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SB1782 - 572R - I Ver
REFERENCE TITLE:
runaways; alert systems
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
SB 1782
Introduced by
Senators
Gonzales: Alston, Diaz, Hatathlie, Kuby, Miranda, Ortiz, Sears, Sundareshan
AN
ACT
Amending sections 8-810, 41-1728
and 41-1728.01, Arizona Revised Statutes; amending title 41, chapter 12,
article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 41-1738; relating
to alert systems.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 8-810, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
8-810.
Missing; abducted; runaway children; notification; training;
audit
A. Immediately or within twenty-four hours
after receiving a report made pursuant to section 13-3620 or receiving information
during the course of providing services that indicates a child who is a ward of
the court or who is in the care of the department is missing, abducted or a
runaway and the child's location is unknown, the department shall notify the
appropriate law enforcement agency to make the record entry as follows:
1. For an abducted child, the Arizona criminal
justice information system.
2. For an abducted, missing or runaway child, the
national crime information center missing person database.
B. Immediately or within twenty-four hours
after receiving a report of a missing, abducted or runaway child, the
department shall do the following:
1. Report information on the missing, abducted or
runaway child to the national center for missing and exploited children.
2. Unless it is determined by the primary
investigative agency that it will hinder investigation or location efforts,
contact the following persons to obtain information about the child's
disappearance:
(a) The child's parents.
(b) The child's known relatives.
(c) The child's out-of-home caregivers.
(d) The child's attorney.
(e) The child's guardian or guardian ad litem.
(f) The child's court appointed special advocate.
(g) The child's school, friends or household members
or other persons who may have relevant information about the circumstances
surrounding the child's abduction or disappearance.
(h) Any other persons known to the department who
may have relevant information regarding the child's location.
3. Unless it is determined by the primary
investigative agency that it will hinder investigation or location efforts,
provide a notice of disappearance in writing and telephonically to the
following persons:
(a) The child's parents.
(b) The child's known relatives.
(c) The child's out-of-home caregivers.
(d) The child's attorney.
(e) The child's guardian or guardian ad litem.
(f) The child's court appointed special advocate.
(g) A judicial officer in any judicial matter
involving the child.
(h) The duty assistant attorney general to initiate
a motion for a pickup.
(i) If the child is a member of an Indian tribe in
this state, the child's Indian tribe.
C. Immediately or within twenty-four hours
after receiving a report
pursuant to this section
, the
department shall request the appropriate law enforcement agency to determine if
the situation meets amber alert criteria
, turquoise alert
criteria pursuant to section 41-1728.01
or
silver
seek and find
alert criteria pursuant to section 41-1728. The
appropriate law enforcement agency shall document its response regarding amber
alert
, turquoise alert
or
silver
seek and find
alert criteria.
D. Within forty-eight hours after receiving a
report of a missing, abducted or runaway child, the department shall provide
the local law enforcement agency with, and the local law enforcement agency
shall provide to all local media outlets and post to social media platforms,
all of the following information regarding the child and, if known, the child's
abductor:
1. A complete physical description of the child and,
if known, the child's abductor.
2. The last known location of the child or, if
known, the child's abductor.
3. A description of the clothing the child or, if
known, the child's abductor was last known to be wearing.
4. A description of any vehicle that may be involved
with the child's disappearance.
5. Current photos of the child and, if available,
the child's abductor.
6. A law enforcement telephone number.
7. Information regarding any offered rewards.
E. The appropriate law enforcement agency shall
update social media platforms with updated information regarding the missing,
abducted or runaway child.
F. For a child who has been missing or abducted or
who has been a runaway for two or more years, the appropriate law enforcement
agency shall work, when possible, to create an age-appropriate
progression image of the child.�
G. The department shall do all of the following on
an ongoing basis until a missing, abducted or runaway child is located or the
child reaches the age of majority:
1. Document in writing every effort the department
has made to locate the missing, abducted or runaway child within ten days after
the effort to locate the child is taken. The written document shall
specify the notifications and documentation sent to individuals and departments
pursuant to the requirements of this section.
