.--Not later than 60 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education
shall enter into a contract with the National Academy of
Sciences for the purposes of conducting a study regarding the
antecedents of school violence in urban, suburban, and rural
schools, including the incidents of school violence that
occurred in Pearl, Mississippi; Paducah, Kentucky; Jonesboro,
Arkansas; Springfield, Oregon; Edinboro, Pennsylvania;
Fayetteville, Tennessee; Littleton, Colorado; and Conyers,
Georgia. Under the terms of such contract, the National
Academy of Sciences shall appoint a panel that will--
(1) review the relevant research about adolescent violence
in general and school violence in particular, including the
existing longitudinal and cross-sectional studies on youth
that are relevant to examining violent behavior,
(2) relate what can be learned from past and current
research and surveys to specific incidents of school
shootings,
(3) interview relevant individuals, if possible, such as
the perpetrators of such incidents, their families, their
friends, their teachers, mental health providers, and others,
and
(4) give particular attention to such issues as--
(A) the perpetrators' early development, families,
communities, school experiences, and utilization of mental
health services,
(B) the relationship between perpetrators and their
victims,
(C) how the perpetrators gained access to firearms,
(D) the impact of cultural influences and exposure to the
media, video games, and the Internet, and
(E) such other issues as the panel deems important or
relevant to the purpose of the study.
The National Academy of Sciences shall utilize professionals
with expertise in such issues, including psychiatrists,
social workers, behavioral and social scientists,
practitioners, epidemiologists, statisticians, and
methodologists.
(b) Report.--The National Academy of Sciences shall submit
a report containing the results of the study required by
subsection (a), to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the President pro tempore of the Senate, the
Chair and ranking minority Member of the Committee on
Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives,
and the Chair and ranking minority Member of the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, not
later than January 1, 2001, or 18 months after entering into
the contract required by such subsection, whichever is
earlier.
(c) Appropriation.--Of the funds made available under
Public Law 105-277 for the Department of Education, $2.1
million shall be made available to carry out this section.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Delaware (Mr. Castle) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle).
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Missing, Exploited and
Runaway Children's Protection Act. This legislation authorizes the
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act and the Missing Children's Assistance
Act. It provides an authorization for the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children and it directs the National Academy of Sciences
to conduct a study of the cultural influences on youth violence.
Mr. Speaker, this is National Missing Children's Day, and obviously,
we have had a great number of hardships in America in recent weeks that
all of us want to address. Hopefully, what we are going to do today
will in some small part start to address these problems.
This legislation authorizes the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to
provide services for the 0.5 million to 1.5 million youth estimated to
run away annually. The legislation continues the runaway and homeless
youth programs found in current law, including the basic center grants
and the transitional living grants.
These effective programs protect youth by keeping them off the
streets, away from criminal activities and out of desperate
circumstances. These programs provide assistance to homeless and other
youth who are without adult support so they learn to live independently
and become productive adults.
This legislation also provides for the continuation of services under
the Missing Children's Assistance Act. For instance, this act
authorizes grants for research, demonstration projects and service
programs in areas such as abduction prevention education.
The provision of this bill that I particularly want to focus my
colleagues' attention on is its authorization of an appropriation for
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children helps families who have a
missing child locate that child. Since 1984, the Center has worked with
law enforcement on the cases of 67,173 missing children, resulting in
the recovery of 46,031 children. In 1998 alone, it assisted in finding
5,835 missing children.
The Center works with the families of 80 missing children in my own
State of Delaware. The Center services, including its National Missing
Child Hotline, are essential to all families of missing children.
Recognizing the Center's substantial success rate in recovering
missing children and its annual designation as the national
clearinghouse for information on missing children, the legislation
authorizes a $10 million yearly appropriation for fiscal years 2000
through 2003 for the Center. This authorization ensures that for the
next 4 years the Center can focus on providing assistance to families
without interruption.
Some of my colleagues may remember that I have been working to get
this legislation passed since the 105th Congress. I am pleased we are
one step closer to completing this effort. The Runaway and Homeless
Youth Act, the Missing Children's Assistance Act and the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Youth provide much needed services for
missing and runaway youth.
