IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1469 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 26, 2010 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Protection Im3 provements Act of 2010’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

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

7 percent of the population) contributed a total of 

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

9 who volunteer, 27 percent dedicate their service to 

10 education or youth programs, or a total of 

11 16,500,000 adults. 

12 (2) Assuming recent incarceration rates remain 

13 unchanged, an estimated 6.6 percent of individuals 

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

15 crime during their lifetime. The Integrated Auto16 mated Fingerprint Identification System of the Fed17 eral Bureau of Investigation maintains fingerprints 

18 and criminal history records on more than 

19 65,000,000 individuals, many of whom have been ar20 rested or convicted multiple times. 

21 (3) A study released in 2002, found that, of in22 dividuals released from prison in 15 States in 1994, 

23 an estimated 67.5 percent were rearrested for a fel24 ony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years. Three25 quarters of those new arrests resulted in convictions 

26 or a new prison sentence. 


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1 (4) Given the large number of individuals with 

2 criminal history records and the vulnerability of the 

3 population they work with, human service organiza4 tions that work with children need an effective and 

5 reliable means of obtaining relevant information 

6 about criminal histories in order to determine the 

7 suitability of a potential volunteer or employee. 

8 (5) The large majority of Americans (88 per9 cent) favor granting youth-serving organizations ac10 cess to conviction records for screening volunteers 

11 and 59 percent favored allowing youth-serving orga12 nizations to consider arrest records when screening 

13 volunteers. This was the only use for which a major14 ity of those surveyed favored granting access to ar15 rest records. 

16 (6) Congress has previously attempted to en17 sure that States make Federal Bureau of Investiga18 tion criminal history background checks available to 

19 organizations seeking to screen employees and volun20 teers who work with children, the elderly, and indi21 viduals with disabilities, through the National Child 

22 Protection Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 5119 et seq.) and 

23 the Volunteers for Children Act (Public Law 105– 

24 251; 112 Stat. 1885). However, according to a June 

25 2006 report from the Attorney General, these laws 


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

2 availability of NCPA checks.’’. A 2007 survey con3 ducted by MENTOR/National Mentoring Partner4 ship found that only 18 States allowed youth men5 toring organizations to access nationwide Federal 

6 Bureau of Investigation background searches. 

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

8 history background check can be prohibitively expen9 sive, ranging from $5 to $75 for a State fingerprint 

10 check, plus the Federal Bureau of Investigation fee, 

11 which ranges from $15.25 to $30.25, depending on 

12 the method of processing, for a total of between $21 

13 and $99 for each volunteer or employee. 

14 (8) Delays in processing such checks can also 

15 limit their utility. While the Federal Bureau of In16 vestigation processes all civil fingerprint requests in 

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

18 and can take as long as 42 days. 

19 (9) The Child Safety Pilot Program under sec20 tion 108 of the PROTECT Act (42 U.S.C. 5119a 

21 note) revealed the importance of performing finger22 print-based Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal 

23 history background checks. Of 68,000 background 

24 checks performed through the pilot program as of 

25 May 2009, 6 percent of volunteer applicants were 


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1 found to have a criminal history of concern, includ2 ing very serious offenses such as sexual abuse of mi3 nors, assault, child cruelty, murder, and serious 

4 drug offenses. 

5 (10) In an analysis performed on the volunteers 

6 screened by the Child Safety Pilot Program, it was 

7 found that over 41 percent of the individuals with 

8 criminal histories had committed an offense in a 

9 State other than the State in which they were apply10 ing to volunteer, meaning that a State-only search 

11 would not have found relevant criminal results. In 

12 addition, even though volunteers knew a background 

13 check was being performed, over 50 percent of the 

14 individuals found to have a criminal history falsely 

15 indicated on their application form that they did not 

16 have a criminal history. 

17 (11) The Child Safety Pilot Program also dem18 onstrates that timely and affordable background 

19 checks are possible, as background checks under 

20 that program are completed within 3 to 5 business 

21 days at a cost of $18. 

