II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 163 

To amend the National Child Protection Act of 1993 to establish a permanent 

background check system. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 7, 2009 

Mr. ENSIGN (for himself, Mr. BAYH, Mr. ISAKSON, Mrs. MCCASKILL, and Mr. 

SPECTER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the National Child Protection Act of 1993 to 

establish a permanent background check system. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Protection Im5 provements Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) In 2006, 61,200,000 adults (a total of 26.7 

9 percent of the population) contributed a total of 

10 8,100,000,000 hours of volunteer service. Of those 


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1 who volunteer, 27 percent dedicate their service to 

2 education or youth programs, or a total of 

3 16,500,000 adults. 

4 (2) Assuming recent incarceration rates remain 

5 unchanged, an estimated 6.6 percent of individuals 

6 in the United States will serve time in prison for a 

7 crime during their lifetime. The Integrated Auto8 mated Fingerprint Identification System of the Fed9 eral Bureau of Investigation maintains fingerprints 

10 and criminal histories on more than 47,000,000 in11 dividuals, many of whom have been arrested or con12 victed multiple times. 

13 (3) A study released in 2002, found that, of in14 dividuals released from prison in 15 States in 1994, 

15 an estimated 67.5 percent were rearrested for a fel16 ony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years. Three17 quarters of those new arrests resulted in convictions 

18 or a new prison sentence. 

19 (4) Given the large number of individuals with 

20 criminal records and the vulnerability of the popu21 lation they work with, human service organizations 

22 that work with children need an effective and reli23 able means of obtaining a complete criminal history 

24 in order to determine the suitability of a potential 

25 volunteer or employee. 


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1 (5) The large majority of Americans (88 per2 cent) favor granting youth-serving organizations ac3 cess to conviction records for screening volunteers 

4 and 59 percent favored allowing youth-serving orga5 nizations to consider arrest records when screening 

6 volunteers. This was the only use for which a major7 ity of those surveyed favored granting access to ar8 rest records. 

9 (6) Congress has previously attempted to en10 sure that States make Federal Bureau of Investiga11 tion criminal history record checks available to orga12 nizations seeking to screen employees and volunteers 

13 who work with children, the elderly, and individuals 

14 with disabilities, through the National Child Protec15 tion Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 5119 et seq.) and the 

16 Volunteers for Children Act (Public Law 105–251; 

17 112 Stat. 1885). However, according to a June 

18 2006 report from the Attorney General, these laws 

19 ‘‘did not have the intended impact of broadening the 

20 availability of NCPA checks.’’. A 2007 survey con21 ducted by MENTOR/National Mentoring Partner22 ship found that only 18 States allowed youth men23 toring organizations to access nationwide Federal 

24 Bureau of Investigation background searches. 


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1 (7) Even when accessible, the cost of a criminal 

2 background check can be prohibitively expensive, 

3 ranging from $5 to $75 for a State fingerprint 

4 check, plus the Federal Bureau of Investigation fee, 

5 which ranges between $16 to $24, for a total of be6 tween $21 and $99 for each volunteer or employee. 

7 (8) Delays in processing such checks can also 

8 limit their utility. While the Federal Bureau of In9 vestigation processes all civil fingerprint requests in 

10 less than 24 hours, State response times vary widely, 

11 and can take as long as 42 days. 

12 (9) The Child Safety Pilot Program under sec13 tion 108 of the PROTECT Act (42 U.S.C. 5119a 

14 note) revealed the importance of performing finger15 print-based Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal 

16 history record checks. Of 29,000 background checks 

17 performed through the pilot program as of March 

18 2007, 6.4 percent of volunteers were found to have 

19 a criminal record of concern, including very serious 

20 offenses such as sexual abuse of minors, assault, 

21 child cruelty, murder, and serious drug offenses. 

