View all text of Subchapter X [§ 12621 - § 12623]
§ 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.)