22 SEC. 3. BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

23 The National Child Protection Act of 1993 (42 

24 U.S.C. 5119 et seq.) is amended— 

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


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

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

3 BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR CHILD-SERVING 

4 ORGANIZATIONS. 

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

6 ‘‘(1) the term ‘background check designee’ 

7 means the entity or organization, if any, designated 

8 by or entering an agreement with the Attorney Gen9 eral under subsection (b)(3)(A) to carry out or assist 

10 in carrying out the duties described in subsection 

11 (c); 

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

13 is less than 18 years of age; 

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

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

16 nonprofit, or voluntary that provides care, care 

17 placement, supervision, treatment, education, train18 ing, instruction, or recreation to children, including 

19 a business or organization that licenses, certifies, or 

20 coordinates individuals or organizations to provide 

21 care, care placement, supervision, treatment, edu22 cation, training, instruction, or recreation to chil23 dren; 

24 ‘‘(4) the term ‘covered individual’ means an in25 dividual— 


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

2 unsupervised access to a child served by a cov3 ered entity; and 

4 ‘‘(B) who— 

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

6 or seeks to be employed by or volunteer 

7 with, a covered entity; or 

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

9 own or operate, a covered entity; 

10 ‘‘(5) the term ‘criminal history review designee’ 

11 means an entity or organization, if any, designated 

12 by or entering an agreement with the Attorney Gen13 eral under subsection (b)(3)(B) to carry out or as14 sist in carrying out the criminal history review pro15 gram; 

16 ‘‘(6) the term ‘criminal history review program’ 

17 means the program established under subsection 

18 (b)(1)(B); 

19 ‘‘(7) the term ‘identification document’ has the 

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

21 United States Code; 

22 ‘‘(8) the term ‘participating entity’ means a 

23 covered entity that is— 

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

25 a qualified State program; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) approved under subsection (f) to re2 ceive nationwide background checks in accord3 ance with subsection (c) and participate in the 

4 criminal history review program; 

5 ‘‘(9) the term ‘qualified State program’ means 

6 a program of a State authorized agency that the At7 torney General determines is meeting the standards 

8 identified in subsection (b)(2) to ensure that a wide 

9 range of youth-serving organizations have affordable 

10 and timely access to nationwide background checks; 

11 ‘‘(10) the term ‘open arrest’ means an arrest 

12 relating to which charges may still be brought, tak13 ing into consideration the applicable statute of limi14 tations; 

15 ‘‘(11) the term ‘pending charge’ means a crimi16 nal charge that has not been resolved through con17 viction, acquittal, dismissal, plea bargain, or any 

18 other means; 

19 ‘‘(12) the term ‘State’ means a State of the 

20 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com21 monwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the 

22 Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the 

23 Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of 

24 Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, 

25 and the Republic of Palau; and 


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1 ‘‘(13) the term ‘State authorized agency’ means 

2 a division or office of a State designated by that 

3 State to report, receive, or disseminate criminal his4 tory information. 

5 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

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

7 the date of enactment of the Child Protection Im8 provements Act of 2010, the Attorney General 

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) establish policies and procedures to 

11 carry out the duties described in subsection (c); 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) establish a criminal history review 

14 program in accordance with subsection (d). 

15 ‘‘(2) ASSESSMENTS.—The Attorney General 

16 shall conduct— 

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

18 authorized agency to determine whether the 

19 agency operates a qualified State program, in20 cluding a review of whether the State author21 ized agency— 

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

23 covered entities as eligible to submit State 

24 criminal background check requests and 


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1 nationwide background check requests to 

2 the State authorized agency; 

3 ‘‘(ii) charges a covered entity not 

4 more than a total of $25 and the fee 

5 charged by the Federal Bureau of Inves6 tigation for a nationwide background 

7 check; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) returns requests for State crimi9 nal background checks and nationwide 

10 background checks to a covered entity not 

11 later than 10 business days after the date 

12 on which the request was made; and 

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

14 under subparagraph (A), an assessment de15 scribed in that subparagraph of a State author16 ized agency if— 

