H. R. 1237

One Hundred Third Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-three

An Act

To establish procedures for national criminal background checks for child care

providers.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Child Protection Act

of 1993’’.

SEC. 2. REPORTING CHILD ABUSE CRIME INFORMATION.

(a) IN GENERAL.—In each State, an authorized criminal justice

agency of the State shall report child abuse crime information

to, or index child abuse crime information in, the national criminal

history background check system.

(b) PROVISION OF STATE CHILD ABUSE CRIME RECORDS

THROUGH THE NATIONAL CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECK

SYSTEM.—(1) Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment

of this Act, the Attorney General shall, subject to availability of

appropriations—

(A) investigate the criminal history records system of each

State and determine for each State a timetable by which the

State should be able to provide child abuse crime records on

an on-line basis through the national criminal history background check system;

(B) in consultation with State officials, establish guidelines

for the reporting or indexing of child abuse crime information,

including guidelines relating to the format, content, and

accuracy of criminal history records and other procedures for

carrying out this Act; and

(C) notify each State of the determinations made pursuant

to subparagraphs (A) and (B).

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

timetable that the State—

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

date of enactment of this Act, have in a computerized criminal

history file at least 80 percent of the final dispositions that

have been rendered in all identifiable child abuse crime cases

in which there has been an event of activity within the last

5 years;

(B) continue to maintain a reporting rate of at least 80

percent for final dispositions in all identifiable child abuse

crime cases in which there has been an event of activity within

the preceding 5 years; and

19:05 Nov 30, 1993 VerDate 16-NOV-93 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6655 Sfmt 6501 E:\BILLS\H1237.ENR bend06
H. R. 1237—2

(C) take steps to achieve 100 percent disposition reporting,

including data quality audits and periodic notices to criminal

justice agencies identifying records that lack final dispositions

and requesting those dispositions.

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

close liaison with the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect,

the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the

National Center for the Prosecution of Child Abuse for the exchange

of technical assistance in cases of child abuse.

(d) ANNUAL SUMMARY.—(1) The Attorney General shall publish

an annual statistical summary of child abuse crimes.

(2) The annual statistical summary described in paragraph

(1) shall not contain any information that may reveal the identity

of any particular victim or alleged violator.

(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Attorney General shall, subject to

the availability of appropriations, publish an annual summary of

each State’s progress in reporting child abuse crime information

to the national criminal history background check system.

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

180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator

of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention shall

begin a study based on a statistically significant sample of convicted

child abuse offenders and other relevant information to determine—

(A) the percentage of convicted child abuse offenders who

have more than 1 conviction for an offense involving child

abuse;

(B) the percentage of convicted child abuse offenders who

have been convicted of an offense involving child abuse in

more than 1 State; and

(C) the extent to which and the manner in which instances

of child abuse form a basis for convictions for crimes other

than child abuse crimes.

(2) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this

Act, the Administrator shall submit a report to the Chairman

of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Chairman

of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives

containing a description of and a summary of the results of the

study conducted pursuant to paragraph (1).

SEC. 3. BACKGROUND CHECKS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) A State may have in effect procedures (established by State statute or regulation) that require qualified

entities designated by the State to contact an authorized agency

of the State to request a nationwide background check for the

purpose of determining whether a provider has been convicted

of a crime that bears upon an individual’s fitness to have responsibility for the safety and well-being of children.

(2) The authorized agency shall access and review State and

Federal criminal history records through the national criminal history background check system and shall make reasonable efforts

to respond to the inquiry within 15 business days.

(b) GUIDELINES.—The procedures established under subsection

(a) shall require—

(1) that no qualified entity may request a background check

of a provider under subsection (a) unless the provider first

provides a set of fingerprints and completes and signs a statement that—

19:05 Nov 30, 1993 VerDate 16-NOV-93 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6655 Sfmt 6501 E:\BILLS\H1237.ENR bend06
H. R. 1237—3

(A) contains the name, address, and date of birth

appearing on a valid identification document (as defined

in section 1028 of title 18, United States Code) of the

provider;

(B) the provider has not been convicted of a crime

and, if the provider has been convicted of a crime, contains

a description of the crime and the particulars of the

conviction;

(C) notifies the provider that the entity may request

a background check under subsection (a);

(D) notifies the provider of the provider’s rights under

paragraph (2); and

(E) notifies the provider that prior to the completion

of the background check the qualified entity may choose

to deny the provider unsupervised access to a child to

whom the qualified entity provides child care;

(2) that each provider who is the subject of a background

check is entitled—

(A) to obtain a copy of any background check report;

and

(B) to challenge the accuracy and completeness of any

information contained in any such report and obtain a

prompt determination as to the validity of such challenge

before a final determination is made by the authorized

agency;

(3) that an authorized agency, upon receipt of a background

check report lacking disposition data, shall conduct research

in whatever State and local recordkeeping systems are available

in order to obtain complete data;

(4) that the authorized agency shall make a determination

whether the provider has been convicted of, or is under pending

indictment for, a crime that bears upon an individual’s fitness

to have responsibility for the safety and well-being of children

and shall convey that determination to the qualified entity;

and

(5) that any background check under subsection (a) and

the results thereof shall be handled in accordance with the

requirements of Public Law 92–544.

