BADGES for Native Communities Act
The BADGES for Native Communities Act is a multifaceted bill aimed at improving how missing and murdered Indigenous people and related death investigations are handled across federal, tribal, state, and local systems. It creates a Tribal facilitator role within the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System to coordinate reporting and tracking of cases of interest to Indian Tribes, and it requires more systematic reporting on Indian country law enforcement resources. The bill also launches a pilot program for background investigations for Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement positions, establishes a grant program to improve missing/murdered response coordination, and directs a federal study on how evidence is collected and processed in Indian country. Finally, it calls for interdepartmental coordination to ensure culturally appropriate mental health support and related resources for tribal law enforcement personnel. Potential impact: - Improved data sharing, reporting, and coordination around missing persons, death investigations, and related cases in Indian country. - More transparent information about federal law enforcement staffing and resources assigned to Indian country. - A pathway to streamlined background investigations for BIA police, with potential implications for hiring timelines and security clearances. - Increased funding and structured cross-government collaboration to respond to missing and murdered Indigenous cases, plus safeguards and oversight via GAO reports.
Key Points
- 1National Missing and Unidentified Persons System Tribal Facilitator (Section 101)
- 2- Appoints tribal facilitators to manage reporting and coordination of missing persons, unclaimed remains, and unidentified remains cases of interest to Indian Tribes.
- 3- Responsibilities include training, outreach, and building relationships with tribes and relevant organizations; efforts to work with non-Tribal agencies to ensure cases are reported to NMUIS.
- 4- Annual reporting to Congress (3-year window) and public annual transparency updates.
- 5Report on Indian Country Law Enforcement Resources (Section 102)
- 6- Amends DOJ law enforcement staffing reporting to include unmet needs in tribal and Bureau justice agencies (staffing, facilities, equipment, communications, and technology).
- 7- Requires annual DOJ-wide reporting on DOJ law enforcement personnel assigned to Indian country, time spent in Indian country, turnover, experience, vacancies, and planned hiring/training measures.
- 8- Mandates a GAO study within 18 months to assess unmet staffing and barriers to evidence collection and processing across BIA, FBI, tribal, state, and local agencies, with a focus on how these barriers may affect declination rates and prosecutions.
- 9Title II, Ensuring Safety for Native Communities
- 10- Demonstration Program for BIA Law Enforcement Background Checks (Section 201)
- 11- Secretary establishes a pilot program to conduct or adjudicate background investigations for BIA law enforcement applicants, with possible MOUs with states or tribes to speed up access to information.
- 12- Program ends five years after it begins.
- 13- Any background check and resulting security clearance granted under the program would satisfy applicable federal requirements.
- 14- Missing or Murdered Response Coordination Grant Program (Section 202)
- 15- Establishes a grant program within the Office of Justice Programs to fund eligible entities (tribes, tribal organizations, multi-tribe coalitions, or state consortia including tribes) to improve missing/murdered response coordination and to document and input case information into NMUIS and NCIC.
- 16- Eligible activities include creating regional centers to track cases, forming state/regional commissions to coordinate among tribal/state/local agencies, and developing resources for rapid notification and coordination.
- 17- Annual funding authorized: $1 million for each of fiscal years 2026–2030.
- 18- GAO Study on Evidence Collection (Section 203)
- 19- Requires a study of how evidence is collected and processed by OJS (BIA) and FBI in Indian country, barriers to collection/processing, and relationships to declination rates, including input from tribal, state, and local agencies.
- 20- A public report to Congress after study completion.
- 21- Counseling Resources Interdepartmental Coordination (Section 204)
- 22- Federal agencies (HHS and DOJ) will coordinate to ensure culturally appropriate mental health and wellness resources are available to law enforcement officers with OJS or tribal police.
- 23- Explore eligibility for programs like Federal Occupational Health’s Law Enforcement Assistance Program or other targeted services.