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[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1237 Introduced in House (IH)]

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.

    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 BY THE STATES.

    (a) In General.--An authorized criminal justice agency of a State 
shall report child abuse crime information to, or index child abuse 
crime information in, the national criminal background check system.
    (b) Provision of State Child Abuse Crime Records through the 
National Criminal Background Check System.--(1) Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall--
            (A) investigate the criminal records 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 
        capacity basis through the national criminal background check 
        system;
            (B) establish guidelines for the reporting or indexing of 
        child abuse crime information, including guidelines relating to 
        the format, content, and accuracy of child abuse crime 
        information 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 the 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 at least an 80 percent reporting 
        rate of final case dispositions in all identifiable child abuse 
        crime cases in which there has been an event of activity within 
        the preceding 5 years; and
            (C) take steps to achieve full 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 the child abuse crime information 
reported under this Act.
    (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 publish an annual 
summary of each State's progress in reporting child abuse crime 
information to the national criminal 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;
            (C) whether there are crimes or classes of crimes, in 
        addition to those defined as background check crimes in section 
        5, that are indicative of a potential to abuse children; and
            (D) 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 or under State statute or regulation) to permit a 
qualified entity to contact an authorized agency of the State to 
request a nationwide background check for the purpose of determining 
whether there is a report that a provider has been convicted of a 
background check crime.
    (2) The authorized agency shall access and review State and Federal 
records of background check crimes through the national criminal 
background check system and shall respond promptly to the inquiry.
    (b) Guidelines.--(1) The Attorney General shall establish 
guidelines for State background check procedures established under 
subsection (a), which guidelines shall include the requirements and 
protections of this Act.
    (2) The guidelines established under paragraph (1) shall require--
            (A) 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--
                    (i) contains the name, address, and date of birth 
                appearing on a valid identification document (as 
                defined by section 1028(d)(1) of title 18, United 
                States Code) of the provider;
                    (ii) the provider has not been convicted of a 
                background check crime and, if the provider has been 
                convicted of a background check crime, contains a 
                description of the crime and the particulars of the 
                conviction;
                    (iii) notifies the provider that the entity may 
                request a background check under subsection (a);
                    (iv) notifies the provider of the provider's rights 
                under subparagraph (B); and
                    (v) notifies the provider that prior to the receipt 
                of the results 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;
            (B) that each State establish procedures under which a 
        provider who is the subject of a background check under 
        subsection (a) is entitled--
                    (i) to obtain a copy of any background check report 
                and any record that forms the basis for any such 
                report; and
                    (ii) to challenge the accuracy and completeness of 
                any information contained in any such report or record 
                and obtain a prompt determination from an authorized 
                agency as to the validity of such challenge;
            (C) that an authorized agency to which a qualified entity 
        has provided notice pursuant to subsection (a) make reasonable 
        efforts to complete research in whatever State and local 
        recordkeeping systems are available and in the national 
        criminal background check system and respond to the qualified 
        entity within 15 business days;
            (D) that the response of an authorized agency to an inquiry 
        pursuant to subsection (a) inform the qualified entity that the 
        background check pursuant to this section--
                    (i) may not reflect all convictions for a 
                background check crime; and
                    (ii) may not be the sole basis for determining the 
                fitness of a provider;
            (E) that the response of an authorized agency to an inquiry 
        pursuant to subsection (a) be limited to the conviction 
        information reasonably required to accomplish the purposes of 
        this Act;
            (F) that the qualified entity may choose to deny the 
        provider unsupervised access to a child to whom the qualified 
        entity provides child care on the basis of conviction 
        information provided pursuant to a background check under 
        subsection (a) until the provider has obtained a determination 
        as to the validity of any challenge under subparagraph (B) or 
        waived the right to make such challenge; and
            (G) that each State establish procedures to ensure that any 
        background check under subsection (a) and the results thereof 
        shall be requested by and provided only to--
                    (i) qualified entities identified by States;
                    (ii) authorized representatives of a qualified 
                entity who have a need to know such information;
                    (iii) the provider who is the subject of a 
                background check;
                    (iv) law enforcement authorities; or
                    (v) pursuant to the direction of a court of law;
            (H) that background check information conveyed to a 
        qualified entity pursuant to subsection (a) shall not be 
        conveyed to any person except as provided under subparagraph 
        (G); and
            (I) that a State or Federal employee or an employee of a 
        political subdivision of a State responsible for providing 
        information to the national criminal background check system 
        shall not be liable in an action at law for damages for failure 
        to prevent a qualified entity from taking action adverse to a 
        provider on the basis of a criminal background check.
    (c) Equivalent Procedures.--(1) Notwithstanding anything to the 
contrary in this section, the Attorney General may certify that a State 
licensing or certification procedure that differs from the procedures 
described in subsections (a) and (b) shall be deemed to be the 
equivalent of such procedures for purposes of this Act, but the 
procedures described in subsections (a) and (b) shall continue to apply 
to those qualified entities, providers, and background check crimes 
that are not governed by or included within the State licensing or 
certification procedure.
    (2) The Attorney General shall by regulation establish criteria for 
certifications under this subsection. Such criteria shall include a 
finding by the Attorney General that the State licensing or 
certification procedure accomplishes the purposes of this Act and 
incorporates a nationwide review of State and Federal records of 
background check offenses through the national criminal background 
check system.
    (d) 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.