17 ‘‘(i) a State authorized agency that 

18 does not have a qualified State program 

19 requests such an assessment; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) the Attorney General receives re21 ports from covered entities indicating that 

22 a State authorized agency that has a quali23 fied State program no longer meets the 

24 standards described in subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(3) DESIGNEES.—The Attorney General 

2 may— 

3 ‘‘(A) designate one or more Federal gov4 ernment agencies or enter into an agreement 

5 with any other entity or organization, or enti6 ties or organizations to carry out or assist in 

7 carrying out the duties described in subsection 

8 (c); and 

9 ‘‘(B) designate a Federal government 

10 agency or enter into an agreement with 1 or 

11 more Federal, State, or local government agen12 cies to carry out or assist in carrying out the 

13 criminal history review program. 

14 ‘‘(c) ACCESS TO NATIONWIDE BACKGROUND

15 CHECKS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is 

17 to streamline the process of obtaining nationwide 

18 background checks, provide effective customer serv19 ice, and facilitate widespread access to nationwide 

20 background checks by participating entities. 

21 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Attorney General or the 

22 background check designee shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) handle inquiries from covered entities 

24 and inform covered entities about how to re25 quest nationwide background checks— 


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

2 State with a qualified State program, by 

3 referring the covered entity to the State 

4 authorized agency; and 

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

6 State without a qualified State program, 

7 by providing information on the require8 ments to become a participating entity; 

9 ‘‘(B) provide participating entities with ac10 cess to nationwide background checks on cov11 ered individuals in accordance with this section; 

12 ‘‘(C) receive paper and electronic requests 

13 for nationwide background checks on covered 

14 individuals from participating entities; 

15 ‘‘(D) to the extent practicable, negotiate 

16 an agreement with each State authorized agen17 cy under which— 

18 ‘‘(i) that State authorized agency shall 

19 conduct a State criminal background check 

20 within the time periods specified in sub21 section (e) in response to a request from 

22 the Attorney General or the background 

23 check designee and provide criminal his24 tory records to the Attorney General or the 

25 criminal history review designee; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a participating entity may elect 

2 to obtain a State criminal background 

3 check, in addition to a nationwide back4 ground check, through 1 unified request to 

5 the Attorney General or the background 

6 check designee; 

7 ‘‘(E) convert all paper fingerprint cards 

8 into an electronic form and securely transmit 

9 all fingerprints electronically to the national 

10 criminal history background check system and, 

11 if appropriate, the State authorized agencies; 

12 ‘‘(F) collect a fee to conduct the nation13 wide background check, and, if appropriate, a 

14 State criminal background check, and remit 

15 fees to the Attorney General or the criminal 

16 history review designee, the Federal Bureau of 

17 Investigation, and, if appropriate, the State au18 thorized agencies; and 

19 ‘‘(G) coordinate with the Federal Bureau 

20 of Investigation, participating State authorized 

21 agencies, and the Attorney General or the 

22 criminal history review designee to ensure that 

23 background check requests are being completed 

24 within the time periods specified in subsection 

25 (e). 


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1 ‘‘(3) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—A request for 

2 a nationwide background check by a participating 

3 entity shall include— 

4 ‘‘(A) the fingerprints of the covered indi5 vidual, in paper or electronic form; 

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

7 document; and 

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

9 the covered individual that— 

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

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

12 items of information appear on a valid 

13 identification document, and demographic 

14 characteristics defined at subsection 

15 (j)(2)(A); 

16 ‘‘(ii) notifies the covered individual 

17 that the Attorney General and, if appro18 priate, a State authorized agency may per19 form a criminal history background check 

20 and that the signature of the covered indi21 vidual on the statement constitutes an ac22 knowledgment that such a check may be 

23 conducted; 

24 ‘‘(iii) notifies the covered individual 

25 that the signature of the covered individual 


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1 constitutes consent to participate in the 

2 criminal history review program, under 

3 which the participating entity may be in4 formed if the criminal history records of 

5 the covered individual reveal a criminal 

6 history that warrants special concern or 

7 further inquiry; 