22 (10) In an analysis performed on the volunteers 

23 screened in the first 18 months of the Child Safety 

24 Pilot Program, it was found that over 25 percent of 

25 the individuals with criminal records had committed 


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1 an offense in a State other than the State in which 

2 they were applying to volunteer, meaning that a 

3 State-only search would not have found relevant 

4 criminal results. In addition, even though volunteers 

5 knew a background check was being performed, over 

6 50 percent of the individuals found to have a crimi7 nal record falsely indicated on their application form 

8 that they did not have a criminal record. 

9 (11) The Child Safety Pilot Program also dem10 onstrates that timely and affordable background 

11 checks are possible, as background checks under 

12 that program are completed within 3 to 5 business 

13 days at a cost of $18. 

14 SEC. 3. BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

15 The National Child Protection Act of 1993 (42 

16 U.S.C. 5119 et seq.) is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating section 5 as section 6; and 

18 (2) by inserting after section 4 the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 5. PROGRAM FOR NATIONAL CRIMINAL HISTORY 

20 BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR CHILD-SERVING 

21 ORGANIZATIONS. 

22 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

23 ‘‘(1) the term ‘applicant processing center’ 

24 means the applicant processing center established by 

25 the Attorney General under subsection (b)(1); 


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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘child’ means an individual who 

2 is less than 18 years of age; 

3 ‘‘(3) the term ‘covered entity’ means a business 

4 or organization, whether public, private, for-profit, 

5 nonprofit, or voluntary that provides care, care 

6 placement, supervision, treatment, education, train7 ing, instruction, or recreation to children, including 

8 a business or organization that licenses, certifies, or 

9 coordinates individuals or organizations to provide 

10 care, care placement, supervision, treatment, edu11 cation, training, instruction, or recreation to chil12 dren; 

13 ‘‘(4) the term ‘covered individual’ means an in14 dividual— 

15 ‘‘(A) who has, seeks to have, or may have 

16 unsupervised access to a child served by a cov17 ered entity; and 

18 ‘‘(B) who— 

19 ‘‘(i) is employed by or volunteers with, 

20 or seeks to be employed by or volunteer 

21 with, a covered entity; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) owns or operates, or seeks to 

23 own or operate, a covered entity; 


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1 ‘‘(5) the term ‘criminal history resource center’ 

2 means the program established under subsection 

3 (b)(2); 

4 ‘‘(6) the term ‘identification document’ has the 

5 meaning given that term in section 1028 of title 18, 

6 United States Code; 

7 ‘‘(7) the term ‘participating entity’ means a 

8 covered entity that is— 

9 ‘‘(A) located in a State that does not have 

10 a qualified State program; and 

11 ‘‘(B) approved under subsection (f) to re12 ceive nationwide background checks from the 

13 applicant processing center; 

14 ‘‘(8) the term ‘qualified State program’ means 

15 a program of a State authorized agency that the At16 torney General determines is meeting the standards 

17 identified in subsection (b)(3) to ensure that a wide 

18 range of youth-serving organizations have affordable 

19 and timely access to nationwide background checks; 

20 ‘‘(9) the term ‘State’ means a State of the 

21 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com22 monwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the 

23 Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the 

24 Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of 


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1 Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, 

2 and the Republic of Palau; and 

3 ‘‘(10) the term ‘State authorized agency’ means 

4 a division or office of a State designated by that 

5 State to report, receive, or disseminate criminal his6 tory information. 

7 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 

8 180 days after the date of enactment of the Child Protec9 tion Improvements Act of 2009, the Attorney General 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) establish within the Federal Government 

12 or through an agreement with a nongovernmental 

13 entity an applicant processing center; 

14 ‘‘(2) enter into an agreement with the National 

15 Center for Missing and Exploited Children, under 

16 which the National Center for Missing and Exploited 

17 Children shall establish a criminal history resource 

18 center; and 

19 ‘‘(3) conduct— 

20 ‘‘(A) an annual assessment of each State 

21 authorized agency to determine whether the 

22 agency operates a qualified State program, in23 cluding a review of whether the State author24 ized agency— 


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1 ‘‘(i) has designated a wide range of 

