To amend title 28, United States Code, to give district courts of the United States jurisdiction over competing State custody determinations, and for other purposes.

March 11, 2004

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. FEINGOLD, and Mrs. LINCOLN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

To amend title 28, United States Code, to give district courts of the United States jurisdiction over competing State custody determinations, 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 `Bring Our Children Home Act'.

SEC. 2. JURISDICTION OVER COMPETING STATE CUSTODY ORDERS.

Section 1738A of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(i) If a court of 1 State makes a child custody determination in accordance with subsection (c) and if that determination is in conflict with a determination made by another State in accordance with subsection (c), a contestant for whom such a determination was made may bring an action in the district court of the United States the district of which includes the resident of such contestant to determine, on the basis of the best interests of the child involved, which determination shall prevail.'.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL REGISTRY OF CUSTODY ORDERS.

(a) IN GENERAL- The Attorney General shall establish a national child custody and visitation registry in which shall be entered--

(1) certified copies of custody and visitation determinations made by courts throughout the United States (and foreign custody orders concerning children temporarily or permanently resident in the United States);

(2) information identifying pending proceedings in courts throughout the United States for initial, modification, or enforcement orders; and

(3) information identifying proceedings filed in any court in the United States pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act, and resulting orders.

(b) COOPERATION- The Attorney General shall seek the cooperation of Federal and State courts in each State, and the District of Columbia, in providing relevant information to the registry on an ongoing basis. The Attorney General shall provide such financial and technical assistance as necessary.

(c) ACCESS- The registry shall be accessible to courts, law enforcement officials, custody contestants, and their legal representatives.

SEC. 4. DETENTION OF CHILDREN LISTED AS MISSING.

Law enforcement officers of any State or local government may hold, for not more than 24 hours or until a disposition can be made, any child listed under any category of the Missing Person File by the National Crime Information Center for the proper disposition of the child in accordance with the latest valid custody determination applicable to the child.

SEC. 5. INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION REMEDIES.

(a) LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF PARENTAL KIDNAPPING- Section 7 of the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (42 U.S.C. 11606) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(f) LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF PARENTAL KIDNAPPING GRANTS-

`(1) FUNDING TO LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDERS- The Central Authority shall establish a program to provide funding to legal services providers, including private attorneys, public officials acting pursuant to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, legal aid programs, and law school clinical programs, to provide direct legal or advocacy services on behalf of persons seeking remedies under the Convention, or other civil or criminal remedies in interstate or international parental kidnapping cases.

`(2) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE- The Central Authority, directly or through grants, shall provide training and technical assistance to recipients of funds under paragraph (1) to improve their capacity to offer legal assistance described in paragraph (1).'.

(b) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION- The Legal Services Corporation may use funds made available to the Corporation for programs to represent aliens in proceedings brought in the United States under the Convention--

(1) if the individuals to whom the representation is provided otherwise meet the criteria of the Corporation for eligible clients under the Legal Services Corporation Act; and

(2) whether or not such individuals are resident in the United States.

(c) EXEMPTION FROM COURT COSTS- Section 8(b) of the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (42 U.S.C. 11607(b)) is amended--

(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively;

(2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following: `(1) No court costs may be assessed on a petitioner in connection with a petition seeking the return of, or rights of access to, a child located in the United States, pursuant to this Act.

`(2) Petitioners may be required to bear the costs of legal counsel or advisors, court costs incurred in connection with their petitions (other than petitions described in paragraph (1)) and travel costs for the return of the child involved and any accompanying persons, except as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4).'; and

(3) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated--

(A) by striking `paragraph (3)' and inserting `paragraph (4)'; and

(B) by inserting `(other than in connection with a petition described in paragraph (1))' after `or court costs'.

(d) RESPONSIBILITIES OF UNITED STATES CENTRAL AUTHORITY- Section 7 of the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (42 U.S.C. 11606) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE- The United States Central Authority shall encourage the Chief Justice of every State and the District of Columbia to designate a single court, or a limited number of courts, in which cases brought under the Convention may be heard. The Central Authority may provide technical assistance (including computers and Internet access) as necessary to foster consolidation of jurisdiction and implementation of the Convention, consistent with the purposes of the Convention.