8 ‘‘(iv) notifies the covered individual 

9 that the covered individual shall be pro10 vided with a copy of the criminal history 

11 records of the covered individual and shall 

12 have 10 business days to review the 

13 records, challenge the accuracy or com14 pleteness of any information in the 

15 records, or withdraw consent to participate 

16 in the criminal history review program be17 fore any information about the criminal 

18 history of the covered individual is pro19 vided to the participating entity; and 

20 ‘‘(v) notifies the covered individual 

21 that prior to and after the completion of 

22 the background check, the participating 

23 entity may choose to deny the covered indi24 vidual access to children. 

25 ‘‘(4) FEES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

2 or the background check designee may collect a 

3 fee to defray the costs of carrying out the du4 ties described in this subsection, the costs of 

5 the Federal Bureau of Investigation and State 

6 and local agencies in resolving the accuracy of 

7 criminal history records of covered individuals, 

8 and the duties of the criminal history review 

9 designee under this section— 

10 ‘‘(i) for a nationwide background 

11 check and criminal history review, in an 

12 amount not to exceed the lesser of— 

13 ‘‘(I) the sum of— 

14 ‘‘(aa) the actual cost to the 

15 Attorney General or the back16 ground check designee of con17 ducting a nationwide background 

18 check; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) the actual cost to the 

20 Attorney General or the criminal 

21 history review designee of con22 ducting a criminal history review 

23 under this section; or 

24 ‘‘(II) to the extent practicable, no 

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1 vidual who volunteers with a covered 

2 entity except that where practicable 

3 the fee may be waived by the Attorney 

4 General upon a showing of substantial 

5 hardship; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) for a State criminal background 

7 check described in paragraph (2)(D), in 

8 the amount specified in the agreement with 

9 the applicable State authorized agency, not 

10 to exceed $25. 

11 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION ON FEES.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A participating 

13 entity may not charge another entity or in14 dividual a surcharge to access a back15 ground check conducted under this section. 

16 ‘‘(ii) VIOLATION.—The Attorney Gen17 eral shall bar any participating entity that 

18 the Attorney General determines violated 

19 clause (i) from submitting background 

20 checks under this section. 

21 ‘‘(d) CRIMINAL HISTORY REVIEW PROGRAM.— 

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

23 history review program is to provide participating 

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1 victed of, or has an open arrest or pending charges 

2 for, a crime that may bear upon the fitness of the 

3 covered individual to have responsibility for the safe4 ty and well-being of the children in their care. 

5 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Attorney General 

6 or the criminal history review designee shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) establish procedures to securely re8 ceive criminal history records from the Federal 

9 Bureau of Investigation, if necessary, and from 

10 State authorized agencies, if appropriate; 

11 ‘‘(B) after receiving a criminal history 

12 record from the Federal Bureau of Investiga13 tion transmit to the covered individual— 

14 ‘‘(i) the criminal history records; 

15 ‘‘(ii) a detailed notification of the 

16 rights of the covered individual under sub17 section (g); and 

18 ‘‘(iii) information about how to con19 tact the Attorney General or criminal his20 tory review designee for the purpose of 

21 challenging the accuracy or completeness 

22 of any information in the criminal history 

23 record or to withdraw consent to partici24 pate in the criminal history review pro25 gram; 


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1 ‘‘(C) if the covered individual informs the 

2 Attorney General or criminal history review des3 ignee that the covered individual intends to 

4 challenge the accuracy or completeness of any 

5 information in the criminal history record, as6 sist the covered individual in contacting the ap7 propriate persons or offices within the Federal 

8 Bureau of Investigation or State authorized 

9 agency; 

10 ‘‘(D) make determinations regarding 

11 whether the criminal history records received in 

12 response to a criminal history background check 

13 conducted under this section indicate that the 

14 covered individual has a criminal history that 

15 may bear on the covered individual’s fitness to 

16 provide care to children, based solely on the cri17 teria described in paragraph (3); 

18 ‘‘(E) unless the covered individual has 

19 withdrawn consent to participate in the criminal 

20 history review program, convey to the partici21 pating entity that submitted the request for a 

22 nationwide background check— 

23 ‘‘(i) which of the 3 categorizations de24 scribed in paragraph (3) criminal convic25 tion of special concern identified, further 


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1 inquiry recommended, or no criminal 

2 records of special concern identified apply 

3 to the covered individual; 

4 ‘‘(ii) information and guidance relat5 ing to the appropriate use of criminal his6 tory information when making decisions re7 garding hiring employees and using volun8 teers; 

9 ‘‘(iii) if a criminal history that meets 

10 the criteria set forth in subparagraph (A) 

11 or (B) of paragraph (3) is found, a rec12 ommendation to the participating entity to 

13 consult with the covered individual in order 

14 to obtain more information about the 

15 criminal history of the covered individual, 

16 and a list of factors to consider in assess17 ing the significance of that criminal his18 tory, including— 

19 ‘‘(I) the nature, gravity, and cir20 cumstances of the offense, including 

21 whether the individual was convicted 

22 of the offense; 

23 ‘‘(II) the period of time that has 

24 elapsed since the date of the offense 


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1 or end of a period of incarceration or 

2 supervised release; 

3 ‘‘(III) the nature of the position 

4 held or sought; and 

5 ‘‘(IV) any evidence of rehabilita6 tion; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) instructions and guidance that, 

8 in evaluating the considerations described 

9 in clause (iii), the participating entity 

10 should consult the Equal Employment Op11 portunity Commission Policy Statement on 

12 the Issue of Conviction Records under 

13 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act or any 

14 successor thereto issued by the Equal Em15 ployment Opportunity Commission; 

16 ‘‘(F) if a covered individual has withdrawn 

17 consent to participate in the criminal history re18 view program, inform the participating entity 

19 that consent has been withdrawn; 

20 ‘‘(G) work with the Attorney General or 

21 the background check designee and the Federal 

22 Bureau of Investigation to develop processes 

23 and procedures to ensure that criminal history 

24 background check requests are completed within 

25 the time periods specified in subsection (e); and 


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1 ‘‘(H) serve as a national resource center to 

2 provide guidance and assistance to participating 

3 entities on how to interpret criminal history in4 formation, the possible restrictions that apply 

5 when making hiring decisions based on criminal 

6 histories, and other related information. 

7 ‘‘(3) CRIMINAL HISTORY REVIEW CRITERIA.— 

8 The Attorney General or the criminal history review 

9 designee shall, in determining when a criminal his10 tory record indicates that a covered individual has a 

11 criminal history that may bear on the fitness of the 

12 covered individual to provide care to children— 

13 ‘‘(A) assign a categorization of criminal 

14 conviction of special concern identified if a cov15 ered individual is found to have a conviction 

16 that would prevent the individual from being 

17 approved as a foster or adoptive parent under 

18 section 471(a)(20)(A) of the Social Security Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)(A)); 

20 ‘‘(B) assign a categorization of further in21 quiry recommended if a covered individual is 

22 found to have— 

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1 ited by a felony described in section 

2 471(a)(20)(A) of the Social Security Act 

3 (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)(A)); 

4 ‘‘(ii) a conviction for a serious mis5 demeanor, not committed against a child, 

6 involving the same type of conduct prohib7 ited by a felony described in section 

8 471(a)(20)(A) of the Social Security Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)(A)) unless 5 years 

10 has elapsed since the later of the date of 

11 conviction and the date of release of the 

12 person from imprisonment for that convic13 tion; 

14 ‘‘(iii) an open arrest or pending 

15 charge for a felony described in, or a seri16 ous misdemeanor involving the same type 

17 of conduct prohibited by a felony described 

18 in, section 471(a)(20)(A) of the Social Se19 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)(A)); and 

20 ‘‘(C) assign a categorization of no criminal 

21 records of special concern identified for a cov22 ered individual that does not meet the criteria 

23 described in subparagraph (A) or (B). 

