International and Parental Child Abduction Remedies Assistance Act - Directs the Attorney General to provide state and local law enforcement agencies information on instituting or assisting investigative searches for alien children believed to be in the United States who are the subject of an application under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Parental Child Abduction (Convention) or an Interpol yellow notice.
Amends the Crime Control Act of 1990 to require missing child reports to include a statement specifying whether a missing child is believed to have been taken outside of the United States.
Amends the International Child Abduction Remedies Act to: (1) provide funding, technical assistance, and training to legal providers to assist victims of parental kidnappings; and (2) allow payment of costs incurred in civil actions to return abducted children.
Authorizes the Legal Services Corporation to use its funding to represent aliens in child abduction proceedings brought in the United States under the Convention.
Amends the federal judicial code to require the Federal Judicial Center to provide training programs for newly appointed judges on laws pertaining to parental kidnapping.
Authorizes additional funding for the investigation and prosecution of international parental kidnapping crimes.
Directs the Director of the Department of Justice Office of Victims of Crime to award grants to reimburse parents, guardians, law enforcement, and other appropriate individuals for travel costs related to the safe return of U.S. children who have been abducted and taken to foreign countries.
[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 6095 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6095
To implement certain measures to increase the effectiveness of
international child abduction remedies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 20, 2008
Mr. Lampson (for himself, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Gene
Green of Texas, Mr. Kagen, Mr. Shimkus, Mr. Udall of Colorado, and Mr.
Poe) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To implement certain measures to increase the effectiveness of
international child abduction remedies, 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 ``International and Parental Child
Abduction Remedies Assistance Act''.
SEC. 2. INVESTIGATIVE ASSISTANCE TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO LOCATE
ALIEN CHILDREN MISSING IN THE UNITED STATES.
The Attorney General shall make available to State and local law
enforcement agencies, information describing the methods and procedures
available to them to institute or assist an investigative search for an
alien child who is believed to be in the United States and who is the
subject of--
(1) an application under the Hague Convention on the Civil
Aspects of International Parental Child Abduction, or
(2) an Interpol yellow notice.
SEC. 3. STATE REQUIREMENTS.
Section 3702 of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 5780) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (2) by striking ``and'' at the end, and
(2) in paragraph (3)--
(A) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``and'' at the
end,
(B) in subparagraph (C) by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and'', and
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the
following:
``(D) a statement specifying whether the child is
believed to have been taken outside of the United
States;''.
SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION REMEDIES ACT.
(a) Legal Assistance, Technical Assistance, and Training.--Section
7 of the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (42 U.S.C. 11606)
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:
``(g) Legal Assistance for Victims of Parental Kidnapping Grants.--
``(1) Funding to legal services providers.--The United
States Central Authority shall establish a program to provide
funding to legal services providers, including private
attorneys, public officials acting pursuant to the Uniform
Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, legal aid
programs, and law school clinical programs, to provide direct
legal or advocacy services on behalf of persons seeking
remedies under the Convention, or other civil or criminal
remedies in interstate or international parental kidnapping
cases.
``(2) Training and technical assistance.--The United States
Central Authority, directly or through grants, shall provide
training and technical assistance to recipients of funds under
paragraph (1) to improve their capacity to offer legal
assistance described in paragraph (1).
``(h) Technical Assistance.--The United States Central Authority
shall encourage the Chief Justice of every State and the District of
Columbia to designate a single court, or a limited number of courts, in
which cases brought under the Convention may be heard. The United
States Central Authority may provide technical assistance (including
computers and Internet access) as necessary to foster consolidation of
jurisdiction and implementation of the Convention, consistent with the
purposes of the Convention.
``(i) Training.--The United States Central Authority shall provide
or promote training of State court judges, lawyers, and law students on
the civil and criminal laws pertaining to interstate and international
parental kidnapping. To carry out this subsection, the United States
Central Authority may make available funds under subsection (e) to
State judicial educators, national, State, and local bar associations,
and law schools. The United States Central Authority shall require
recipients of such funds to report on the training programs they
present, including the number of participants.''.
(b) Legal Services Corporation.--The Legal Services Corporation may
use funds made available to the Corporation for programs to represent
aliens in proceedings brought in the United States under the
Convention--
(1) if the individuals to whom the representation is
provided otherwise meet the criteria of the Corporation for
eligible clients under the Legal Services Corporation Act; and
(2) whether or not such individuals are resident in the
United States.
(c) Court Costs.--Section 8(b) of the International Child Abduction
Remedies Act (42 U.S.C. 11607(b)) is amended to read as follows:
``(b) Costs Incurred in Civil Actions.--
``(1) Payment of court costs by central
authority.--The Central Authority shall establish a
program under which it provides, directly to the court
or to petitioners and respondents, the funds necessary
to pay the court costs of petitioners and respondents
in actions brought under section 4, including court
fees and the cost of translation services, expert
witness testimony, and transcription services.
``(2) Costs of legal counsel and travel.--
Petitioners may be required to bear the costs of legal
counsel or advisors and travel costs for the return of
the child involved and any accompanying persons, except
as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4).
``(3) Payments from other sources.--Subject to
paragraph (4), legal fees incurred in connection with
an action brought under section 4 shall be borne by the
petitioner unless they are covered by payments from
Federal, State, or local legal assistance or other
programs.
``(4) Costs borne by petitioner.--Any court
ordering the return of a child pursuant to an action
brought under section 4 shall order the respondent to
pay necessary expenses incurred by or on behalf of the
petitioner (other than court costs for which the
Central Authority pays under paragraph (1)), including
legal fees, foster home or other care during the course
of proceedings in the action, and transportation costs
related to the return of the child, unless the
respondent establishes that such order would be clearly
inappropriate.''.
(d) Federal Judicial Center.--Section 620 of title 28, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Continuing Education and Training Programs.--The Center shall
include in its continuing education and training programs under
subsection (b)(3), including the training programs for newly appointed
judges, information on the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
International Child Abduction, the International Child Abduction
Remedies Act, the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act of 1993,
and other Federal statutes pertaining to parental kidnapping within the
jurisdiction of the Federal courts, and shall prepare materials
necessary to carry out this subsection.''.
SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR THE INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF
PARENTAL KIDNAPPING.
In addition to funds otherwise authorized to be appropriated for
the activities described in this section, there are authorized to be
appropriated to the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the
Department of Justice for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2012
such sums as may be necessary for the investigation and prosecution of
violations of section 1204 of title 18, United States Code.
SEC. 6. GRANTS FOR TRAVEL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SAFE RETURN OF
ABDUCTED CHILDREN.
(a) Program Authorized.--The Director of the Office of Victims of
Crime of the Department of Justice shall, subject to the availability
of appropriations, establish a Victim Travel in International
Reunification Cases program to award grants to the National Center for
Missing & Exploited Children to reimburse parents, guardians, law
enforcement, and other individuals, as appropriate, for travel costs
related to the safe return of children from the United States who have
been abducted and taken to foreign countries.
(b) Use of Grant Funds.--Travel costs under subsection (a) that are
reimbursed using funds under this section may include airfare and daily
subsistence costs, including lodging, meals, and ground transportation.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $250,000 for each of the fiscal
years 2009 through 2012.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.
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