2 covered entities as eligible to submit State 

3 criminal background check requests and 

4 nationwide background check requests to 

5 the State authorized agency; 

6 ‘‘(ii) charges a covered entity not 

7 more than a total of $36 for a State crimi8 nal background check and a nationwide 

9 background check; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) returns requests for State crimi11 nal background checks and nationwide 

12 background checks to a covered entity not 

13 later than 10 business days after the date 

14 on which the request was made; and 

15 ‘‘(B) in addition to an annual assessment 

16 under subparagraph (A), an assessment de17 scribed in that subparagraph of a State author18 ized agency if— 

19 ‘‘(i) a State authorized agency that 

20 does not have a qualified State program 

21 requests such an assessment; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) the Attorney General receives re23 ports from covered entities indicating that 

24 a State authorized agency that has a qualiVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:01 Jan 09, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S163.IS S163

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1 fied State program no longer meets the 

2 standards described in subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(c) APPLICANT PROCESSING CENTER.— 

4 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the applicant 

5 processing center is to streamline the process of ob6 taining nationwide background checks, provide effec7 tive customer service, and facilitate widespread ac8 cess to nationwide background checks by partici9 pating entities. 

10 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The applicant processing center 

11 shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) handle inquiries from covered entities 

13 and inform covered entities about how to re14 quest nationwide background checks— 

15 ‘‘(i) for a covered entity located in a 

16 State with a qualified State program, by 

17 referring the covered entity to the State 

18 authorized agency; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) for a covered entity located in a 

20 State without a qualified State program, 

21 by providing information on the require22 ments to become a participating entity; 

23 ‘‘(B) provide participating entities with ac24 cess to nationwide background checks on cov25 ered individuals; 


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1 ‘‘(C) receive paper and electronic requests 

2 for nationwide background checks on covered 

3 individuals from participating entities; 

4 ‘‘(D) serve as a national resource center to 

5 provide guidance and assistance to participating 

6 entities on how to submit requests for nation7 wide background checks, how to obtain State 

8 criminal background checks, the possible re9 strictions that apply when making hiring deci10 sions based on criminal history records, and 

11 other related information; 

12 ‘‘(E) to the extent practicable, negotiate an 

13 agreement with each State authorized agency 

14 under which— 

15 ‘‘(i) that State authorized agency shall 

16 conduct a State criminal background check 

17 within the time periods specified in sub18 section (e) in response to a request from 

19 the applicant processing center and provide 

20 criminal history records to the applicant 

21 processing center; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) a participating entity may elect 

23 to obtain a State criminal background 

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1 ground check, through 1 unified request to 

2 the applicant processing center; 

3 ‘‘(F) convert all paper fingerprint cards 

4 into an electronic form and securely transmit 

5 all fingerprints electronically to the national 

6 criminal history background check system and, 

7 if appropriate, the State authorized agencies; 

8 ‘‘(G) collect a fee to conduct the nation9 wide background check, and, if appropriate, a 

10 State criminal background check, and remit 

11 fees to the Federal Bureau of Investigation 

12 and, if appropriate, the State authorized agen13 cies; 

14 ‘‘(H) convey to the participating entity 

15 that submitted the request for a nationwide 

16 background check— 

17 ‘‘(i) a statement indicating whether a 

18 criminal history, including a conviction, ar19 rest, or pending arrest or indictment, relat20 ing to a covered individual was found; 

21 ‘‘(ii) information relating to the ap22 propriate use of criminal history records 

23 when making decisions regarding hiring 

24 employees and using volunteers; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) if a criminal history is found, a 

2 recommendation to the participating entity 

3 to consult with the covered individual in 

4 order to obtain more information about the 

5 individual’s criminal history, and a list of 

6 factors to consider in assessing the signifi7 cance of that criminal history, including— 

8 ‘‘(I) any positive criminal back9 ground history; 

10 ‘‘(II) the nature, gravity, and cir11 cumstances of any offense indicated in 

12 the individual’s criminal history 

13 record, including whether the indi14 vidual was convicted of the offense; 