(c) REGULATIONS.—(1) The Attorney General may by regulation

prescribe such other measures as may be required to carry out

the purposes of this Act, including measures relating to the security,

confidentiality, accuracy, use, misuse, and dissemination of information, and audits and recordkeeping. (2) The Attorney General shall, to the maximum extent possible,

encourage the use of the best technology available in conducting

background checks.

(d) LIABILITY.—A qualified entity shall not be liable in an

action for damages solely for failure to conduct a criminal background check on a provider, nor shall a State or political subdivision

thereof nor any agency, officer or employee thereof, be liable in

an action for damages for the failure of a qualified entity to take

action adverse to a provider who was the subject of a background

check.

(e) FEES.—In the case of a background check pursuant to a

State requirement adopted after the date of the enactment of this

Act conducted with fingerprints on a person who volunteers with

a qualified entity, the fees collected by authorized State agencies

19:05 Nov 30, 1993 VerDate 16-NOV-93 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6655 Sfmt 6501 E:\BILLS\H1237.ENR bend06
H. R. 1237—4

and the Federal Bureau of Investigation may not exceed the actual

cost of the background check conducted with fingerprints. The

States shall establish fee systems that insure that fees to nonprofit entities for background checks do not discourage volunteers

from participating in child care programs.

SEC. 4. FUNDING FOR IMPROVEMENT OF CHILD ABUSE CRIME

INFORMATION.

(a) USE OF FORMULA GRANTS FOR IMPROVEMENTS IN STATE

RECORDS AND SYSTEMS.—Section 509(b) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3759(b)) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon;

(2) in paragraph (3) by striking the period and inserting

‘‘; and’’; and

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

‘‘(4) the improvement of State record systems and the sharing of all of the records described in paragraphs (1), (2), and

(3) and the child abuse crime records required under the

National Child Protection Act of 1993 with the Attorney General for the purpose of implementing the National Child Protection Act of 1993.’’.

(b) ADDITIONAL FUNDING GRANTS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF

CHILD ABUSE CRIME INFORMATION.—(1) The Attorney General shall,

subject to appropriations and with preference to States that, as

of the date of enactment of this Act, have in computerized criminal

history files the lowest percentages of charges and dispositions

of identifiable child abuse cases, make a grant to each State to

be used—

(A) for the computerization of criminal history files for

the purposes of this Act;

(B) for the improvement of existing computerized criminal

history files for the purposes of this Act; (C) to improve accessibility to the national criminal history

background check system for the purposes of this Act; and (D) to assist the State in the transmittal of criminal records

to, or the indexing of criminal history record in, the national

criminal history background check system for the purposes

of this Act.

(2) There are authorized to be appropriated for grants under paragraph (1) a total of $20,000,000 for fiscal years 1994, 1995,

1996, and 1997.

(c) WITHHOLDING STATE FUNDS.—Effective 1 year after the

date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General may reduce,

by up to 10 percent, the allocation to a State for a fiscal year

under title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act

of 1968 that is not in compliance with the requirements of this

Act.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

For the purposes of this Act—

(1) the term ‘‘authorized agency’’ means a division or office

of a State designated by a State to report, receive, or disseminate information under this Act;

(2) the term ‘‘child’’ means a person who is a child for

purposes of the criminal child abuse law of a State;

(3) the term ‘‘child abuse crime’’ means a crime committed

under any law of a State that involves the physical or mental

19:05 Nov 30, 1993 VerDate 16-NOV-93 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6655 Sfmt 6501 E:\BILLS\H1237.ENR bend06
H. R. 1237—5

injury, sexual abuse or exploitation, negligent treatment, or

maltreatment of a child by any person;

(4) the term ‘‘child abuse crime information’’ means the

following facts concerning a person who has been arrested

for, or has been convicted of, a child abuse crime: full name,

race, sex, date of birth, height, weight, fingerprints, a brief

description of the child abuse crime or offenses for which the

person has been arrested or has been convicted, the disposition

of the charge, and any other information that the Attorney

General determines may be useful in identifying persons

arrested for, or convicted of, a child abuse crime;

(5) the term ‘‘child care’’ means the provision of care, treatment, education, training, instruction, supervision, or recreation

to children by persons having unsupervised access to a child;

(6) the term ‘‘national criminal history background check

system’’ means the criminal history record system maintained

by the Federal Bureau of Investigation based on fingerprint

identification or any other method of positive identification;

(7) the term ‘‘provider’’ means—

(A) a person who—

(i) is employed by or volunteers with a qualified

entity;

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

(iii) who has or may have unsupervised access

to a child to whom the qualified entity provides child

care; and

(B) a person who—

(i) seeks to be employed by or volunteer with a

qualified entity;

(ii) seeks to own or operate a qualified entity;

or

(iii) seeks to have or may have unsupervised access

to a child to whom the qualified entity provides child

care;

(8) the term ‘‘qualified entity’’ means a business or

organization, whether public, private, for-profit, not-for-profit,

or voluntary, that provides child care or child care placement

services, including a business or organization that licenses or

certifies others to provide child care or child care placement

services; and

19:05 Nov 30, 1993 VerDate 16-NOV-93 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6655 Sfmt 6501 E:\BILLS\H1237.ENR bend06
H. R. 1237—6

(9) the term ‘‘State’’ means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the

Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Trust Territories of the Pacific.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.

19:05 Nov 30, 1993 VerDate 16-NOV-93 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6655 Sfmt 6501 E:\BILLS\H1237.ENR bend06