Finally, I would like to mention an important study contained in this
legislation. As Members may know, my subcommittee has held hearings on
the issue of school violence in response to the tragic shootings that
have traumatized our Nation's schools. The gentleman from Pennsylvania
(Mr. Greenwood), an active member of the subcommittee, has crafted
legislation to help us obtain information on why students commit such
violent acts.
A great deal of blame has been spread around, and I believe it is
important that we really understand the causal factors that place youth
at risk for school violence.
Before I conclude, I would like to thank several Members for their
assistance on this legislation. I would like to thank the chairman of
the committee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling). I would
also like to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Greenwood) and
the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), who will be managing the bill
on the opposite side of the aisle, as well as the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Scott), for their hard work on the school violence study.
Mr. Speaker, this is good legislation and it deserves the support of
the House of Representatives. The Senate has already passed comparable
legislation. We would like to pass our legislation and proceed to
conference as quickly as possible. It has been far too long that these
important programs have been without an authorization.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, S. 249, the Missing, Exploited and Runaway Children
Protection Act makes vital improvements to the National Center for
Missing and
[[Page H3517]]
Exploited Children and the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act and deserves
the strong support of all the Members here today.
This legislation will streamline and refocus the existing basic
Center grants, the transitional living grants and the drug education
program into one reauthorization, while maintaining the distinct nature
of each program. I believe this is an essential improvement that will
strengthen the ability of localities to provide services to the
vulnerable populations of runaway and homeless children.
Mr. Speaker, S. 249 also requires a National Academy of Sciences
study to examine which factors contribute to violence around and in our
schools. This study will better enable us to understand what leads our
young people to commit such tragic acts as those in Littleton,
Colorado, and other places that have shared the unfortunate experience
of having school violence touch its teachers, parents, students and
communities.
This study, which has been a cooperative effort between the gentleman
from Delaware (Mr. Castle), the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Greenwood), the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling), and myself is necessary so we can gain a
better understanding of the profile of those most likely to commit
violence and provide them with appropriate interventions and supportive
services.
It is my hope we can constructively use the results of this study to
lessen the violence which presently is troubling our schools.
Mr. Speaker, I believe this legislation is worthy of Members'
support, and I urge its adoption.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling), the distinguished chairman
of the Committee on Education and the Workforce.
{time} 1045
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the
time.
I, too, rise in support of the Missing, Exploited and Runaway
Children's Protection Act. The programs and activities under this
legislation aim to improve the well-being of our Nation's runaway,
homeless, and missing children. This legislation authorizes the Runaway
and Homeless Youth Act. And one program under this Act is the
Transitional Living Project for ages 16 to 21, children who cannot
safely live at home.
I share the enthusiasm of the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle)
for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The Center
has trained at least 42 law enforcement officers in Pennsylvania on how
best to handle missing children's cases, a service available to law
enforcement officers across the country.
Additionally, on its web site and through other avenues, the Center
provides actual photographs of missing children along with age
progression computerized images of the missing children. Currently, the
Center's web site includes a photograph and computerized image of 51
missing children from Pennsylvania. I must commend the Center on its
extraordinary success rate in finding missing children.
Another key provision of the legislation will address an issue that
has weighed heavily on our minds over the past few months. In a hearing
held by the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families last
week, we heard firsthand testimony from students who have been the
victims of violent acts in their schools. We heard loud and clear the
fear in their voices and their concerns about future violence in their
schools.
But we still have no clear answers to the core casual factors of
school violence. This legislation includes a study to be performed by
the National Academy of Science which will explore the causes of school
violence. Information gathered through this study will help us to
improve the effectiveness of our current violence prevention efforts.
I would like to thank members of the committee for their hard work
and their staffs, particularly the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle)
for his leadership. Also, I would like to thank the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Greenwood), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee)
and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) for their guidance on the
School Science Study. The result is a quality piece of legislation.
I encourage my colleagues to support the legislation.
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy).
Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding me the time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the House amendments to the
Missing, Exploited and Runaway Children's Protection Act. I want to
thank the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Education and
the Workforce for their bipartisan work on this legislation.
I also want to thank the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) for his
excellent work as a sponsor of this legislation and the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Kildee), my dear colleague.