2. Contact law enforcement every seven calendar days
and document the information provided and received.
3. For a child who has been missing or abducted or
who has been a runaway for two or more years, work with the national center for
missing and exploited children to create an age-progression image of the
child.
H. The department shall immediately develop, refine,
implement and provide initial training to newly hired employees. A
newly hired employee must receive this initial training before any children are
assigned to the newly hired employee's caseload. The department
shall conduct annual training for department employees who have direct
oversight of children and the direct supervisors of those
employees. The training shall include department policies for
locating missing, abducted or runaway children and the requirements for ongoing
efforts to locate a missing, abducted or runaway child, unless it is determined
by the primary investigative agency that it will hinder investigation or
location efforts. Monthly ongoing department efforts shall include
all of the following:
1. Continued contact with law enforcement agencies.
2. Continued contact with the child's parents,
guardian or custodian.
3. Continued contact with the child's known
relatives.
4. Continued contact with current and former foster
families of the child.
5. Continued contact with the child's school.
6. Continued contact with known acquaintances of the
child.
7. Continued in-person searching of locations
and places where the child may be found.
8. Continued review of any social media accounts
that may be associated with the child or the child's known acquaintances.
9. Continued efforts with law enforcement agencies
in searching for the child.
10. Continued search efforts with department field
staff who have access to databases that may help in the search for information
or leads regarding the missing, abducted or runaway child.
11. Referral to the department's office of child
welfare investigations for assistance if exigent circumstances exist.
12. Requesting that the appropriate law enforcement
agency conduct welfare checks at any location where the child may be.
I. Within twenty-four hours after a missing,
abducted or runaway child is located, the department shall do all of the
following:
1. Inform all of the following:
(a) All law enforcement agencies involved in the
child's case.
(b) The attorney general's office.
(c) The national center for missing and exploited
children.
(d) Any individuals who have received notice
pursuant to subsection B, paragraph 3 of this section.
2. Have in-person contact with the child.
3. Obtain a medical exam for the child.
4. Assess the child's experiences while absent from
care, including screening to determine if the child is a sex trafficking
victim, and report to the appropriate law enforcement agency if it is
determined that the child is a sex trafficking victim.
5. Assess the appropriateness of the child returning
to the child's current placement.
6. Assess factors that contributed to the child's
absence.
7. Determine the need for additional behavioral
health services and support.
8. Review the case to assess the primary factors
that contributed to the child being missing or abducted or a runaway and to the
extent possible and appropriate respond to those factors in current and
subsequent case decisions.
J. Within sixty days after September 14, 2024, the
department shall develop a checklist for department specialists. The
checklist shall be distributed to each caseworker to
assist
department specialists in fulfilling the department's duties prescribed by this
section. The checklist shall have a mechanism to mark department
duties as completed within the timelines specified by this section.
K. Beginning ninety days after September 14, 2024,
the department shall provide a monthly report to the governor, the president of
the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives. The
report shall include all of the following:
1. The names of all current missing, abducted or
runaway children. The names of missing, abducted or runaway children
shall be kept confidential and may not be distributed outside of the monthly
report.
2. An acknowledgement that the department made the
notifications prescribed by this section within the prescribed time
frames. If the department failed to make the notifications
with
within
the prescribed time frames,
the department shall include a detailed explanation of the reason why the
notifications were not made within the prescribed time frames.
3. The department's compliance with ongoing search
efforts made to locate missing, abducted or runaway children.
4. The department's compliance with subsection I of
this section.
5. On the return of a runaway child to the
department's care, the reason why the child ran away.