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 records required under section 2 of 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 percentage of 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 
        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 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, and 
1996.
    (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 timetable established for that State under section 
2 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 ``background check crime'' means a child abuse 
        crime, murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, kidnapping, 
        arson, sexual assault, domestic violence, incest, indecent 
        exposure, prostitution, promotion of prostitution, and a felony 
        offense involving the use or distribution of a controlled 
        substance;
            (3) the term ``child'' means a person who is a child for 
        purposes of the criminal child abuse law of a State;
            (4) the term ``child abuse'' means the physical or mental 
        injury, sexual abuse or exploitation, neglectful treatment, 
        negligent treatment, or maltreatment of a child by any person 
        in violation of the criminal child abuse laws of a State, but 
        does not include discipline administered by a parent or legal 
        guardian to his or her child provided it is reasonable in 
        manner and moderate in degree and otherwise does not constitute 
        cruelty;
            (5) the term ``child abuse crime'' means a crime committed 
        under any law of a State that establishes criminal penalties 
        for the commission of child abuse by a parent or other family 
        member of a child or by any other person;
            (6) the term ``child abuse crime information'' means the 
        following facts concerning a person who is under indictment 
        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 is under indictment 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, under indictment for, or 
        convicted of, a child abuse crime;
            (7) the term ``child care'' means the provision of care, 
        treatment, education, training, instruction, supervision, or 
        recreation to children;
            (8) the term ``domestic violence'' means a felony or 
        misdemeanor involving the use or threatened use of force by--
                    (A) a present or former spouse of the victim;
                    (B) a person with whom the victim shares a child in 
                common;
                    (C) a person who is cohabiting with or has 
                cohabited with the victim as a spouse; or
                    (D) any person defined as a spouse of the victim 
                under the domestic or family violence laws of a State;
            (9) the term ``exploitation'' means child pornography and 
        child prostitution;
            (10) the term ``mental injury'' means harm to a child's 
        psychological or intellectual functioning, which may be 
        exhibited by severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal or outward 
        aggressive behavior, or a combination of those behaviors or by 
        a change in behavior, emotional response, or cognition;
            (11) the term ``national criminal 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;
            (12) the term ``negligent treatment'' means the failure to 
        provide, for a reason other than poverty, adequate food, 
        clothing, shelter, or medical care so as to seriously endanger 
        the physical health of a child;
            (13) the term ``physical injury'' includes lacerations, 
        fractured bones, burns, internal injuries, severe bruising, and 
        serious bodily harm;
            (14) 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;
            (15) 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;
            (16) the term ``sex crime'' means an act of sexual abuse 
        that is a criminal act;
            (17) the term ``sexual abuse'' includes the employment, 
        use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of a child 
        to engage in, or assist another person to engage in, sexually 
        explicit conduct or the rape, molestation, prostitution, or 
        other form of sexual exploitation of children or incest with 
        children; and
            (18) 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.

                                 <all>

HR 1237 IH----2
HR 1237 IH----3
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