§12621. Missing Americans Alert Program
(a) Grant program to reduce injury and death of missing Americans with dementia and developmental disabilities
Subject to the availability of appropriations to carry out this section, the Attorney General, through the Bureau of Justice Assistance and in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services-
(1) shall award competitive grants to health care agencies, State and local law enforcement agencies, or public safety agencies and nonprofit organizations to assist such entities in planning, designing, establishing, or operating locally based, proactive programs to prevent wandering and locate missing individuals with forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer's Disease, or developmental disabilities, such as autism, who, due to their condition, wander from safe environments, including programs that-
(A) provide prevention and response information, including online training resources, and referrals to families or guardians of such individuals who, due to their condition, wander from a safe environment;
(B) provide education and training, including online training resources, to first responders, school personnel, clinicians, and the public in order to-
(i) increase the safety and reduce the incidence of wandering of persons, who, due to their dementia or developmental disabilities, may wander from safe environments;
(ii) facilitate the rescue and recovery of individuals who, due to their dementia or developmental disabilities, wander from safe environments; and
(iii) recognize and respond to and appropriately interact with endangered missing individuals with dementia or developmental disabilities who, due to their condition, wander from safe environments;
(C) provide prevention and response training and emergency protocols for school administrators, staff, and families or guardians of individuals with dementia, such as Alzheimer's Disease, or developmental disabilities, such as autism, to help reduce the risk of wandering by such individuals; and
(D) develop, operate, or enhance a notification or communications systems for alerts, advisories, or dissemination of other information for the recovery of missing individuals with forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer's Disease, or with developmental disabilities, such as autism; and
(2) shall award grants to health care agencies, State and local law enforcement agencies, or public safety agencies to assist such agencies in designing, establishing, and operating locative tracking technology programs for individuals with forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer's Disease, or children with developmental disabilities, such as autism, who have wandered from safe environments.
(b) Application
To be eligible to receive a competitive grant under subsection (a), an agency or organization shall submit an application to the Attorney General at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Attorney General may require, including, at a minimum, an assurance that the agency or organization will obtain and use assistance from private nonprofit organizations to support the program. The Attorney General shall periodically solicit applications for grants under this section by publishing a request for applications in the Federal Register and by posting such a request on the website of the Department of Justice.
(c) Preference
In awarding grants under subsection (a)(1), the Attorney General shall give preference to law enforcement or public safety agencies that partner with nonprofit organizations that appropriately use person-centered plans minimizing restrictive interventions and that have a direct link to individuals, and families of individuals, with forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer's Disease, or developmental disabilities, such as autism.
(d) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.
(e) Grant accountability
All grants awarded by the Attorney General under this section shall be subject to the following accountability provisions:
(1) Audit requirement
(A) Definition
In this paragraph, the term "unresolved audit finding" means a finding in the final audit report of the Inspector General of the Department of Justice that the audited grantee has utilized grant funds for an unauthorized expenditure or otherwise unallowable cost that is not closed or resolved within 12 months from the date when the final audit report is issued.
(B) Audits
Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning after March 23, 2018, and in each fiscal year thereafter, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice shall conduct audits of recipients of grants under this section to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of funds by grantees. The Inspector General shall determine the appropriate number of grantees to be audited each year.
(C) Mandatory exclusion
A recipient of grant funds under this section that is found to have an unresolved audit finding shall not be eligible to receive grant funds under this section during the first 2 fiscal years beginning after the end of the 12-month period described in subparagraph (A).
(D) Priority
In awarding grants under this section, the Attorney General shall give priority to eligible applicants that did not have an unresolved audit finding during the 3 fiscal years before submitting an application for a grant under this section.
(E) Reimbursement
If an entity is awarded grant funds under this section during the 2-fiscal-year period during which the entity is barred from receiving grants under subparagraph (C), the Attorney General shall-
(i) deposit an amount equal to the amount of the grant funds that were improperly awarded to the grantee into the General Fund of the Treasury; and
(ii) seek to recoup the costs of the repayment to the fund from the grant recipient that was erroneously awarded grant funds.
(2) Nonprofit organization requirements
(A) Definition of nonprofit organization
For purposes of this paragraph and the grant programs under this section, the term "nonprofit organization" means an organization that is described in section 501(c)(3) of title 26 and is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such title.
(B) Prohibition
The Attorney General may not award a grant under this section to a nonprofit organization that holds money in offshore accounts for the purpose of avoiding paying the tax described in section 511(a) of title 26.
(C) Disclosure
Each nonprofit organization that is awarded a grant under this section and uses the procedures prescribed in regulations to create a rebuttable presumption of reasonableness for the compensation of its officers, directors, trustees, and key employees, shall disclose to the Attorney General, in the application for the grant, the process for determining such compensation, including the independent persons involved in reviewing and approving such compensation, the comparability data used, and contemporaneous substantiation of the deliberation and decision. Upon request, the Attorney General shall make the information disclosed under this subparagraph available for public inspection.
(3) Conference expenditures
(A) Limitation
No amounts made available to the Department of Justice under this section may be used by the Attorney General, or by any individual or entity awarded discretionary funds through a cooperative agreement under this section, to host or support any expenditure for conferences that uses more than $20,000 in funds made available by the Department of Justice, unless the head of the relevant agency or department,1 provides prior written authorization that the funds may be expended to host the conference.
(B) Written approval
Written approval under subparagraph (A) shall include a written estimate of all costs associated with the conference, including the cost of all food, beverages, audio-visual equipment, honoraria for speakers, and entertainment.
(C) Report
The Deputy Attorney General shall submit an annual report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives on all conference expenditures approved under this paragraph.
(4) Annual certification
Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning after March 23, 2018, the Attorney General shall submit, to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, an annual certification-
(A) indicating whether-
(i) all audits issued by the Office of the Inspector General under paragraph (1) have been completed and reviewed by the appropriate Assistant Attorney General or Director;
(ii) all mandatory exclusions required under paragraph (1)(C) have been issued; and
(iii) all reimbursements required under paragraph (1)(E) have been made; and
(B) that includes a list of any grant recipients excluded under paragraph (1) from the previous year.
(f) Preventing duplicative grants
(1) In general
Before the Attorney General awards a grant to an applicant under this section, the Attorney General shall compare potential grant awards with other grants awarded by the Attorney General to determine if grant awards are or have been awarded for a similar purpose.
(2) Report
If the Attorney General awards grants to the same applicant for a similar purpose the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report that includes-
(A) a list of all such grants awarded, including the total dollar amount of any such grants awarded; and
(B) the reason the Attorney General awarded multiple grants to the same applicant for a similar purpose.
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Editorial Notes
Codification
Section was formerly classified to section 14181 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.
Amendments
2022-Subsec. (d).
2018-
Subsec. (a).
Subsec. (b).
Subsecs. (c) to (f).