Missing Children’s Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2023

Missing Children’s Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2023

This act reauthorizes through FY2028 and otherwise revises programs and activities for missing and exploited children.

Specifically, the act revises certain terminology within the Missing Children’s Assistance Act, including by replacing the term child pornography with child sexual abuse material.

Additionally, the act expands the functions and duties of the National Center on Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). For example, the act allows NCMEC to provide support services, consultation, and assistance to missing and sexually exploited children, parents, their families, and child-serving professionals on recovery support, including counseling recommendations and community support.

Further, the act provides statutory authority for NCMEC to facilitate requests for removing from the internet any child sexual abuse material and sexually exploitive content depicting children. (Currently, NCMEC operates an initiative to help facilitate the removal of such content from the internet.)

The act requires NCMEC to report additional information in its annual report on missing children. In particular, NCMEC must include in this publicly available report the number of children reported as missing from state-sponsored care, the number of such children whose recovery was reported, and the number of such children who are likely victims of child sex trafficking.

The act also requires NCMEC to annually report on the criteria and processes used to establish forensic partnerships and recommend forensic resources to law enforcement.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov