Title I — Grants Relating to Human Trafficking Prevention and Assistance for Victims of Human Trafficking
TITLE I Grants Relating to Human Trafficking Prevention and Assistance for Victims of Human Trafficking
SEC. 102. Technical and Clarifying Update to Civil Remedy.
SEC. 103. Ensuring Protection and Confidentiality for Survivors of Human Trafficking.
“SEC. 114. ENSURING PROTECTION AND CONFIDENTIALITY FOR SURVIVORS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
“(a) Definitions.—In this section—
“(1) the term ‘covered grant’ means a grant from the Attorney General or the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 106(b), 107(b), or 107(f); and
“(2) the term ‘covered recipient’ means a grantee or subgrantee receiving funds under a covered grant.
“(b) Grant Conditions.—Covered grants and covered recipients shall be subject, at the election of the Attorney General or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as applicable, to—
“(1) the conditions under section 40002(b)(2) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(b)(2)) that apply with respect to grants under such Act and grantees and subgrantees for such grants; or
“(2) the conditions under section 306(c)(5) of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10406(c)(5)) that apply with respect to grants under such Act and grantees and subgrantees for such grants.
“(c) Department of Justice-sponsored Research.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a covered recipient from sharing personally identifying information with researchers seeking the information for the purposes of conducting research—
“(1) that is funded by the Department of Justice;
“(2) for which protections are in place in accordance with the requirements under part 22 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto, and section 812(a) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10231(a)); and
“(3) for which a current privacy certificate is on file documenting how the researchers intend to fulfill the obligations under such part 22.”
SEC. 104. Grants for State Improvements.
“SEC. 204A. ENHANCING THE ABILITY OF STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL CHILD WELFARE AGENCIES TO IDENTIFY AND RESPOND TO CHILDREN WHO ARE, OR ARE AT RISK OF BEING, VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING.
“(a) Grants To Enhance Child Welfare Services.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services may make grants to eligible States to develop, improve, or expand programs that assist State, local, or Tribal child welfare agencies with identifying and responding to—
“(1) children considered victims of ‘child abuse and neglect’ and of ‘sexual abuse’ under the application of section 111(b)(1) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106g(b)(1)) because of being identified as being a victim or at risk of being a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons; and
“(2) children over whom such agencies have responsibility for placement, care, or supervision and for whom there is reasonable cause to believe are, or are at risk of being a victim of 1 or more severe forms of trafficking in persons.
“(b) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) Child.—The term ‘child’ means an individual who has not attained 18 years of age or such older age as the State has elected under section 475(8) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(8)). At the option of an eligible State, such term may include an individual who has not attained 26 years of age.
“(2) Eligible state.—The term ‘eligible State’ means a State that has not received more than 3 grants under this section and meets 1 or more of the following criteria:
“(A) Elimination of third party control requirement.—The State has eliminated or will eliminate any requirement relating to identification of a controlling third party who causes a child to engage in a commercial sex act in order for the child to be considered a victim of trafficking or a victim of 1 or more severe forms of trafficking in persons for purposes of accessing child welfare services and care.
“(B) Application of standard for human trafficking.—The State considers a child to be a victim of trafficking if the individual is a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons, as described in subparagraph (A) of section 103(11) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(11)).
“(C) Development and implementation of state child welfare plan protocols.—The State agency responsible for administering the State plan for foster care and adoption assistance under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) has developed and is implementing or will develop and implement protocols that meet the following reporting requirements:
“(i) The requirement to report immediately, and in no case later than 24 hours after receiving, information on children who have been identified as being a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons to law enforcement authorities under paragraph (34)(A) of section 471(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)).
“(ii) The requirement to report immediately, and in no case later than 24 hours after receiving, information on missing or abducted children to law enforcement authorities, including children classified as ‘runaways’, for entry into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, under paragraph (35)(B) of such section.
“(iii) The requirement to report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services the total number of children who are victims of child human trafficking under paragraph (34)(B) of such section.
“(D) Trafficking-specific protocol.—The State has developed and implemented or will develop and implement a specialized protocol for responding to a child who is, or is at risk of being, a trafficking victim to ensure the response focuses on the child’s specific safety needs as a victim of trafficking, and that includes the development and use of an alternative mechanism for investigating and responding to cases of child human trafficking in which the alleged offender is not the child’s parent or caregiver without utilizing existing processes for investigating and responding to other forms of child abuse or neglect that require the filing of an abuse or neglect petition.
“(3) Indian tribe; tribal organization.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ and ‘tribal organization’ have the meanings given those terms in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
“(4) State.—The term ‘State’ means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Such term includes an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium with a plan approved under section 479B of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 679c), or which is receiving funding to provide foster care under part E of title IV of such Act pursuant to a cooperative agreement or contract with a State.”
“204A. Enhancing the ability of State, local, and Tribal child welfare agencies to identify and respond to children who are, or are at risk of being, victims of trafficking.”.
“(3) Grants for state improvements.—To carry out the purposes of section 204A of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, there are authorized to be appropriated $4,000,000 to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2027.”