Missing Children’s Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2023
Sponsored By: Senator Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Became Law
Summary
Modernizes and expands the federal program to locate and support missing children. It refocuses reporting and recovery tools, broadens services and data collection, and raises authorized funding for the Missing Children’s Assistance program.
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- Parents and families gain stronger reunification support, counseling and community referrals, and expanded education on online risks like sexting, sextortion, child sex trafficking, and cyberbullying.
- Law enforcement and forensic partners must meet new transparency and technology standards: grant recipients must publish criteria for forensic partnerships, review them annually, and adopt updated tools for forensic referrals.
- Program operations are reorganized: the tipline is retitled the CyberTipline and the hotline becomes a call center, reporting pathways are broadened, and new annual data reporting will track children missing from State care, recoveries, and cases likely involving sex trafficking.
*Authorizes higher annual appropriations, increasing funding to $49.3 million per year for fiscal 2024–2028 with a cap of $41.5 million, thereby raising federal program spending.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
More funding for missing children work
The law authorizes $49.3 million each year for fiscal years 2024 through 2028 for the Missing Children’s Assistance program. It replaces the prior authorization of up to $41.5 million. This keeps national work on missing and exploited children funded.
More help for families of missing kids
The law gives families direct support if a child is missing or sexually exploited. You can get recovery help, counseling recommendations, and family or peer support. The program helps you ask websites to remove illegal images and explains legal options. The national call center and CyberTipline take reports on exploitation and where a missing child was seen. You can also ask how to reunite a child with a parent.
More internet safety and case support
The program expands training and technical help. It guides groups on background checks and helps police find noncompliant sex offenders. It boosts support for long-term missing cases and allows searches of public and open-source records to find abductors and children. It also shares internet safety tips on cyberbullying, sexting, sextortion, online enticement, and child sex trafficking.
Track foster kids missing from care
The Administrator works with federal, state, local, and Tribal agencies on children missing from foster care. Grantees must report how many children go missing from state care, how many are recovered, and how many are likely sex trafficking victims. The government publishes an analysis with demographic breakdowns.
Better AMBER Alerts and forensic checks
The Administrator now runs the AMBER Alert secondary distribution program to spread alerts faster. Grant recipients must share their rules for forensic partnerships each year and review them as technology advances. This improves transparency and how forensic help is used in cases.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
IL • D
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov