I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1237

To establish procedures for national criminal background checks for child

care providers.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 4, 1993

Mrs. SCHROEDER (for herself, Mr. EDWARDS of California, Mr. CRAMER, Mr.

KOPETSKI, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr. SHAYS, and Mr. SMITH of Oregon) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the

Judiciary

A BILL

To establish procedures for national criminal background

checks for child care providers.

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 ‘‘National Child Protec5 tion Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. REPORTING BY THE STATES.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—An authorized criminal justice

8 agency of a State shall report child abuse crime informa-
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1 tion to, or index child abuse crime information in, the na2 tional criminal background check system.

3 (b) PROVISION OF STATE CHILD ABUSE CRIME

4 RECORDS THROUGH THE NATIONAL CRIMINAL BACK5 GROUND CHECK SYSTEM.—(1) Not later than 180 days

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney Gen7 eral shall—

8 (A) investigate the criminal records of each

9 State and determine for each State a timetable by

10 which the State should be able to provide child

11 abuse crime records on an on-line capacity basis

12 through the national criminal background check sys13 tem;

14 (B) establish guidelines for the reporting or in15 dexing of child abuse crime information, including

16 guidelines relating to the format, content, and accu17 racy of child abuse crime information and other pro18 cedures for carrying out this Act; and

19 (C) notify each State of the determinations

20 made pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B).

21 (2) The Attorney General shall require as a part of

22 the State timetable that the State—

23 (A) by not later than the date that is 3 years

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, have in a

25 computerized criminal history file at least 80 percent
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1 of the final dispositions that have been rendered in

2 all identifiable child abuse crime cases in which

3 there has been an event of activity within the last

4 5 years;

5 (B) continue to maintain at least an 80 percent

6 reporting rate of final case dispositions in all identi7 fiable child abuse crime cases in which there has

8 been an event of activity within the preceding 5

9 years; and

10 (C) take steps to achieve full disposition report11 ing, including data quality audits and periodic no12 tices to criminal justice agencies identifying records

13 that lack final dispositions and requesting those dis14 positions.

15 (c) LIAISON.—An authorized agency of a State shall

16 maintain close liaison with the National Center on Child

17 Abuse and Neglect, the National Center for Missing and

18 Exploited Children, and the National Center for the Pros19 ecution of Child Abuse for the exchange of technical as20 sistance in cases of child abuse.

21 (d) ANNUAL SUMMARY.—(1) The Attorney General

22 shall publish an annual statistical summary of the child

23 abuse crime information reported under this Act.

24 (2) The annual statistical summary described in

25 paragraph (1) shall not contain any information that may
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1 reveal the identity of any particular victim or alleged viola2 tor.

3 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Attorney General shall

4 publish an annual summary of each State’s progress in

5 reporting child abuse crime information to the national

6 criminal background check system.

7 (f) STUDY OF CHILD ABUSE OFFENDERS.—(1) Not

8 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this

9 Act, the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice

10 and Delinquency Prevention shall begin a study based on

11 a statistically significant sample of convicted child abuse

12 offenders and other relevant information to determine—

13 (A) the percentage of convicted child abuse of14 fenders who have more than 1 conviction for an of15 fense involving child abuse;

16 (B) the percentage of convicted child abuse of17 fenders who have been convicted of an offense in18 volving child abuse in more than 1 State;

19 (C) whether there are crimes or classes of

20 crimes, in addition to those defined as background

21 check crimes in section 5, that are indicative of a

22 potential to abuse children; and

23 (D) the extent to which and the manner in

24 which instances of child abuse form a basis for con25 victions for crimes other than child abuse crimes.
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1 (2) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment

2 of this Act, the Administrator shall submit a report to the

3 Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate

4 and the Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary of

5 the House of Representatives containing a description of

6 and a summary of the results of the study conducted pur7 suant to paragraph (1).

