H.R. 4221

Kevin and Avonte's Law of 2017

Missing Americans Alert Program Act of 2017

This bill amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to revise, rename, and reauthorize through FY2022 the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program.

It directs the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Bureau of Justice Assistance to award grants:

• to develop or operate programs to prevent wandering and locate missing individuals with dementia or children with developmental disabilities, and
• to develop tracking technology programs to locate missing individuals with dementia or children with developmental disabilities.

The bill amends the Missing Children's Assistance Act to specify that, with respect to training and technical assistance provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, cases involving missing and exploited children include cases involving children with developmental disabilities such as autism.

DOJ must establish and certain grant recipients must comply with standards and best practices related to the use of tracking technology to locate missing individuals with dementia or developmental disabilities.

The bill prohibits the use of data from tracking devices to create a federal database. It also prohibits construing this bill to require a parent or guardian to use a tracking device.