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Federal Statutes
Uniform Child Custody
Jurisdiction Act The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act
(1968) creates guidelines to avoid jurisdictional competition and
conflict with courts of other states in matters of child custody,
promote cooperation with the courts of other states, and facilitate
the enforcement of custody decrees of other states.1
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention Act The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Act (1974) has been amended numerous times; however, the overall
purposes remain the same, including to provide technical assistance
to public and private nonprofit juvenile-justice and
delinquency-prevention programs, establish training programs for
persons who work with delinquents or potential delinquents or whose
work or activities relate to juvenile-delinquency programs,
establish a federal assistance program to deal with the problems of
runaway and homeless youth, and assist states and local communities
to prevent youth from entering the justice system.
Hague Convention on the Civil
Aspects of International Child Abduction The Hague Convention on
the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (1980)
establishes procedures to ensure the prompt return of children
wrongfully removed to or retained in a country other than that of
their habitual residence.
Parental Kidnapping Prevention
Act The Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (1980) assures that
full faith and credit is given to child-custody determinations.
States may honor and enforce custody determinations made in other
states as long as certain requirements listed by the Act are
satisfied.
Missing Children Act The
Missing Children Act (1982) authorizes the Attorney General to
collect and exchange information that would assist in the
identification of unidentified deceased individuals and the location
of missing persons, including missing children.
Missing Children's Assistance
Act The Missing Children's Assistance Act (1984) directs the
Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention to establish and operate a national toll-free telephone
line for missing children and a national resource center and
clearinghouse.
National Child Search Assistance
Act The National Child Search Assistance Act of 1990 requires
each federal, state, and local law-enforcement agency to enter
information about missing children younger than the age of 18 into
the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) National Crime
Information Center (NCIC) database.2 The Act also establishes state
reporting requirements.
International Parental
Kidnapping Crime Act The International Parental Kidnapping Crime
Act of 1993 makes it a federal crime to remove a child from the
United States or retain a child, who has been in the United States,
outside the United States with the intent to obstruct the lawful
exercise of parental rights.
Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against
Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act The
Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent
Offender Registration Act (1994) prescribes a 10-year registration
requirement for offenders convicted of sexually violent offenses or
criminal offenses against a victim who is a minor. Sexually violent
predators have additional registration requirements.
Prosecutorial Remedies and Other
Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today Act The
Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of
Children Today Act of 2003, otherwise known as the PROTECT Act,
gives law-enforcement authorities valuable tools to deter, detect,
investigate, prosecute, and punish crimes committed against
children; strengthens laws against child pornography; and addresses
deficiencies in federal sentencing policies and practices.
Provisions that relate specifically to missing or abducted children
include an increase in the base-offense level for kidnapping; a
mandatory 20-year sentence for an offender whose kidnapping victim
is a nonfamily-member minor; attempt liability for international
parental kidnapping; Suzanne's Law, which requires each federal,
state, and local law-enforcement agency to enter information about
missing children younger than the age of 21 into the FBI's NCIC
database; America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER)
Alert provisions calling for the national coordination of state and
local AMBER Alert programs, including the appointment of a national
AMBER Alert coordinator3 and the development of guidelines for the
issuance and dissemination of AMBER Alerts; a Code ADAM program that
requires designated authorities for public buildings to establish
procedures for locating a child who is missing in the building;4 and
making the statute of limitations for crimes involving the abduction
of a child the life of the child.
1The Uniform Child Custody
Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) of 1998 is a new model of
the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act. 2The PROTECT Act has
amended this provision of the National Child Search Assistance Act
of 1990. 3Deborah Daniels, an Assistant Attorney General with the
Office of Justice Programs, was named coordinator by the Attorney
General John Ashcroft on October 2, 2002. 4"Public building" means
any building, or portion thereof, owned or leased for use by the
federal government.
Information received from:
http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=1615
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