The bill before us today provides the resources for families to deal
with the terrible issue of missing, exploited and runaway children. The
National Center for Missing, Exploited and Runaway Children operates a
National Resource Center and a toll-free hot line to provide assistance
to state and local governments in finding missing children and
preventing the exploitation of children.
I believe this is important, Mr. Speaker. This legislation utilizes
all of our law enforcement and child services tools once a child is
missing, but the legislation also is designed to prevent the terrible
occurrence of a missing, exploited or runaway child. I am glad that we
are addressing this bill today.
In the last 6 weeks, I have had a personal experience. I got a call
late one Saturday night and it was my girlfriend of over 30 years. She
said, ``Carolyn, I do not know what I am going to do. My daughter's two
children have been kidnapped.''
With that, I gave her the information, only because I have learned
about this through Congress. I gave her the phone numbers to call. And
within hours, the photos of the missing children were put out across
this country. I am happy to say that one child has been recovered. The
other one is still missing. But with all the resources coming together,
I am grateful that we, hopefully, will find the other child.
Also, since being in Congress, one of the provisions of this bill is
also helping with children that have nowhere else to go. I have been
privileged to meet and work with a number of groups on Long Island; and
I have to tell my colleagues, I was shocked on how many homeless
children we have just on Long Island.
We have found that we can give them shelter. We have found that we
can give them training. We have found that they turn their lives around
and become productive citizens. This is something that really helps our
children across this Nation. It is something that we should be working
on more and more. It shows, when we work together, we can make a
difference here in Congress.
I am glad that we are addressing this bill today, and I urge my
colleagues to support this important bill. I thank the Committee on
Education and the Workforce for their bipartisan work.
I believe the true measure of our Government's efficiency can be
found in the way we treat our children, the extent to which we protect
our children. The legislation before us today demonstrates there is an
important role in protecting our children and saving our children's
lives. I thank everyone for the work that they have done, and may we
continue to do this.
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Greenwood), another distinguished gentleman from the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who has worked hard in the Congress of the
United States on the issues of children.
Mr. GREENWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the
time.
Mr. Speaker, I also rise in support of the Missing, Exploited and
Runaway Children's Protection Act; and I do so with a deep sense of
gratitude. As a former caseworker who worked with abused and neglected
children, I understand the importance of this legislation.
[[Page H3518]]
I would like to focus my remarks on that part that I worked on, and
that is the study that we are asking the National Academy of Science to
conduct with regard to school violence.
Mr. Speaker, the Nation has been horrified and people have been
saddened and perplexed and to some extent we have been divided over the
issues of these school shootings. America asks the question, ``Why? Why
would children take firearms to their schools and shoot their
classmates and shoot their teachers?'' America then quickly responds
with the command, ``Do something. Somebody do something.'' And, as
policymakers, that is part of our responsibility.
Mr. Speaker, I think, for the most part, the short-term efforts to
prevent school violence must be community based and they must be school
based and they must be home based. But there are some things that the
Congress can do and there are things that we need to do in terms of a
long-run strategy.
This legislation will direct the National Academy of Sciences to do a
study on the antecedents of school violence. Researchers, the best
social scientists and child psychologists that we can gather in this
country, will literally travel to Pearl, Mississippi, to Paducah,
Kentucky, to Jonesboro, Arkansas, to Springfield, Oregon, to Edinboro,
Pennsylvania, to Fayetteville, Tennessee, indeed to Littleton,
Colorado; and, regretfully, most recently we have had to amend this
language to include Conyers, Georgia.
The scientists will interview, when they can, the perpetrators, the
actual shooters. They will interview their parents, their siblings,
their neighbors, their classmates, their teachers, their guidance
counselors, any professionals that have dealt with these young people,
to try to find out what were the early childhood experiences of these
kids, what were their school experiences, what were the relationships
between the perpetrators and the victims, how did the perpetrators gain
access to firearms, and what were the impact of cultural influences and
exposure to the media, video games and the Internet.
They will report back to America about their findings. And,
hopefully, in a sober and thoughtful and disciplined way, America will
understand how some of our communities impacted some of our children in
ways that made them so inexplicably violent.
