Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2010 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Attorney General should implement changes to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) to identify endangered juveniles; (2) funds awarded under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program should be used to provide education, training, deterrence, and prevention programs relating to sex trafficking of minors; (3) states should treat minor victims of sex trafficking as crime victims rather than as criminal defendants or juvenile delinquents and adopt and amend laws to protect and provide compensation to such victims; and (4) demand for commercial sex with sex trafficking victims must be deterred through consistent law enforcement.
Authorizes the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs to award one-year block grants to up to six state or local governments in different regions of the United States that have significant sex trafficking to combat such trafficking. Requires grant funds to be used to provide shelter and services to minor victims of sex trafficking and for training for service providers.
Amends title IV of the Social Security Act (Grants to States for Needy Families with Children and for Child-Welfare Services) to require states to adopt procedures for reporting information on missing or abducted children for entry into the NCIC database.
Amends the Crime Control Act of 1990 to require: (1) the Attorney General's annual statistical summary under such Act to include the total number of missing child reports received and the total number of entries made to the NCIC database; and (2) state law enforcement agencies to update the record of a missing child with a photograph taken within the previous 180 days and to notify the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children of each report of a child missing from a foster care family home or childcare institution.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5575 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5575
To establish a grant program to benefit domestic minor victims of sex
trafficking, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 23, 2010
Mrs. Maloney (for herself, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr.
Cohen, Mr. Poe of Texas, Ms. Richardson, and Mr. Wu) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary,
and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a grant program to benefit domestic minor victims of sex
trafficking, 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 ``Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking
Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Human trafficking is modern-day slavery. It is one of
the fastest-growing, and the second largest, criminal
enterprise in the world. Human trafficking generates an
estimated profit of $32,000,000,000 per year, world wide.
(2) In the United States, human trafficking is an
increasing problem. This criminal enterprise victimizes
individuals in the United States, many of them children, who
are forced into prostitution, and foreigners brought into the
country, often under false pretenses, who are coerced into
forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation.
(3) Sex trafficking is one of the most lucrative areas of
human trafficking. Criminal gang members in the United States
are increasingly involved in recruiting young women and girls
into sex trafficking. Interviews with gang members indicate
that the gang members regard working as an individual who
solicits customers for a prostitute (commonly known as a
``pimp'') to being as lucrative as trafficking in drugs, but
with a much lower chance of being criminally convicted.
(4) National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted,
Runaway and Throwaway Children, the definitive study of
episodes of missing children, found that of the children who
are victims of non-family abduction, runaway or throwaway
children, the police are alerted by family or guardians in only
21 percent of the cases. In 79 percent of cases there is no
report and no police involvement, and therefore no official
attempt to find the child.
(5) In 2007, the Administration of Children and Families,
Department of Health and Human Services, reported to the
Federal Government 265,000 cases of serious physical, sexual,
or psychological abuse of children.
(6) Experts estimate that each year at least 100,000
children in the United States are exploited through
prostitution.
(7) Children who have run away from home are at a high risk
of becoming exploited through sex trafficking. Children who
have run away multiple times are at much higher risk of not
returning home and of engaging in prostitution.
(8) The vast majority of children involved in sex
trafficking have suffered previous sexual or physical abuse,
live in poverty, or have no stable home or family life. These
children require a comprehensive framework of specialized
treatment and mental health counseling that addresses post-
traumatic stress, depression, and sexual exploitation.
(9) The average age of first exploitation through
prostitution is 13. Seventy-five percent of minors exploited
through prostitution have a pimp. A pimp can earn $200,000 per
year prostituting 1 sex trafficking victim.
(10) Sex trafficking of minors is a complex and varied
criminal problem that requires a multi-disciplinary,
cooperative solution. Reducing trafficking will require the
Government to address victims, pimps, and johns, and to provide
training specific to sex trafficking for law enforcement
officers and prosecutors, and child welfare, public health, and
other social service providers.
(11) Human trafficking is a criminal enterprise that
imposes significant costs on the economy of the United States.
Government and non-profit resources used to address trafficking
include those of law enforcement, the judicial and penal
systems, and social service providers. Without a range of
appropriate treatments to help trafficking victims overcome the
trauma they have experienced, victims will continue to be
exploited by criminals and unable to support themselves, and
will continue to require Government resources, rather than
being productive contributors to the legitimate economy.