L. Within one hundred fifty days after September 14,
2024 and on a monthly
basis thereafter, the
department shall submit to the joint legislative budget committee, the senate
health and human services committee and the house of representatives health and
human services committee, or their successor committees, a report that includes
all of the following:
1. The department's compliance with all of the
requirements of this section.
2. The number of missing, abducted and runaway
children.
3. The number of missing, abducted and runaway
children who have been found.
4. The percentage of times the department was in
compliance with the requirements prescribed in subsections A, B, C and D of
this section.
M. If the report submitted pursuant to subsection L
of this section shows a less than ninety-five percent compliance rate
with the requirements prescribed in subsection L, paragraph 4 of this section
for more than four consecutive or nonconsecutive months in a twelve-month
period, the department shall establish a missing, abducted and runaway children
unit within the department. The missing, abducted and runaway
children unit shall have at least four employees with at least one employee
available twenty-four hours a day. The missing, abducted and
runaway children unit may enter into contracts with any vendor necessary to
ensure the department is in compliance with this section. If the
missing, abducted and runaway children unit is established, the unit shall
submit a report to the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of
the house of representatives and the joint legislative oversight committee on
the department of child safety established by section 41-1292. The
report shall do all of the following:
1. Identify the reasons why the department is not in
compliance with the requirements prescribed in subsections A, B, C and D of
this section.
2. Identify the methods by which the missing,
abducted and runaway children unit will achieve a ninety-five percent
compliance rate with the requirements prescribed in subsections A, B, C and D
of this section.
3. Include organizational changes that the
department will make to ensure compliance with the requirements prescribed in
subsections A, B, C and D of this section.
4. Recommend legislative changes that are necessary
to ensure the department's compliance with the requirements prescribed in
subsections A, B, C and D of this section.
N. The legislature may convene an oversight
committee to address problems and deviations from policy and procedure and
recommend corrective action plans. The legislature shall request an
annual independent audit of the department's compliance with this
section. If the independent audit determines that the department is
not in compliance, the department shall contract with a consulting firm that is
licensed by this state for investigative services.� The consulting firm shall
present recommendations to the oversight committee on how to improve compliance
with this section.
O. The legislature may convene the joint legislative
oversight committee on the department of child safety established by section 41-1292
to address concerns and deviations from policy and procedure and provide
recommendations. The legislature may request an annual independent
audit of the department's compliance with this section. If the
independent audit determines that the department is not in compliance, the
independent audit shall provide recommendations for improving the department's
efforts to locate missing, abducted or runaway children.� If the joint
legislative oversight committee on the department of child safety determines
that the department, after the establishment of the missing, abducted and
runaway children unit, has failed to meet the requirements of subsection M of
this section for a period of more than two months, the department shall
contract with a consulting firm that is licensed by this state for
investigative services.� The consulting firm shall present recommendations to
the joint legislative oversight committee
on the department of
child safety
on how to improve compliance with this section.
P. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL take all
necessary actions PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION regardless of WHETHER THE DEPARTMENT
HAS DETERMINED whether THE child IS A RUNAWAY.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 41-1728, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
41-1728.
Seek and find alert notification system; requirements;
definitions
A. The department shall establish the seek and find
alert notification system as a quick response system designed to issue and
coordinate alerts following the report of a missing person who has a
developmental disability or a cognitive disability, Alzheimer's disease or
dementia or is sixty-five years of age or older as described in
subsection B of this section.
B. On the request of an authorized person at a law
enforcement agency that is investigating a report of a missing person who has a
developmental disability or a cognitive disability, Alzheimer's disease or
dementia or is sixty-five years of age or older, the department shall request
an activation of the emergency alert system and issue a seek and find alert immediately,
regardless of the missing person's age, if all of the following conditions are
met:
1. The missing person has a developmental disability
or a cognitive disability, Alzheimer's disease or dementia or is sixty-five
years of age or older.
2. The law enforcement agency investigating the
missing person report:
(a) Has used all available local resources.