15 ‘‘(III) the period of time that has 

16 elapsed since the date of the offense 

17 or end of a period of incarceration or 

18 supervised release; 

19 ‘‘(IV) the nature of the position 

20 held or sought; and 

21 ‘‘(V) any evidence of rehabilita22 tion; and 

23 ‘‘(iv) instructions that, in evaluating 

24 the considerations described in clause (iii), 

25 the participating entity should consult the 


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1 Equal Employment Opportunity Commis2 sion Policy Statement on the Issue of Con3 viction Records under Title VII of the Civil 

4 Rights Act and the Policy Guidance on the 

5 Consideration of Arrest Records in Em6 ployment Decisions under Title VII of the 

7 Civil Rights Act of 1964, or any successor 

8 to such policy statement or policy guidance 

9 issued by the Equal Employment Oppor10 tunity Commission; 

11 ‘‘(I) for any request by a participating en12 tity for a nationwide criminal background check 

13 for which a criminal history is found, convey to 

14 the applicable covered individual the criminal 

15 history and an explanation of the right of the 

16 covered individual to appeal the accuracy and 

17 completeness of that criminal history on the 

18 same date that the statement, information, and 

19 instructions described in subparagraph (H) are 

20 conveyed to the participating entity; 

21 ‘‘(J) coordinate with the Federal Bureau 

22 of Investigation and participating State author23 ized agencies to ensure that background check 

24 requests are being completed within the time 

25 periods specified in subsection (e); and 


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1 ‘‘(K) refer participating entities and cov2 ered individuals to the appropriate State agency 

3 or the Federal Bureau of Investigation if a 

4 criminal history includes incomplete or inac5 curate information. 

6 ‘‘(3) REQUESTS.—A request for a nationwide 

7 background check by a participating entity shall in8 clude— 

9 ‘‘(A) the fingerprints of the covered indi10 vidual, in paper or electronic form; 

11 ‘‘(B) a photocopy of a valid identification 

12 document; and 

13 ‘‘(C) a statement completed and signed by 

14 the covered individual that— 

15 ‘‘(i) sets out the covered individual’s 

16 name, address, and date of birth, as those 

17 items of information appear on a valid 

18 identification document; 

19 ‘‘(ii) states whether the covered indi20 vidual has a criminal record, and, if so, 

21 provides the particulars of such criminal 

22 record; 

23 ‘‘(iii) notifies the covered individual 

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1 form a criminal history background check 

2 and that the signature of the covered indi3 vidual on the statement constitutes an ac4 knowledgment that such a check may be 

5 conducted; 

6 ‘‘(iv) notifies the covered individual 

7 that prior to and after the completion of 

8 the background check, the participating 

9 entity may choose to deny the covered indi10 vidual access to children; and 

11 ‘‘(v) notifies the covered individual of 

12 the right of the covered individual to cor13 rect an erroneous record of the Attorney 

14 General and, if appropriate, the State au15 thorized agency. 

16 ‘‘(4) FEES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The applicant proc18 essing center may collect a fee to defray the 

19 costs of carrying out its duties under this sec20 tion— 

21 ‘‘(i) for a nationwide background 

22 check, in an amount not to exceed the less23 er of— 

24 ‘‘(I) the actual cost to the appli25 cant processing center of conducting a 


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1 nationwide background check under 

2 this section; or 

3 ‘‘(II)(aa) $25 for a participating 

4 entity that is a nonprofit entity; or 

5 ‘‘(bb) $40 for any other partici6 pating entity; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) for a State criminal background 

8 check described in paragraph (2)(E), in 

9 the amount specified in the agreement with 

10 the applicable State authorized agency, not 

11 to exceed $18. 

12 ‘‘(B) REDUCED FEES.—In determining the 

13 amount of the fees to be collected under sub14 paragraph (A), the applicant processing cen15 ter— 

16 ‘‘(i) shall, to the extent possible, dis17 count such fees for participating entities 

18 that are nonprofit entities; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) may use fees paid by partici20 pating entities that are not nonprofit enti21 ties to reduce the fees to be paid by par22 ticipating entities that are nonprofit enti23 ties. 