24 ‘‘(e) TIMING.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Unless exceptional cir2 cumstances apply, criminal background checks shall 

3 be completed according to the time frame under this 

4 subsection. The Attorney General or the background 

5 check designee shall work with the criminal history 

6 review designee and the Federal Bureau of Inves7 tigation to ensure that the time limits under this 

8 subsection are being achieved. 

9 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION PROCESSING.—The Attorney 

10 General or the background check designee shall elec11 tronically submit a national background check re12 quest to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and, if 

13 appropriate, the participating State authorized agen14 cy not later than 2 business days after the date on 

15 which a request for a national background check is 

16 received by the Attorney General or the background 

17 check designee. 

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

19 Federal Bureau of Investigation and, if appropriate, 

20 a State authorized agency shall provide criminal his21 tory records to the Attorney General or the criminal 

22 history review designee not later than 2 business 

23 days after the date on which the Federal Bureau of 

24 Investigation or State authorized agency, as the case 

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1 ground check from the Attorney General or the 

2 background check designee. 

3 ‘‘(4) PROVISION OF RECORDS TO COVERED IN4 DIVIDUALS AND OPPORTUNITY TO CHALLENGE.— 

5 When the Attorney General or the criminal history 

6 review designee finds that a covered individual’s 

7 criminal history records fall with the categorizations 

8 described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection 

9 (d)(3), the Attorney General or criminal history re10 view designee shall provide the covered individual 

11 with the criminal history records of the covered indi12 vidual and a detailed notification of the rights of the 

13 covered individual under subsection (g) not later 

14 than 1 business day after the date on which the At15 torney General or criminal history review designee 

16 receives a criminal history record from the Federal 

17 Bureau of Investigation and, if necessary, resolves 

18 any potentially incomplete information in accordance 

19 with subsection (d)(2)(B). The covered individual 

20 shall have 10 business days from the date sent to 

21 challenge the accuracy or completeness of any infor22 mation in the criminal history record or to withdraw 

23 consent to participate in the criminal history review 

24 program. 


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1 ‘‘(5) CRIMINAL HISTORY REVIEWS.—Unless the 

2 Federal Bureau of Investigation certifies that fur3 ther time is required to resolve a challenge brought 

4 by a covered individual, the Attorney General or the 

5 criminal history review designee shall convey to the 

6 participating entity the information set forth in sub7 paragraph (F) or (G) of subsection (d)(2), as appro8 priate, 10 business days after providing the covered 

9 individuals with the criminal history records of the 

10 covered individual and a notification of their rights 

11 under subsection (g). 

12 ‘‘(f) PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General or 

14 the background check designee shall determine 

15 whether an entity is a covered entity and whether 

16 that covered entity should be approved as a partici17 pating entity, based on— 

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

19 State that has a qualified State program; and 

20 ‘‘(B) the consultation conducted under 

21 paragraph (2). 

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

23 many covered entities to approve as participating en24 tities, the Attorney General or the background check 

25 designee shall consult quarterly with the Federal 


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1 Bureau of Investigation and the criminal history re2 view designee to determine the volume of requests 

3 for national background checks that can be com4 pleted, based on the capacity of the criminal history 

5 review program and the Federal Bureau of Inves6 tigation, the availability of resources, and the dem7 onstrated need for national background checks in 

8 order to protect children. 

9 ‘‘(3) PREFERENCE FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZA10 TIONS.—In determining whether a covered entity 

11 should be approved as a participating entity under 

12 paragraph (1), the Attorney General or the back13 ground check designee shall give preference to any 

14 organization participating in the Child Safety Pilot 

15 Program under section 108(a)(3) of the PROTECT 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 5119a note) on the date of enact17 ment of the Child Protection Improvements Act of 

18 2010 and to any other nonprofit organizations. 

19 ‘‘(g) RIGHT OF COVERED INDIVIDUALS TO CHAL20 LENGE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF RECORDS.—A 

21 covered individual who is the subject of a nationwide back22 ground check under this section may challenge the accu23 racy and completeness of the criminal history records in 

24 the criminal history report as provided in subsection 


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1 (d)(2)(D), without submitting a separate set of finger2 prints or an additional fee. 

