Sec. 241. National Advisory Committee on Domestic Sex Trafficking
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Title XI of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1301 et seq. ) is amended by inserting after section 1114 the following new section: This section relates to the National Advisory Committee on Domestic Sex Trafficking (in this section referred to as the Committee ). Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish and appoint all members of the Committee. The Committee shall be composed of not more than 21 members whose diverse experience and background enable them to provide balanced points of view with regard to carrying out the duties of the Committee.
The Committee shall not be composed solely of Federal officers or employees. The Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall appoint members to the Committee. Members shall be appointed for the life of the Committee. A vacancy in the Committee shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointment was made and shall not affect the powers or duties of the Committee. Committee members, with the exception of reimbursement of official travel expenses and per diem for official travel, shall serve without compensation.
The Committee shall advise the Secretary and the Attorney General on practical and general policies concerning improvements to the Nation's response to domestic sex trafficking of minors from the child welfare system and the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The Committee shall advise the Secretary and the Attorney General on practical and general policies concerning the cooperation of Federal, State, local, and tribal governments, child welfare agencies, social service providers, physical health and mental health providers, victim service providers, State or local courts with responsibility for conducting or supervising proceedings relating to child welfare or social services for children and their families, Federal, State, and local police, juvenile detention centers and runaway and homeless youth programs, schools, and businesses and organizations that provide services to youth, on responding to domestic sex trafficking of minors and the commercial sexual exploitation of children, including the development and implementation of— successful interventions with children and teens who are exposed to conditions that make them vulnerable to, or victims of, domestic sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation; policies that reflect an understanding that safety and well-being of children and teens can be compromised by the sexualization of children, the commodification of children, and a lack of normalcy characterized by isolation, disconnection from positive, appropriate, and healthy relationships with peers and adults, and an inability to engage in age appropriate activities; and the relationship between children and teens who are trafficked and the overall coarsening and desensitization of society to violence that puts the public safety of communities across the Nation at risk. commercial sexual exploitation of children The Committee shall recommend a comprehensive definition of what constitutes the commercial sexual exploitation of children .
The Committee shall develop 2 tiers (referred to in this subparagraph as Tier I and Tier II ) of recommended best practices for States to follow in combating the domestic sex trafficking of minors and the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Tier I shall provide States that have not yet addressed domestic sex trafficking of minors and the commercial sexual exploitation of children with an idea of where to begin and what steps to take. Tier II shall provide States that are already working to address domestic sex trafficking of minors and the commercial sexual exploitation of children with examples of policies that are already being used effectively by other States to address trafficking issues.
The best practices shall be based on multidisciplinary research and promising, evidence-based models and programs. The best practices shall be user-friendly, incorporate the most up-to-date technology, and include the following: Sample training materials, protocols, and screening tools to prepare child welfare personnel to identify and serve youth who are at-risk or are victims of domestic sex trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation. Multidisciplinary strategies to identify victims, manage cases, and improve services to meet the unique needs of this youth population.
Sample protocols and recommendations for effective, cross-system collaboration between Federal, State, local, and tribal governments, child welfare agencies, social service providers, physical health and mental health providers, victim service providers, State or local courts with responsibility for conducting or supervising proceedings relating to child welfare or social services for children and their families, Federal, State, and local police, juvenile detention centers and runaway and homeless youth programs, schools, and businesses and organizations that provide services to youth.
These protocols and recommendations should include strategies to identify victims and collect, document, and share data across systems and agencies, and should be designed to help agencies better understand the type of trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation involved, the scope of the problem, the needs of the population to be served, ways to address the demand for trafficked children and youth and increase prosecutions of traffickers and purchasers of children and youth, and the degree of victim interaction with multiple systems.
A list of recommendations to establish safe residential placements for foster youth who have been trafficked (as defined by the Committee) as well as training guidelines for caregivers that serve children and youth being cared for outside the home. The Committee shall submit an interim and a final report on the work of the Committee to— the Secretary; the Attorney General; the Committee on Finance of the Senate; and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives.
The interim report shall be submitted not later than 1 year after the establishment of the Committee. The final report shall be submitted not later than 2 years after the establishment of the Committee unless the Secretary establishes an extension period for the Committee, in which case the final report shall be submitted not later than the last day of such period. The Secretary shall direct the head of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services to l provide all necessary support for the Committee.
The Committee will meet at the call of the Secretary at least twice a year to carry out the duties identified in this section, and more often as otherwise required. The Secretary shall call all of the Committee meetings, prepare and approve all meeting agendas, attend all Committee meetings, adjourn any meeting when the Secretary determines adjournment to be in the public interest, and shall chair meetings when directed to do so by an official or entity to whom the Committee reports.
The Committee shall be authorized to establish subcommittees or working groups, as necessary and consistent with the mission of the Committee, and any such subcommittees or working groups shall operate under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C. App.), the Sunshine in Government Act of 1976 ( 5 U.S.C. 552b ), and other appropriate Federal regulations. Such subcommittees or working groups shall have no authority to make decisions on behalf of the Committee, nor shall they report directly to any official or entity listed in subsection (d).
The records of the Committee and any subcommittees and working groups shall be maintained in accordance with appropriate Department of Health and Human Services policies and procedures and shall be available for public inspection and copying, subject to the Freedom of Information Act ( 5 U.S.C. 552 ). From the unobligated balance of funds made available to carry out section 414 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 614), $400,000 of such funds are hereby transferred and made available to carry out this section.
Amounts transferred and made available to carry out this section shall remain available for expenditure until the date on which the Committee terminates and shall not be subject to reduction under a sequestration order issued under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 ( 2 U.S.C. 900 et seq. ). Any amounts made available to carry out this section that are unobligated on the date on which the Committee terminates shall be returned to the Treasury of the United States .
The Committee shall terminate 2 years after the date of establishment unless the Secretary determines that more time is necessary to allow the Committee to complete its duties, in which case the Committee shall terminate at the end of an extension period established by the Secretary (not to exceed 24 months). .
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Sec. 241
National Advisory Committee on Domestic Sex Trafficking
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