8 SEC. 3. BACKGROUND CHECKS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) A State may have in effect

10 procedures (established by or under State statute or regu11 lation) to permit a qualified entity to contact an author12 ized agency of the State to request a nationwide back13 ground check for the purpose of determining whether

14 there is a report that a provider has been convicted of

15 a background check crime.

16 (2) The authorized agency shall access and review

17 State and Federal records of background check crimes

18 through the national criminal background check system

19 and shall respond promptly to the inquiry.

20 (b) GUIDELINES.—(1) The Attorney General shall es21 tablish guidelines for State background check procedures

22 established under subsection (a), which guidelines shall in23 clude the requirements and protections of this Act.

24 (2) The guidelines established under paragraph (1)

25 shall require—
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1 (A) that no qualified entity may request a back2 ground check of a provider under subsection (a) un3 less the provider first provides a set of fingerprints

4 and completes and signs a statement that—

5 (i) contains the name, address, and date of

6 birth appearing on a valid identification docu7 ment (as defined by section 1028(d)(1) of title

8 18, United States Code) of the provider;

9 (ii) the provider has not been convicted of

10 a background check crime and, if the provider

11 has been convicted of a background check

12 crime, contains a description of the crime and

13 the particulars of the conviction;

14 (iii) notifies the provider that the entity

15 may request a background check under sub16 section (a);

17 (iv) notifies the provider of the provider’s

18 rights under subparagraph (B); and

19 (v) notifies the provider that prior to the

20 receipt of the results of the background check

21 the qualified entity may choose to deny the pro22 vider unsupervised access to a child to whom

23 the qualified entity provides child care;
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1 (B) that each State establish procedures under

2 which a provider who is the subject of a background

3 check under subsection (a) is entitled—

4 (i) to obtain a copy of any background

5 check report and any record that forms the

6 basis for any such report; and

7 (ii) to challenge the accuracy and com8 pleteness of any information contained in any

9 such report or record and obtain a prompt de10 termination from an authorized agency as to

11 the validity of such challenge;

12 (C) that an authorized agency to which a quali13 fied entity has provided notice pursuant to sub14 section (a) make reasonable efforts to complete re15 search in whatever State and local recordkeeping

16 systems are available and in the national criminal

17 background check system and respond to the quali18 fied entity within 15 business days;

19 (D) that the response of an authorized agency

20 to an inquiry pursuant to subsection (a) inform the

21 qualified entity that the background check pursuant

22 to this section—

23 (i) may not reflect all convictions for a

24 background check crime; and
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1 (ii) may not be the sole basis for determin2 ing the fitness of a provider;

3 (E) that the response of an authorized agency

4 to an inquiry pursuant to subsection (a) be limited

5 to the conviction information reasonably required to

6 accomplish the purposes of this Act;

7 (F) that the qualified entity may choose to deny

8 the provider unsupervised access to a child to whom

9 the qualified entity provides child care on the basis

10 of conviction information provided pursuant to a

11 background check under subsection (a) until the pro12 vider has obtained a determination as to the validity

13 of any challenge under subparagraph (B) or waived

14 the right to make such challenge; and

15 (G) that each State establish procedures to en16 sure that any background check under subsection

17 (a) and the results thereof shall be requested by and

18 provided only to—

19 (i) qualified entities identified by States;

20 (ii) authorized representatives of a quali21 fied entity who have a need to know such infor22 mation;

23 (iii) the provider who is the subject of a

24 background check;

25 (iv) law enforcement authorities; or
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1 (v) pursuant to the direction of a court of

2 law;

3 (H) that background check information con4 veyed to a qualified entity pursuant to subsection (a)

5 shall not be conveyed to any person except as pro6 vided under subparagraph (G); and

7 (I) that a State or Federal employee or an em8 ployee of a political subdivision of a State respon9 sible for providing information to the national crimi10 nal background check system shall not be liable in

11 an action at law for damages for failure to prevent

12 a qualified entity from taking action adverse to a

13 provider on the basis of a criminal background

14 check.

15 (c) EQUIVALENT PROCEDURES.—(1) Notwithstand16 ing anything to the contrary in this section, the Attorney

17 General may certify that a State licensing or certification

18 procedure that differs from the procedures described in

19 subsections (a) and (b) shall be deemed to be the equiva20 lent of such procedures for purposes of this Act, but the

21 procedures described in subsections (a) and (b) shall con22 tinue to apply to those qualified entities, providers, and

23 background check crimes that are not governed by or in24 cluded within the State licensing or certification proce25 dure.
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1 (2) The Attorney General shall by regulation estab2 lish criteria for certifications under this subsection. Such

3 criteria shall include a finding by the Attorney General

4 that the State licensing or certification procedure accom5 plishes the purposes of this Act and incorporates a nation6 wide review of State and Federal records of background

7 check offenses through the national criminal background

8 check system.

9 (d) REGULATIONS.—(1) The Attorney General may

10 by regulation prescribe such other measures as may be

11 required to carry out the purposes of this Act, including

12 measures relating to the security, confidentiality, accu13 racy, use, misuse, and dissemination of information, and

14 audits and recordkeeping.

15 (2) The Attorney General shall, to the maximum ex16 tent possible, encourage the use of the best technology

17 available in conducting background checks.

18 SEC. 4. FUNDING FOR IMPROVEMENT OF CHILD ABUSE

19 CRIME INFORMATION.

20 (a) USE OF FORMULA GRANTS FOR IMPROVEMENTS

21 IN STATE RECORDS AND SYSTEMS.—Section 509(b) of

22 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968

23 (42 U.S.C. 3759(b)) is amended—

24 (1) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ after

25 the semicolon;
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1 (2) in paragraph (3) by striking the period and

2 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

3 (3) by adding at the end the following new

4 paragraph:

5 ‘‘(4) the improvement of State record systems

6 and the sharing of all of the records described in

7 paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) and the records re8 quired under section 2 of the National Child Protec9 tion Act of 1993 with the Attorney General for the

10 purpose of implementing the National Child Protec11 tion Act of 1993.’’.

12 (b) ADDITIONAL FUNDING GRANTS FOR THE IM13 PROVEMENT OF CHILD ABUSE CRIME INFORMATION.—

14 (1) The Attorney General shall, subject to appropriations

15 and with preference to States that, as of the date of enact16 ment of this Act, have in computerized criminal history

17 files the lowest percentage of dispositions of identifiable

18 child abuse cases, make a grant to each State to be used—

19 (A) for the computerization of criminal history

20 files for the purposes of this Act;

21 (B) for the improvement of existing computer22 ized criminal history files for the purposes of this

23 Act;
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1 (C) to improve accessibility to the national

2 criminal background check system for the purposes

3 of this Act; and

4 (D) to assist the State in the transmittal of

5 criminal records to, or the indexing of criminal his6 tory record in, the national criminal background

7 check system for the purposes of this Act.

8 (2) There are authorized to be appropriated for

9 grants under paragraph (1) a total of $20,000,000 for fis10 cal years 1994, 1995, and 1996.

11 (c) WITHHOLDING STATE FUNDS.—Effective 1 year

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney Gen13 eral may reduce, by up to 10 percent, the allocation to

14 a State for a fiscal year under title I of the Omnibus

15 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 that is not

16 in compliance with the timetable established for that State

17 under section 2 of this Act.

18 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

19 For the purposes of this Act—

20 (1) the term ‘‘authorized agency’’ means a divi21 sion or office of a State designated by a State to re22 port, receive, or disseminate information under this

23 Act;

24 (2) the term ‘‘background check crime’’ means

25 a child abuse crime, murder, manslaughter, aggra-
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1 vated assault, kidnapping, arson, sexual assault, do2 mestic violence, incest, indecent exposure, prostitu3 tion, promotion of prostitution, and a felony offense

4 involving the use or distribution of a controlled sub5 stance;

6 (3) the term ‘‘child’’ means a person who is a

7 child for purposes of the criminal child abuse law of

8 a State;