`(g) TRAINING- The United States Central Authority shall provide or promote training of State court judges, lawyers, and law students on the civil and criminal laws pertaining to interstate and international parental kidnapping. To carry out this subsection, the United States Central Authority may make available funds under subsection (e) to State judicial educators, national, State, and local bar associations, and law schools. The United States Central Authority shall require recipients of such funds to report on the training programs they present, including the number of participants.'.

(e) FEDERAL JUDICIAL CENTER- Section 620 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(c) CONTINUING EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS- The Center shall include in its continuing education and training programs, including the training programs for newly appointed judges, information on the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, the International Child Abduction Remedies Act, the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act, and other Federal statutes pertaining to parental kidnapping within the jurisdiction of the Federal courts, and shall prepare materials necessary to carry out this subsection.'.

SEC. 6. REPORTS RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION.

(a) REPORT ON PROGRESS IN NEGOTIATING BILATERAL TREATIES WITH NON-HAGUE CONVENTION COUNTRIES- The Secretary of State shall prepare and submit to the Congress an annual report on progress made by the United States in negotiating and entering into bilateral treaties (or other international agreements) relating to international child abduction with countries that are not contracting parties to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

(b) REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES- (1) Section 116(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)) is amended--

(A) in paragraph (7), by striking `and' at the end and inserting a semicolon;

(B) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and inserting `; and'; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

`(9) the status of efforts in each country to prohibit international child abduction, including--

`(A) efforts to expedite the return of children to the country of their habitual residence; and

`(B) the extent to which the country respects the rights of custody and of access under the laws of other countries.'.

(2) Section 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(b)) is amended by inserting after the sixth sentence the following: `Each report under this section shall include information on the status of efforts in each country to prohibit international child abduction, including efforts to expedite the return of children to the country of their habitual residence and the extent to which the country respects the rights of custody and of access under the laws of other countries.'.

(c) REPORT ON ENFORCEMENT OF SECTION 1204 OF TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE- The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall prepare and submit to the Congress an annual report that contains a description of the status of each case involving a request during the preceding year for extradition to the United States of an individual alleged to have violated section 1204 of title 18, United States Code.

SEC. 7. SUPPORT FOR UNIFORM CHILD CUSTODY JURISDICTION AND ENFORCEMENT ACT.

From amounts made available to carry out this section, the Attorney General shall support, directly or through grants and contracts, the adoption and implementation by the States of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, as adopted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (in this section referred to as the `UCCJEA'). The support provided under this section shall include the following activities:

(1) Activities to promote the adoption of the UCCJEA by States that have not yet adopted it.

(2) Activities to provide training to lawyers and to judges and other appropriate public officials to ensure that the UCCJEA is implemented effectively and uniformly throughout the United States.

(3) Activities to provide guidance and funding to States to facilitate and expedite the enforcement by those States of the custody and visitation provisions of the UCCJEA.

SEC. 8. FEDERAL JUDICIAL CENTER EDUCATION PROGRAMS ON PARENTAL KIDNAPPING.

The Federal Judicial Center, in fulfilling its function to stimulate, create, develop, and conduct programs of continuing education and training for personnel of the judicial branch of the Government and other persons (as specified in section 620(b)(3) of title 28, United States Code), shall ensure that those programs include education, training, and materials on the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, the International Child Abduction Remedies Act, the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act, and such other international and Federal laws relating to parental kidnapping as are within the jurisdiction of the Federal courts.

SEC. 9. USE OF SUPERVISED VISITATION CENTERS UNDER THE SAFE HAVENS FOR CHILDREN PILOT PROGRAM IN SITUATIONS INVOLVING THE RISK OF PARENTAL KIDNAPPING.

Section 1301(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 10420(a)) is amended by striking `or stalking' and inserting `stalking, or the risk of parental kidnapping'.

END