Mr. Speaker, it is my experience that the left-most of our political
spectrum tends to look at this issue and turn immediately and almost
exclusively to guns and the right-most of our political spectrum tends
to look exclusively at the cultural impacts.
It is my belief that we need to look at the children. We need to
understand how our children are affected by experiences in their home,
in their schools and in their communities and how we as a society can
value our children more than we do so that all of our children are
uplifted by our actions.
I would like to thank the chairman, the gentleman from Pennsylvania
(Mr. Goodling), for his help and cooperation with this. I would like to
thank the subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from Delaware (Mr.
Castle), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Scott) and the Speaker for his condolences, his help as
well.
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Klink).
Mr. KLINK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding me
the time.
Mr. Speaker, I think a lot of good work has been done on this bill;
and I would like to laud Members on both sides of the aisle for this
work.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is a private,
non-Federal corporation that was founded back in 1984; and they have
helped over the last 15 years to recover over 40,000 missing children.
I first worked with them back in 1985. They were one year in existence
at that time. And I was a news reporter working back in Pennsylvania.
One afternoon after getting off the school bus near the town of
Cabot, Pennsylvania, 8-year-old Cherrie Mahan disappeared, never to be
seen or heard from again. There was a police bulletin which went out,
went all over the Nation, looking for a van with a ski scene on the
side. That is what they believed the people were driving who they
thought abducted Cherrie.
That was never proven. The van was never found. But a very quiet,
rural community was upended. The family was upended. This 8-year-old
girl had just gotten off the bus on her way home, never to be seen,
never to be heard from again. Where do they look? Where do they turn
to?
And finally, the people from that community found the National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children. People in the community worked
together. They searched. They looked for clues. They put out every kind
of feeler they could trying to find out who knew about this young
girl's abduction. And they collected money for a reward. All told, they
collected from their hard-earned dollars $58,000.
Last October, when it was determined that Cherrie was not going to
come back and she was declared legally dead, that $58,000 was presented
by me along with those people, the friends and neighbors of Cherrie
Mahan, a $58,000 check, to the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children so that that money could be used as a resource to
help establish computer networks across this country to find runaway
kids, to find kids who have been abducted, and to help fight against
violence in our schools.
In return, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
gave an $8,000 TRAC system, called Technology to Recover Abducted Kids,
back to the Butler State Police Barracks in Butler, Pennsylvania. And
they hoped that if they ever have to see another sad situation like the
tragic disappearance of Cherrie Mahan, that the community will be
better prepared, that they will be better armed with this new
technology, and that we in the Federal Government can be a partner in
that, making sure that the resources are there so that the sadness that
the Mahan family has had to live with will never be felt by other
families across this Nation.
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).
(Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the
time.
Mr. Speaker, this measure, S. 249, focuses on the terrible problem
confronting all too many American families: missing, exploited and
runaway children. I commend the sponsors of the House and Senate
resolution, the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) and the
distinguished senator from Utah (Mr. Hatch), for their diligence in
bringing it to the Congress.
As a parent, few things can be more painful than the uncertainty and
anxiety that arises when a child becomes missing. The void of not
having a loved one present, plus the fear and anxiety of what that
loved one may be undergoing, are cruel hardships that no one should
ever have to endure.
Although this measure focuses primarily upon the domestic aspect of
this problem and improves the way our Government addresses the problems
that may be associated with missing or exploited children, I want to
highlight an issue that I have become increasingly involved with, the
problem of internationally abducted children.
In an interdependent world, we are finding American citizens often
marrying and having children with foreign nationals and a corresponding
increase in the number of children that are taken to or illegally
retained in another country.
This measure highlights the excellent work of our National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children. I join in commending that organization
and add my voice to those who feel that the role of NCMEC should be
straightened in the cases of international parental abductions. Our
citizens deserve an able advocate for their rights as parents, and I am
confident that NCMEC is the appropriate organization to serve this
vital function.
There are efforts underway in some parts of our Government to curtail
NCMEC's role in assisting our citizens recover their illegally abducted
or wrongfully retained children from other countries. I urge that all
supporters of this measure exercise their vigilance to make certain
that does not