(12) Minor sex trafficking victims are under the age of 18.
Because minors do not have the capacity to consent to their own
commercial sexual exploitation, minor sex trafficking victims
should not be charged as criminal defendants. Instead, minor
victims of sex trafficking should have access to treatment and
services to help them recover from their sexual exploitation,
and should also be provided access to appropriate compensation
for harm they have suffered.
(13) Several States have recently passed or are considering
legislation that establishes a presumption that a minor charged
with a prostitution offense is a severely trafficked person and
should instead be cared for through the child protection
system. Some such legislation also provides support and
services to minor sex trafficking victims who are under the age
of 18 years old. These services include safe houses, crisis
intervention programs, community-based programs, and law-
enforcement training to help officers identify minor sex
trafficking victims.
(14) Sex trafficking of minors is not a problem that occurs
only in urban settings. This crime also exists in rural areas
and on Indian reservations. Efforts to address sex trafficking
of minors should include partnerships with organizations that
seek to address the needs of such underserved communities.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the Attorney General should implement changes to the
National Crime Information Center database to ensure that--
(A) a child entered into the database will be
automatically designated as an endangered juvenile if
the child has been reported missing not less than 3
times in a 1-year period;
(B) the database is programmed to cross-reference
newly entered reports with historical records already
in the database; and
(C) the database is programmed to include a visual
cue on the record of a child designated as an
endangered juvenile to assist law enforcement officers
in recognizing the child and providing the child with
appropriate care and services;
(2) funds awarded under subpart 1 of part E of title I of
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42
U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) (commonly known as Byrne Grants) should be
used to provide education, training, deterrence, and prevention
programs relating to sex trafficking of minors;
(3) States should--
(A) treat minor victims of sex trafficking as crime
victims rather than as criminal defendants or juvenile
delinquents;
(B) adopt laws that--
(i) establish the presumption that a child
under the age of 18 who is charged with a
prostitution offense is a minor victim of sex
trafficking;
(ii) avoid the criminal charge of
prostitution for such a child, and instead
consider such a child a victim of crime and
provide the child with appropriate services and
treatment; and
(iii) strengthen criminal provisions
prohibiting the purchasing of commercial sex
acts, especially with minors;
(C) amend State statutes and regulations--
(i) relating to crime victim compensation
to make eligible for such compensation any
individual who is a victim of sex trafficking
as defined in section 1591(a) of title 18,
United States Code, or a comparable State law
against commercial sexual exploitation of
children, and who would otherwise be ineligible
for such compensation due to participation in
prostitution activities because the individual
is determined to have contributed to, consented
to, benefitted from, or otherwise participated
as a party to the crime for which the
individual is claiming injury; and
(ii) relating to law enforcement reporting
requirements to provide for exceptions to such
requirements for victims of sex trafficking in
the same manner as exceptions are provided to
victims of domestic violence or related crimes;
and
(4) demand for commercial sex with sex trafficking victims
must be deterred through consistent enforcement of criminal
laws against purchasing commercial sex.