(b) Has determined that the person
is
a runaway or
has gone missing under unexplained or suspicious
circumstances.
(c) Believes that the missing person is in danger
because of age, health, mental or physical disability, environment or weather conditions,
that the missing person is in the company of a potentially dangerous person or
that there are other factors indicating that the missing person may be in
peril.
3. There is information available that, if
disseminated to the public, could assist in the safe recovery of the missing
person.
4. The department has been designated to use the
federally authorized emergency alert system for the issuance of seek and find
alerts.
C. The department shall request an activation of the
emergency alert system and issue a seek and find alert immediately
pursuant to subsection B of this section. A
seek and find alert may not be denied or delayed due to administrative
processes, prior missing episodes or discretionary assessments that are
unrelated to the immediate risk to the missing person's safety.
D. If the department issues a seek and find alert
pursuant to this section, the department shall provide the seek and find alert
information to any other entity that provides similar notifications in this
state.
E. All law enforcement agencies in this state shall
do all of the following:
1. Develop, implement and regularly update training
criteria regarding the seek and find alert notification system
pursuant
to this section
. The training shall be comprehensive and
shall create a solid foundation of knowledge regarding the legal criteria and
processes involved in issuing
a
timely seek and find
alert
alerts
.
2. Conduct seek and find alert notification training
for all employees of a law enforcement agency, at the time of hire and
biannually, who have direct involvement in missing person cases, including the
supervisors of these employees and communication dispatchers. The
training shall include a review of any department and state policies regarding
locating missing, abducted or runaway persons, with a specific focus on seek
and find alert procedures. The training shall be comprehensive and
shall create a solid foundation of knowledge regarding the legal criteria and
processes involved in issuing
a
timely seek and find
alert
alerts
.
F. The department shall issue a seek
and find alert regardless of whether the department has determined whether the
missing person is a runaway.
F.
G.
For
the purposes of this section:
1. "Cognitive disability" has the same
meaning prescribed in section 36-551.
2. "Developmental disability" has the same
meaning prescribed in section 36-551.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 3. Section 41-1728.01, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
41-1728.01.
Turquoise alert system; requirements; definitions
A. The department shall establish the turquoise
alert system as a quick response system designed to
issue and coordinate alerts following the report of a missing person.
B. On the request of an authorized person at a law
enforcement agency that is investigating a report of a missing person, the
department shall request an activation of the emergency alert system and issue
a turquoise
alert if all of the following
conditions are met:
1. The missing person is under sixty-five
years of age.
2. The law enforcement agency investigating the
missing person report:
(a) Has used all available local resources.
(b) Has determined that the person
is
a runaway or
has gone missing under unexplained or suspicious
circumstances.
(c) Believes that the missing person is in danger or
that the missing person is in the company of a potentially dangerous person or
that there are other factors indicating that the missing person may be in
peril.
3. There is information available that, if
disseminated to the public, could assist in the safe recovery of the missing
person.
4. The department has been designated to use the
federally authorized emergency alert system for the issuance of turquoise
alerts.
C. If the department issues a turquoise
alert pursuant to this section, the department shall
provide the turquoise alert information to any other entity that provides
similar notifications in this state.
D. The department shall issue a
TURQUOISE alert regardless of whether the department has determined whether the
missing person is a runaway.
D.
E.
For
the purposes of this section:
1. "Law enforcement agency" means the
Arizona
department of public safety, a municipal police
department, a county sheriff's office, a tribal law enforcement agency
and
or
a federal law enforcement agency
that operates within this state.
2. "Person" includes a member of a
federally recognized Indian Tribe.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 4. Title 41, chapter 12, article 2,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 41-1738, to read:
START_STATUTE
41-1738.
Amber alert; rule; runaway
The department shall adopt a rule that an amber
alert shall be issued if the missing child meets the criteria to issue an amber
alert, regardless of WHETHER THE CHILD IS A RUNAWAY.
END_STATUTE