Collapse to view only § 12621. Missing Americans Alert Program
- § 12621. Missing Americans Alert Program
- § 12622. Annual report
- § 12623. Standards and best practices for use of non-invasive and non-permanent tracking devices
§ 12621. Missing Americans Alert Program
(a) Grant program to reduce injury and death of missing Americans with dementia and developmental disabilitiesSubject to the availability of appropriations to carry out this section, the Attorney General, through the Bureau of Justice Assistance and in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services—
(1) shall award competitive grants to health care agencies, State and local law enforcement agencies, or public safety agencies and nonprofit organizations to assist such entities in planning, designing, establishing, or operating locally based, proactive programs to prevent wandering and locate missing individuals with forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, or developmental disabilities, such as autism, who, due to their condition, wander from safe environments, including programs that—
(A) provide prevention and response information, including online training resources, and referrals to families or guardians of such individuals who, due to their condition, wander from a safe environment;
(B) provide education and training, including online training resources, to first responders, school personnel, clinicians, and the public in order to—
(i) increase the safety and reduce the incidence of wandering of persons, who, due to their dementia or developmental disabilities, may wander from safe environments;
(ii) facilitate the rescue and recovery of individuals who, due to their dementia or developmental disabilities, wander from safe environments; and
(iii) recognize and respond to and appropriately interact with endangered missing individuals with dementia or developmental disabilities who, due to their condition, wander from safe environments;
(C) provide prevention and response training and emergency protocols for school administrators, staff, and families or guardians of individuals with dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, or developmental disabilities, such as autism, to help reduce the risk of wandering by such individuals; and
(D) develop, operate, or enhance a notification or communications systems for alerts, advisories, or dissemination of other information for the recovery of missing individuals with forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, or with developmental disabilities, such as autism; and
(2) shall award grants to health care agencies, State and local law enforcement agencies, or public safety agencies to assist such agencies in designing, establishing, and operating locative tracking technology programs for individuals with forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, or children with developmental disabilities, such as autism, who have wandered from safe environments.
(b) Application
(c) Preference
(d) Authorization of appropriations
(e) Grant accountabilityAll grants awarded by the Attorney General under this section shall be subject to the following accountability provisions:
(1) Audit requirement
(A) Definition
(B) Audits
(C) Mandatory exclusion
(D) Priority
(E) ReimbursementIf an entity is awarded grant funds under this section during the 2-fiscal-year period during which the entity is barred from receiving grants under subparagraph (C), the Attorney General shall—
(i) deposit an amount equal to the amount of the grant funds that were improperly awarded to the grantee into the General Fund of the Treasury; and
(ii) seek to recoup the costs of the repayment to the fund from the grant recipient that was erroneously awarded grant funds.
(2) Nonprofit organization requirements
(A) Definition of nonprofit organization
(B) Prohibition
(C) Disclosure
(3) Conference expenditures
(A) Limitation
(B) Written approval
(C) Report
(4) Annual certificationBeginning in the first fiscal year beginning after March 23, 2018, the Attorney General shall submit, to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, an annual certification—
(A) indicating whether—
(i) all audits issued by the Office of the Inspector General under paragraph (1) have been completed and reviewed by the appropriate Assistant Attorney General or Director;
(ii) all mandatory exclusions required under paragraph (1)(C) have been issued; and
(iii) all reimbursements required under paragraph (1)(E) have been made; and
(B) that includes a list of any grant recipients excluded under paragraph (1) from the previous year.
(f) Preventing duplicative grants
(1) In general
(2) ReportIf the Attorney General awards grants to the same applicant for a similar purpose the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report that includes—
(A) a list of all such grants awarded, including the total dollar amount of any such grants awarded; and
(B) the reason the Attorney General awarded multiple grants to the same applicant for a similar purpose.
(Pub. L. 103–322, title XXIV, § 240001, Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2080; Pub. L. 115–141, div. Q, title I, § 102(a), Mar. 23, 2018, 132 Stat. 1116; Pub. L. 117–263, div. E, title LIX, § 5903(b), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3441.)
§ 12622. Annual reportNot later than 2 years after March 23, 2018, and every year thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives a report on the Missing Americans Alert Program, as amended by subsection (a), which shall address—
(1) the number of individuals who benefitted from the Missing Americans Alert Program, including information such as the number of individuals with reduced unsafe wandering, the number of people who were trained through the program, and the estimated number of people who were impacted by the program;
(2) the number of State, local, and tribal law enforcement or public safety agencies that applied for funding under the Missing Americans Alert Program;
(3) the number of State, local, and tribal local law enforcement or public safety agencies that received funding under the Missing Americans Alert Program, including—
(A) the number of State, local, and tribal law enforcement or public safety agencies that used such funding for training; and
(B) the number of State, local, and tribal law enforcement or public safety agencies that used such funding for designing, establishing, or operating locative tracking technology;
(4) the companies, including the location (city and State) of the headquarters and local offices of each company, for which their locative tracking technology was used by State, local, and tribal law enforcement or public safety agencies;
(5) the nonprofit organizations, including the location (city and State) of the headquarters and local offices of each organization, that State, local, and tribal law enforcement or public safety agencies partnered with and the result of each partnership;
(6) the number of missing children with autism or another developmental disability with wandering tendencies or adults with Alzheimer’s being served by the program who went missing and the result of the search for each such individual; and
(7) any recommendations for improving the Missing Americans Alert Program.
(Pub. L. 115–141, div. Q, title I, § 102(b), Mar. 23, 2018, 132 Stat. 1119.)
§ 12623. Standards and best practices for use of non-invasive and non-permanent tracking devices
(a) Establishment
(1) In general
(2) RequirementsIn establishing the standards and best practices required under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall—
(A) determine—
(i) the criteria used to determine which individuals would benefit from the use of a tracking device;
(ii) the criteria used to determine who should have direct access to the tracking system; and
(iii) which non-invasive and non-permanent types of tracking devices can be used in compliance with the standards and best practices; and
(B) establish standards and best practices the Attorney General determines are necessary to the administration of a tracking system, including procedures to—
(i) safeguard the privacy of the data used by the tracking device such that—(I) access to the data is restricted to law enforcement and health agencies determined necessary by the Attorney General; and(II) collection, use, and retention of the data is solely for the purpose of preventing injury to or death of the individual wearing the tracking device;
(ii) establish criteria to determine whether use of the tracking device is the least restrictive alternative in order to prevent risk of injury or death before issuing the tracking device, including the previous consideration of less restrictive alternatives;
(iii) provide training for law enforcement agencies to recognize signs of abuse during interactions with applicants for tracking devices;
(iv) protect the civil rights and liberties of the individuals who use tracking devices, including their rights under the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.);
(v) establish a complaint and investigation process to address—(I) incidents of noncompliance by recipients of grants under subsection (a)(2) of section 12621 of this title, as added by this Act, with the best practices established by the Attorney General or other applicable law; and(II) use of a tracking device over the objection of an individual; and
(vi) determine the role that State agencies should have in the administration of a tracking system.
(3) Effective date
(b) Required compliance
(1) In general
(2) Determination of compliance
(c) Applicability of standards and best practices
(d) Limitations on program
(1) Data storage
(2) Voluntary participation
(Pub. L. 115–141, div. Q, title III, § 302, Mar. 23, 2018, 132 Stat. 1121.)