24 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION ON FEES.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A participating 

2 entity may not charge another entity or in3 dividual a surcharge to access a back4 ground check conducted under this section. 

5 ‘‘(ii) VIOLATION.—The Attorney Gen6 eral shall bar any participating entity that 

7 the Attorney General determines violated 

8 clause (i) from submitting background 

9 checks under this section. 

10 ‘‘(d) CRIMINAL HISTORY RESOURCE CENTER.— 

11 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the criminal 

12 history resource center is to provide participating 

13 entities with reliable and accurate information re14 garding the interpretation of criminal histories. 

15 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—As part of operating the 

16 criminal history resource center, the National Center 

17 for Missing and Exploited Children— 

18 ‘‘(A) shall establish, and make available, 

19 general guidelines to assist participating enti20 ties with analyzing and interpreting criminal 

21 history records; 

22 ‘‘(B) shall respond to requests from par23 ticipating entities for assistance in under24 standing and interpreting a criminal history, in25 cluding providing— 


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1 ‘‘(i) information on the crime com2 mitted and the seriousness of such crime 

3 under the law of the applicable State; 

4 ‘‘(ii) information regarding whether 

5 multiple charges are part of 1 offense or a 

6 series of offenses; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) other information that can assist 

8 a participating entity in understanding the 

9 gravity, nature, and seriousness of the 

10 criminal history and the time lapse since 

11 the last offense was committed; and 

12 ‘‘(C) in responding to a request under sub13 paragraph (B)— 

14 ‘‘(i) shall provide general guidance to 

15 assist the participating entity in assessing 

16 criminal history records; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) may not make any individualized 

18 determination relating to whether a cov19 ered individual may represent a danger to 

20 children or whether the participating entity 

21 should hire or refrain from hiring any cov22 ered individual. 

23 ‘‘(e) TIMING.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Criminal background 

25 checks shall be completed not later than 10 business 


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1 days after the date that a request for a national 

2 background check is received by the applicant proc3 essing center. The applicant processing center shall 

4 work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to 

5 ensure that the time limits under this subsection are 

6 being achieved. 

7 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION PROCESSING.—The applicant 

8 processing center shall electronically submit a na9 tional background check request to the national 

10 criminal history background check system and, if ap11 propriate, the participating State authorized agency 

12 not later than 3 business days after the date that a 

13 request for a national background check is received 

14 by the applicant processing center. 

15 ‘‘(3) CONDUCT OF BACKGROUND CHECKS.—The 

16 Federal Bureau of Investigation and, if appropriate, 

17 a State authorized agency shall provide criminal his18 tory records information to the applicant processing 

19 center not later than 3 business days after the date 

20 that the Federal Bureau of Investigation or State 

21 authorized agency, as the case may be, receives a re22 quest for a nationwide background check from the 

23 applicant processing center. 

24 ‘‘(4) RESULTS.—The applicant processing cen25 ter shall convey the result of a national background 


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1 check to the participating entity, and if appropriate, 

2 convey the criminal history to the covered individual 

3 not later than 4 business days after the date that 

4 the applicant processing center has received criminal 

5 history records from the Federal Bureau of Inves6 tigation and, if appropriate, each applicable State 

7 authorized agency. 

8 ‘‘(f) PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The applicant processing 

10 center shall determine whether an entity is a covered 

11 entity and whether that covered entity should be ap12 proved as a participating entity, based on— 

13 ‘‘(A) whether the entity is located in a 

14 State that has a qualified State program; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the consultation conducted under 

16 paragraph (2). 

17 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In determining how 

18 many covered entities to approve as participating en19 tities, the applicant processing center shall consult 

20 quarterly with the Federal Bureau of Investigation 

21 to determine the volume of requests for national 

22 background checks that can be completed, based on 

23 the capacity of the applicant processing center and 

24 the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the availability 


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1 of resources, and the demonstrated need for national 

2 background checks in order to protect children. 