3 ‘‘(h) DUTIES OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVES4 TIGATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) RESPONSE TO A REQUEST FOR CRIMINAL

6 BACKGROUND RECORDS.—Upon request by the At7 torney General or background check designee, the 

8 Federal Bureau of Investigation shall conduct a na9 tionwide background check and provide any criminal 

10 history records to the Attorney General or criminal 

11 history review designee. 

12 ‘‘(2) RESOLUTION OF CHALLENGES.—If a cov13 ered individual challenges the accuracy or complete14 ness of any information in the criminal history 

15 record of the covered individual, the Federal Bureau 

16 of Investigation, in consultation with the agency that 

17 contributed to the record, shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) investigate the challenge with relevant 

19 departments and agencies of the Federal Gov20 ernment and State and local governments; 

21 ‘‘(B) promptly make a determination re22 garding the accuracy and completeness of the 

23 challenged information; and 

24 ‘‘(C) correct any inaccurate or incomplete 

25 records. 


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1 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

3 appropriated to the Attorney General for each of fis4 cal years 2011 through 2014 such sums as are nec5 essary to carry out the provisions of this Act. 

6 ‘‘(2) SENSE OF THE HOUSE.—It is the sense of 

7 the House of Representatives that in fiscal year 

8 2011, and each fiscal year thereafter, the fees col9 lected by the Attorney General or the background 

10 check designee should be sufficient to carry out the 

11 duties of the Attorney General or the background 

12 check designee under this section and to help sup13 port the criminal history review program. 

14 ‘‘(j) COLLECTION OF DATA AND REPORT TO CON15 GRESS.— 

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

17 the establishment of the program created under sub18 section (b), and annually thereafter, the Attorney 

19 General shall prepare and submit to Congress and 

20 make available to the public a report on the pro21 grams and procedures established under this Act. 

22 ‘‘(2) COLLECTION OF DATA.— 

23 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF DEMOGRAPHIC CHAR24 ACTERISTICS.—In this paragraph, the term ‘de25 mographic characteristics’ includes information 


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1 pertaining to race, color, ancestry, national ori2 gin, age, sex, and marital status. 

3 ‘‘(B) COMPILING.—Beginning within 90 

4 days after the establishment of the program 

5 under subsection (b), the Attorney General shall 

6 compile data regarding— 

7 ‘‘(i) the number and types of partici8 pating entities; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the fees charged to participating 

10 entities under this section; 

11 ‘‘(iii) the time interval between na12 tionwide background check submissions 

13 and responses under this section; 

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

15 on State authorized agencies; 

16 ‘‘(v) the number and demographic 

17 characteristics of covered individuals sub18 mitting a statement described in subsection 

19 (c)(3)(A)(iii) as part of a request for a na20 tionwide background check; 

21 ‘‘(vi) the number and demographic 

22 characteristics of covered individuals deter23 mined to have a criminal history; 

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

25 identity of the offense and whether the ofVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:51 Jul 27, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1469.RFS H1469

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1 fense was committed while the covered in2 dividual was a juvenile or adult), and fre3 quency of offenses, and length of the pe4 riod between the date of the offense and 

5 the date of the nationwide background 

6 check for any covered individuals found to 

7 have a criminal history under this section; 

8 ‘‘(viii) the procedures available for 

9 covered individuals to challenge the accu10 racy and completeness of criminal history 

11 records under this section; 

12 ‘‘(ix) the number and results of chal13 lenges to the accuracy and completeness of 

14 criminal history records under this section; 

15 ‘‘(x) the number and types of correc16 tions of erroneous criminal history records 

17 based on a challenge under this section; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(xi) the number and types of inquir20 ies for assistance on interpreting a crimi21 nal history received by the criminal history 

22 review program. 

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

24 General shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) aggregate the data collected 

2 under this paragraph by State and city; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) aggregate the data collected 

5 under clauses (v), (vi), and (vii) of sub6 paragraph (B) by race, color, ancestry, na7 tional origin, age, sex, and marital status. 