9 (4) the term ‘‘child abuse’’ means the physical

10 or mental injury, sexual abuse or exploitation, ne11 glectful treatment, negligent treatment, or maltreat12 ment of a child by any person in violation of the

13 criminal child abuse laws of a State, but does not in14 clude discipline administered by a parent or legal

15 guardian to his or her child provided it is reasonable

16 in manner and moderate in degree and otherwise

17 does not constitute cruelty;

18 (5) the term ‘‘child abuse crime’’ means a crime

19 committed under any law of a State that establishes

20 criminal penalties for the commission of child abuse

21 by a parent or other family member of a child or by

22 any other person;

23 (6) the term ‘‘child abuse crime information’’

24 means the following facts concerning a person who

25 is under indictment for, or has been convicted of, a
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1 child abuse crime: full name, race, sex, date of birth,

2 height, weight, fingerprints, a brief description of

3 the child abuse crime or offenses for which the per4 son has been arrested or is under indictment or has

5 been convicted, the disposition of the charge, and

6 any other information that the Attorney General de7 termines may be useful in identifying persons ar8 rested for, under indictment for, or convicted of, a

9 child abuse crime;

10 (7) the term ‘‘child care’’ means the provision

11 of care, treatment, education, training, instruction,

12 supervision, or recreation to children;

13 (8) the term ‘‘domestic violence’’ means a fel14 ony or misdemeanor involving the use or threatened

15 use of force by—

16 (A) a present or former spouse of the vic17 tim;

18 (B) a person with whom the victim shares

19 a child in common;

20 (C) a person who is cohabiting with or has

21 cohabited with the victim as a spouse; or

22 (D) any person defined as a spouse of the

23 victim under the domestic or family violence

24 laws of a State;
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1 (9) the term ‘‘exploitation’’ means child pornog2 raphy and child prostitution;

3 (10) the term ‘‘mental injury’’ means harm to

4 a child’s psychological or intellectual functioning,

5 which may be exhibited by severe anxiety, depres6 sion, withdrawal or outward aggressive behavior, or

7 a combination of those behaviors or by a change in

8 behavior, emotional response, or cognition;

9 (11) the term ‘‘national criminal background

10 check system’’ means the criminal history record

11 system maintained by the Federal Bureau of Inves12 tigation based on fingerprint identification or any

13 other method of positive identification;

14 (12) the term ‘‘negligent treatment’’ means the

15 failure to provide, for a reason other than poverty,

16 adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care so

17 as to seriously endanger the physical health of a

18 child;

19 (13) the term ‘‘physical injury’’ includes lacera20 tions, fractured bones, burns, internal injuries, se21 vere bruising, and serious bodily harm;

22 (14) the term ‘‘provider’’ means

23 (A) a person who—

24 (i) is employed by or volunteers with

25 a qualified entity;
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1 (ii) who owns or operates a qualified

2 entity; or

3 (iii) who has or may have unsuper4 vised access to a child to whom the quali5 fied entity provides child care; and

6 (B) a person who—

7 (i) seeks to be employed by or volun8 teer with a qualified entity;

9 (ii) seeks to own or operate a qualified

10 entity; or

11 (iii) seeks to have or may have unsu12 pervised access to a child to whom the

13 qualified entity provides child care;

14 (15) the term ‘‘qualified entity’’ means a busi15 ness or organization, whether public, private, for16 profit, not-for-profit, or voluntary, that provides

17 child care or child care placement services, including

18 a business or organization that licenses or certifies

19 others to provide child care or child care placement

20 services;

21 (16) the term ‘‘sex crime’’ means an act of sex22 ual abuse that is a criminal act;

23 (17) the term ‘‘sexual abuse’’ includes the em24 ployment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement,

25 or coercion of a child to engage in, or assist another
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1 person to engage in, sexually explicit conduct or the

2 rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sex3 ual exploitation of children or incest with children;

4 and

5 (18) the term ‘‘State’’ means a State, the Dis6 trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto

7 Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, Guam,

8 and the Trust Territories of the Pacific.

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