3 ‘‘(3) PREFERENCE FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZA4 TIONS.—In determining whether a covered entity 

5 should be approved as a participating entity under 

6 paragraph (1), the applicant processing center shall 

7 give preference to any organization participating in 

8 the Child Safety Pilot Program under section 

9 108(a)(3) of the PROTECT Act (42 U.S.C. 5119a 

10 note) on the date of enactment of the Child Protec11 tion Improvements Act of 2009 and to any other 

12 nonprofit organizations. 

13 ‘‘(g) RIGHTS OF COVERED INDIVIDUALS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual who is 

15 the subject of a nationwide background check under 

16 this section may contact the Federal Bureau of In17 vestigation and, if appropriate, a State authorized 

18 agency to— 

19 ‘‘(A) request that the full criminal history 

20 report of that covered individual be provided to 

21 that covered individual or the applicable partici22 pating entity not later than 10 business days 

23 after the date of that request; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) challenge the accuracy and complete2 ness of the criminal history record information 

3 in the criminal history report. 

4 ‘‘(2) RESOLUTION OF CHALLENGES.—The Fed5 eral Bureau of Investigation and, if appropriate, a 

6 State authorized agency shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) promptly make a determination re8 garding the accuracy and completeness of any 

9 criminal history record information challenged 

10 under paragraph (1)(B); and 

11 ‘‘(B) seek to— 

12 ‘‘(i) investigate any such challenge 

13 with relevant departments and agencies of 

14 the Federal Government and State and 

15 local governments; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) correct any inaccurate or incom17 plete records. 

18 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

20 appropriated to the Attorney General $5,000,000 for 

21 fiscal year 2010, to— 

22 ‘‘(A) establish and carry out the duties of 

23 the applicant processing center established 

24 under this section; 


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1 ‘‘(B) establish and carry out the criminal 

2 history resource center; and 

3 ‘‘(C) pursue technologies and procedures to 

4 streamline and automate processes to enhance 

5 cost efficiency. 

6 ‘‘(2) CRIMINAL HISTORY RESOURCE CENTER.— 

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to the At8 torney General to carry out the agreement under 

9 this section with the National Center for Missing 

10 and Exploited Children $1,000,000 for each of fiscal 

11 years 2010 through 2014 to support the criminal 

12 history resource center. 

13 ‘‘(3) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense 

14 of the Senate that in fiscal year 2010, and each fis15 cal year thereafter, the fees collected by the appli16 cant processing center should be sufficient to carry 

17 out the duties of the applicant processing center 

18 under this section. 

19 ‘‘(i) COLLECTION OF DATA AND REPORT TO CON20 GRESS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

22 the date of enactment of the Child Protection Im23 provements Act of 2009, and annually thereafter, 

24 the Attorney General shall prepare and submit to 

25 Congress and make available to the public a report 


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1 on the programs and procedures established under 

2 this Act. 

3 ‘‘(2) COLLECTION OF DATA.— 

4 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF DEMOGRAPHIC CHAR5 ACTERISTICS.—In this paragraph, the term ‘de6 mographic characteristics’ includes information 

7 pertaining to race, color, ancestry, national ori8 gin, age, sex and marital status. 

9 ‘‘(B) COMPILING.—Beginning 90 days 

10 after the date of enactment of the Child Protec11 tion Improvements Act of 2009, the Attorney 

12 General, with the assistance of the applicant 

13 processing center shall compile data regard14 ing— 

15 ‘‘(i) the number and types of partici16 pating entities; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the fees charged to participating 

18 entities under this section; 

19 ‘‘(iii) the time interval between na20 tionwide background check submissions 

21 and responses under this section; 

22 ‘‘(iv) the fiscal impact of this section 

23 on State authorized agencies; 

24 ‘‘(v) the number and demographic 

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1 mitting a statement described in subsection 

2 (c)(3)(C) as part of a request for a nation3 wide background check; 

