The Carla Walker Act creates a federal grant program to help state and local law enforcement agencies use advanced DNA technology to solve cold cases and identify unknown victims. Specifically, it provides $5 million per year from 2025 through 2029 for two main purposes: first, to pay for DNA analysis using genealogical databases when standard DNA databases haven't produced leads, and second, to purchase equipment and supplies needed to perform this type of advanced DNA testing.

The grants are available to local police departments, prosecutors' offices, medical examiners, and coroners' offices. The money can be used to analyze DNA from unsolved crimes or unidentified remains by comparing genetic information against publicly available genealogy databases like those used by ancestry websites. This approach has become increasingly valuable for solving old cases where traditional DNA matching hasn't worked. Agencies can also use grant money to hire outside laboratories to do this specialized testing if they don't have the capability in-house.

The law includes oversight requirements to ensure the money is spent properly. Grant recipients must keep detailed records and submit yearly reports showing how many cases they worked on, what results they got, and how long the process took. The Attorney General can audit these records to verify compliance. Additionally, within two years, the Attorney General must report to Congress on how well the program is working and provide recommendations for how to better implement this DNA technology across the country's forensic laboratories.