# Plain Language Summary: BADGES for Native Communities Act

This bill creates a coordinated federal system to track and investigate cases of missing and murdered Native Americans. Right now, when Native Americans go missing or are found dead, information about these cases often doesn't get properly recorded in national databases or shared between different law enforcement agencies. This bill aims to fix that problem by requiring federal agencies to report these cases and appointing dedicated staff to make sure the information gets into the system.

The bill creates a new position called a "Tribal facilitator" who will work specifically on missing and murdered Native American cases. This person will coordinate between tribal police, the FBI, and other federal agencies to ensure cases are properly documented and tracked. They'll also provide training to tribal law enforcement, medical examiners, and victim advocates on how to report cases correctly. The facilitator will publish annual reports showing how many cases are being tracked and how many are being solved, so the public can see if the system is actually working.

The bill also addresses staffing shortages in tribal law enforcement and courts. It requires the federal government to report on what tribal police departments, courts, and corrections facilities actually need—things like more investigators, forensic technicians, better evidence storage facilities, and improved communication systems. Additionally, the bill creates a grant program to help tribal communities coordinate their response to missing and murdered cases, and it requires the federal government to study how evidence is being collected and handled in these investigations to identify problems and improvements.

BADGES for Native Communities Act

Gallego, Ruben

Bridging Agency Data Gaps and Ensuring Safety for Native Communities Act or the BADGES for Native Communities Act This bill revises federal policies and procedures related to information sharing, reporting, and investigating cases of missing, unidentified,&nbsp;or murdered Indians. Among other elements, the bill requires the Department of Justice to (1) establish a grant program for specified entities (e.g., tribes) to implement changes to enhance their responses to missing person cases and death investigations of interest to tribes, and (2) work with the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that federal training resources and culturally appropriate mental health and wellness programs are available to tribal and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement officers experiencing occupational stress. The Department of the Interior must establish a five-year demonstration program for the purpose of conducting or adjudicating personnel background investigations for applicants for law enforcement positions in the BIA. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct specified studies, including a study on the evidence collection, handling, and processing procedures and practices of federal law enforcement agencies.