4 ‘‘(vi) the number and demographic 

5 characteristics of covered individuals deter6 mined to have a criminal history; 

7 ‘‘(vii) the number, type (including the 

8 identity of the offense and whether the of9 fense was committed while the covered in10 dividual was a juvenile or adult), and fre11 quency of offenses, and length of the pe12 riod between the date of the offense and 

13 the date of the nationwide background 

14 check for any covered individuals found to 

15 have a criminal history under this section; 

16 ‘‘(viii) the procedures available for 

17 covered individuals to challenge the accu18 racy and completeness of criminal history 

19 record information under this section; 

20 ‘‘(ix) the number and results of chal21 lenges to the accuracy and completeness of 

22 criminal history record information under 

23 this section; 

24 ‘‘(x) the number and types of correc25 tions of erroneous criminal history record 


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1 information based on a challenge under 

2 this section; and 

3 ‘‘(xi) the number and types of inquir4 ies for assistance on interpreting a crimi5 nal history received by the criminal history 

6 resource center. 

7 ‘‘(C) AGGREGATING DATA.—The Attorney 

8 General, with the assistance of the applicant 

9 processing center, shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) aggregate the data collected 

11 under this paragraph by State and city; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) aggregate the data collected 

14 under clauses (v), (vi), and (vii) of sub15 paragraph (B) by race, color, ancestry, na16 tional origin, age, sex, and marital status. 

17 ‘‘(D) REPORTS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

19 year after the date of enactment of the 

20 Child Protection Improvements Act of 

21 2009, and annually thereafter, the Attor22 ney General shall prepare and submit to 

23 Congress a report concerning the data 

24 compiled and aggregated under this para25 graph. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—Each report sub2 mitted under clause (i) shall contain— 

3 ‘‘(I) the data compiled and ag4 gregated under this paragraph, orga5 nized in such a way as to provide a 

6 comprehensive analysis of the pro7 grams and procedures established 

8 under this section; 

9 ‘‘(II) information regarding and 

10 analysis of— 

11 ‘‘(aa) the programs and pro12 cedures established under this 

13 section; and 

14 ‘‘(bb) the extent such pro15 grams and procedures have 

16 helped screen individuals who 

17 may pose a risk to children; and 

18 ‘‘(III) information regarding and 

19 analysis of whether and to what ex20 tent the programs and procedures es21 tablished under this section are hav22 ing a disparate impact on individuals 

23 based on race, color, ancestry, na24 tional origin, age, sex, or marital sta25 tus. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) RECOMMENDATIONS.—A report 

2 submitted under clause (i) may contain 

3 recommendations to Congress on possible 

4 legislative improvements to this section. 

5 ‘‘(iv) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.— 

6 Upon the request of any member of Con7 gress, the Attorney General shall make 

8 available any of the data compiled or ag9 gregated under this paragraph. The Attor10 ney General shall not make available any 

11 data that identifies specific individuals. 

12 ‘‘(j) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

14 ‘‘(A) FAILURE TO CONDUCT CRIMINAL

15 BACKGROUND CHECKS.—No participating entity 

16 shall be liable in an action for damages solely 

17 for failure to conduct a criminal background 

18 check on a covered individual. 

19 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO TAKE ADVERSE ACTION

20 AGAINST COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—No partici21 pating entity shall be liable in an action for 

22 damages solely for a failure to take action ad23 verse to a covered individual upon receiving any 

24 notice of criminal history from the applicant 

25 processing center under subsection (c)(2)(H). 


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1 ‘‘(2) RELIANCE.—The applicant processing cen2 ter or a participating entity that reasonably relies on 

3 criminal history record information received in re4 sponse to a background check under this section 

5 shall not be liable in an action for damages based 

6 on the inaccuracy or incompleteness of that informa7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EX9 PLOITED CHILDREN.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

11 subparagraphs (B) and (C), the National Cen12 ter for Missing and Exploited Children, includ13 ing a director, officer, employee, or agent of the 

14 National Center for Missing and Exploited Chil15 dren, shall not be liable in an action for dam16 ages relating to the performance of the respon17 sibilities and functions of the National Center 

18 for Missing and Exploited Children under this 

19 section. 