SEC. 4. SEX TRAFFICKING BLOCK GRANTS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``Assistant Attorney General'' means the
Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs
of the Department of Justice;
(2) the term ``eligible entity'' means a State or unit of
local government that--
(A) has significant criminal activity involving sex
trafficking of minors;
(B) has demonstrated cooperation between State and
local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and social
service providers in addressing sex trafficking of
minors;
(C) has developed a workable, multi-disciplinary
plan to combat sex trafficking of minors, including--
(i) the establishment of a shelter for
minor victims of sex trafficking, through
existing or new facilities;
(ii) the provision of rehabilitative care
to minor victims of sex trafficking;
(iii) the provision of specialized training
for law enforcement officers and social service
providers for all forms of sex trafficking,
with a focus on sex trafficking of minors;
(iv) prevention, deterrence, and
prosecution of offenses involving sex
trafficking of minors;
(v) cooperation or referral agreements with
organizations providing outreach or other
related services to runaway and homeless youth;
and
(vi) law enforcement protocols or
procedures to screen all individuals arrested
for prostitution, whether adult or minor, for
victimization by sex trafficking and by other
crimes, such as sexual assault and domestic
violence;
(D) has a victim certification process for
eligibility and access to State-administered medical
care to ensure that minor victims of sex trafficking
who are not eligible for interim assistance under
section 107(b)(F) of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Act (22 U.S.C. 7105(b)(F)) are granted eligibility for,
and have access to, State-administered medical care
immediately upon certification as such a victim, or as
soon as practicable thereafter but not later than the
period determined by the Assistant Attorney General in
consultation with the Assistant Secretary for Children
and Families of the Department of Health and Human
Services; and
(E) provides an assurance that, under the plan
under subparagraph (C), a minor victim of sex
trafficking shall not be required to collaborate with
law enforcement to have access to any shelter or
services provided with a grant under this section;
(3) the term ``minor victim of sex trafficking'' means an
individual who is--
(A) under the age of 18 years old, and is a victim
of an offense described in section 1591(a) of title 18,
United States Code, or a comparable State law; or
(B) at least 18 years old but not more than 20
years old, and who, on the day before the individual
attained 18 years of age, was described in subparagraph
(A) and was receiving shelter or services as a minor
victim of sex trafficking;
(4) the term ``qualified non-governmental organization''
means an organization that--
(A) is not a State or unit of local government, or
an agency of a State or unit of local government;
(B) has demonstrated experience providing services
to victims of sex trafficking or related populations
(such as runaway and homeless youth), or employs staff
specialized in the treatment of sex trafficking
victims; and
(C) demonstrates a plan to sustain the provision of
services beyond the period of a grant awarded under
this section; and
(5) the term ``sex trafficking of a minor'' means an
offense described in subsection (a) of section 1591 of title
18, United States Code, the victim of which is a minor.
(b) Grants Authorized.--
(1) In general.--The Assistant Attorney General, in
consultation with the Assistant Secretary for Children and
Families of the Department of Health and Human Services, is
authorized to award block grants to not more than 6 eligible
entities in different regions of the United States to combat
sex trafficking, and not fewer than 1 of the block grants shall
be awarded to an eligible entity with a State population of
less than 5,000,000.
(2) Grant amount.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations under subsection (f)(1) to carry out this
subsection, each grant awarded under this subsection shall be
for an amount not less than $2,000,000 and not greater than
$2,500,000.
(3) Duration.--
(A) In general.--A grant awarded under this section
shall be for a period of 1 year.
(B) Renewal.--
(i) In general.--The Assistant Attorney
General may renew a grant under this section
for two 1-year periods.
(ii) Priority.--In awarding grants in any
fiscal year after the first fiscal year in
which grants are awarded under this section,
the Assistant Attorney General shall give
priority to applicants that received a grant in
the preceding fiscal year and are eligible for
renewal under this subparagraph, taking into
account any evaluation of such applicant
conducted pursuant to subsection (e), if
available.
(4) Consultation.--In carrying out this subsection,
consultation by the Assistant Attorney General with the
Assistant Secretary for Children and Families of the Department
of Health and Human Services shall include consultation with
respect to grantee evaluations, the avoidance of unintentional
duplication of grants, and any other areas of shared concern.
(c) Use of Funds.--
(1) Allocation.--For each grant awarded under subsection
(b)--
(A) not less than 50 percent of the funds shall be
used by the eligible entity to provide shelter and
services (as described in subparagraphs (A) through (D)
of paragraph (2)) to minor victims of sex trafficking
through qualified nongovernmental organizations; and
(B) not less than 10 percent of the funds shall be
awarded by the eligible entity to one or more qualified
nongovernmental organizations with annual revenues of
less than $750,000, to provide services to minor
victims of sex trafficking or training for service
providers related to sex trafficking of minors.