20 ‘‘(B) INTENTIONAL, RECKLESS, OR OTHER

21 MISCONDUCT.—Subparagraph (A) shall not 

22 apply in an action if the National Center for 

23 Missing and Exploited Children, or a director, 

24 officer, employee, or agent of the National Cen25 ter for Missing and Exploited Children, engaged 


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1 in intentional misconduct or acted, or failed to 

2 act, with actual malice, with reckless disregard 

3 to a substantial risk of causing injury without 

4 legal justification, or for a purpose unrelated to 

5 the performance of responsibilities or functions 

6 under this section. 

7 ‘‘(C) ORDINARY BUSINESS ACTIVITIES.— 

8 Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to an act or 

9 omission relating to an ordinary business activ10 ity, such as an activity involving general admin11 istration or operations, the use of motor vehi12 cles, or personnel management. 

13 ‘‘(k) PRIVACY OF INFORMATION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON UNAUTHORIZED DISCLO15 SURE OR USE OF CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS.— 

16 Except for a covered individual, any entity or indi17 vidual authorized to receive or transmit fingerprints 

18 or criminal history records under this Act— 

19 ‘‘(A) shall use the fingerprints, criminal 

20 history records, or information in the criminal 

21 history records only for the purposes specifically 

22 set forth in this Act; 

23 ‘‘(B) shall allow access to the fingerprints, 

24 criminal history records, or information in the 

25 criminal history records only to those employees 


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1 of the entity, and only on such terms, as are 

2 necessary to fulfill the purposes set forth in this 

3 Act; 

4 ‘‘(C) shall not disclose the fingerprints, 

5 criminal history records, or information in the 

6 criminal history records, except as specifically 

7 authorized under this Act; 

8 ‘‘(D) shall keep a written record of each 

9 authorized disclosure of the fingerprints, crimi10 nal history records, or the information in the 

11 criminal history records; and 

12 ‘‘(E) shall maintain adequate security 

13 measures to ensure the confidentiality of the 

14 fingerprints, the criminal history records, and 

15 the information in the criminal history records. 

16 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the applicant proc18 essing center is established within the Federal 

19 Government, the Attorney General shall pro20 mulgate regulations to ensure the enforcement 

21 of the nondisclosure requirements under para22 graph (1) and to provide for appropriate sanc23 tions in the case of violations of the require24 ments. 


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1 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPATING ENTITIES AND APPLI2 CANT PROCESSING CENTER.—The participation 

3 in any program under this section by a partici4 pating entity or a nongovernmental entity that 

5 enters into an agreement with the Attorney 

6 General to establish an applicant processing 

7 center shall be conditioned on the participating 

8 entity or nongovernmental entity— 

9 ‘‘(i) establishing procedures to ensure 

10 compliance with, and respond to any viola11 tions of, paragraph (1); and 

12 ‘‘(ii) maintaining substantial compli13 ance with paragraph (1). 

14 ‘‘(3) DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS.—The appli15 cant processing center shall destroy any fingerprints 

16 or criminal history record received under this Act 

17 after any transaction based on the fingerprints or 

18 criminal history record is completed, and shall not 

19 maintain the fingerprints, the criminal history 

20 records, or the information in the criminal history 

21 record in any form.’’. 

22 SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF CHILD SAFETY PILOT. 

23 Section 108(a)(3)(A) of the PROTECT Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 5119a note) is amended— 

25 (1) by striking ‘‘60-month’’; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 

2 Child Safety Pilot Program under this paragraph 

3 shall terminate on the date that the program for na4 tional criminal history background checks for child5 serving organizations established under the Child 

6 Protection Improvements Act of 2009 is operating 

7 and able to enroll any organization using the Child 

8 Safety Pilot Program.’’. 

Æ 


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