(2) Authorized activities.--Grants awarded pursuant to
subsection (b) may be used for--
(A) providing shelter to minor victims of
trafficking, including temporary or long-term placement
as appropriate;
(B) providing 24-hour emergency social services
response for minor victims of sex trafficking;
(C) providing minor victims of sex trafficking with
clothing and other daily necessities needed to keep
such victims from returning to living on the street;
(D) case management services for minor victims of
sex trafficking;
(E) mental health counseling for minor victims of
sex trafficking, including specialized counseling and
substance abuse treatment;
(F) legal services for minor victims of sex
trafficking;
(G) specialized training for law enforcement
personnel and social service providers, specific to
issues related to sex trafficking, including sex
trafficking of minors;
(H) funding salaries, in whole or in part, for law
enforcement officers, including patrol officers,
detectives, and investigators, except that the
percentage of the salary of the law enforcement officer
paid for by funds from a grant awarded under subsection
(b) shall not be more than the percentage of the
officer's time on duty that is dedicated to working on
cases involving sex trafficking of minors;
(I) funding salaries for State and local
prosecutors, including assisting in paying trial
expenses for prosecution of sex trafficking offenders;
(J) investigation expenses for cases involving sex
trafficking of minors, including--
(i) wire taps;
(ii) consultants with expertise specific to
cases involving sex trafficking of minors;
(iii) travel; and
(iv) any other technical assistance
expenditures;
(K) outreach and education programs to provide
information about deterrence and prevention of sex
trafficking of minors; and
(L) programs to provide treatment to individuals
charged or cited with purchasing or attempting to
purchase sex acts in cases where--
(i) a treatment program can be mandated as
a condition of a sentence, fine, suspended
sentence, or probation, or is an appropriate
alternative to criminal prosecution; and
(ii) the individual was not charged with
purchasing or attempting to purchase sex acts
with a minor.
(3) Prohibited activities.--Grants awarded pursuant to
subsection (b) shall not be used for medical care (as defined
in section 2791(a)(2) of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 300gg-91)), except that grants may be used for mental
health counseling as authorized under paragraph (2)(E).
(d) Application.--
(1) In general.--Each eligible entity desiring a grant
under this Act shall submit an application to the Assistant
Attorney General at such time, in such manner, and accompanied
by such information as the Assistant Attorney General may
reasonably require.
(2) Contents.--Each application submitted pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall--
(A) describe the activities for which assistance
under this section is sought; and
(B) provide such additional assurances as the
Assistant Attorney General determines to be essential
to ensure compliance with the requirements of this Act.
(e) Evaluation.--The Assistant Attorney General shall, in
consultation with the Comptroller General of the United States, enter
into a contract with an academic or non-profit organization that has
experience in issues related to sex trafficking of minors and
evaluation of grant programs to conduct an annual evaluation of grants
made under this section to determine the impact and effectiveness of
programs funded with grants awarded under subsection (b).
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--For fiscal years 2011 through
2014, there are authorized to be appropriated, to carry out the
provisions of this section, the following sums:
(1) $45,000,000 to fund grants awarded under subsection
(b).
(2) $1,500,000 to conduct the evaluation under subsection
(e).
(3) $3,500,000 to the Attorney General, to design and
implement improvements to the National Crime Information Center
database of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, established
pursuant to section 534 of title 28, United States Code.
SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Reporting Requirement for State Child Welfare Agencies.--
(1) Requirement for state child welfare agencies to report
children missing or abducted.--Section 471(a) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (32), by striking ``and'' after
the semicolon;
(B) in paragraph (33), by striking the period and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (33) the
following:
``(34) provides that the State has in effect procedures
that require the State agency to promptly report information on
missing or abducted children to the law enforcement authorities
for entry into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
database of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, established
pursuant to section 534 of title 28, United States Code.''.
(2) Regulations.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall promulgate regulations implementing the
amendments made by paragraph (1). The regulations promulgated
under this subsection shall include provisions to withhold
Federal funds from any State that fails to substantially comply
with the requirement imposed under the amendments made by
paragraph (1).
(3) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1)
shall take effect on the date that is 6 months after the date
of the enactment of this Act, without regard to whether final
regulations required under paragraph (2) have been promulgated.
(b) Annual Statistical Summary.--Section 3701(c) of the Crime
Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 5779(c)) is amended by inserting ``,
which shall include the total number of reports received and the total
number of entries made to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
database of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, established pursuant
to section 534 of title 28, United States Code.'' after ``this title''.
(c) State Reporting.--Section 3702 of the Crime Control Act of 1990
(42 U.S.C. 5780) is amended in paragraph (4)--
(1) by striking ``(2)'' and inserting ``(3)'';
(2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``, and a photograph
taken within the previous 180 days'' after ``dental records'';
(3) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(4) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D);
and
(5) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
``(C) notify the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children of each report received relating to
a child reported missing from a foster care family home
or childcare institution; and''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1176)
Referred to House Judiciary
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to House Ways and Means
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
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