8 ‘‘(D) REPORTS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

10 year after the date of enactment of the 

11 Child Protection Improvements Act of 

12 2010, and annually thereafter, the Attor13 ney General shall prepare and submit to 

14 Congress a report concerning the data 

15 compiled and aggregated under this para16 graph. 

17 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—Each report sub18 mitted under clause (i) shall contain— 

19 ‘‘(I) the data compiled and ag20 gregated under this paragraph, orga21 nized in such a way as to provide a 

22 comprehensive analysis of the pro23 grams and procedures established 

24 under this section; 


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1 ‘‘(II) information regarding and 

2 analysis of— 

3 ‘‘(aa) the programs and pro4 cedures established under this 

5 section; and 

6 ‘‘(bb) the extent such pro7 grams and procedures have 

8 helped screen individuals who 

9 may pose a risk to children; and 

10 ‘‘(III) information regarding and 

11 analysis of whether and to what ex12 tent the programs and procedures es13 tablished under this section are hav14 ing a disparate impact on individuals 

15 based on race, color, ancestry, na16 tional origin, age, sex, or marital sta17 tus. 

18 ‘‘(iii) RECOMMENDATIONS.—A report 

19 submitted under clause (i) may contain 

20 recommendations to Congress on possible 

21 legislative improvements to this section. 

22 ‘‘(iv) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.— 

23 Upon the request of any member of Con24 gress, the Attorney General shall make 

25 available any of the data compiled or agVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:51 Jul 27, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1469.RFS H1469

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1 gregated under this paragraph. The Attor2 ney General shall not make available any 

3 data that identifies specific individuals. 

4 ‘‘(k) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

6 ‘‘(A) FAILURE TO CONDUCT CRIMINAL

7 BACKGROUND CHECKS.—No participating entity 

8 shall be liable in an action for damages solely 

9 for failure to conduct a criminal background 

10 check on a covered individual. 

11 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO TAKE ADVERSE ACTION

12 AGAINST COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—No partici13 pating entity shall be liable in an action for 

14 damages solely for a failure to take action ad15 verse to a covered individual upon receiving any 

16 notice of criminal history from the Attorney 

17 General or the criminal history review designee 

18 under subsection (d)(2)(F). 

19 ‘‘(2) RELIANCE.—A participating entity that 

20 reasonably relies on criminal history records received 

21 in response to a background check under this section 

22 shall not be liable in an action for damages based 

23 on the inaccuracy or incompleteness of that informa24 tion. 

25 ‘‘(3) CRIMINAL HISTORY REVIEW PROGRAM.— 


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

2 subparagraphs (B) and (C) the background 

3 check designee and the criminal history review 

4 designee, including a director, officer, employee, 

5 or agent of the background check designee, or 

6 the criminal history review designee, shall not 

7 be liable in an action for damages relating to 

8 the performance of the responsibilities and 

9 functions of the background check designee and 

10 the criminal history review designee under this 

11 section. 

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

13 MISCONDUCT.—Subparagraph (A) shall not 

14 apply in an action if the background check des15 ignee, or the criminal history review designee, 

16 or a director, officer, employee, or agent of the 

17 background check designee, or the criminal his18 tory review designee, engaged in intentional 

19 misconduct or acted, or failed to act, with ac20 tual malice, with reckless disregard to a sub21 stantial risk of causing injury without legal jus22 tification, or for a purpose unrelated to the per23 formance of responsibilities or functions under 

24 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(C) ORDINARY BUSINESS ACTIVITIES.— 

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

3 omission relating to an ordinary business activ4 ity, such as an activity involving general admin5 istration or operations, the use of motor vehi6 cles, or personnel management. 

7 ‘‘(4) CIVIL CLAIMS OF DAMAGES.—Nothing in 

8 this subsection shall apply in actions for damages 

9 based upon title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

10 or the Fair Credit Report Act. 

11 ‘‘(l) PRIVACY OF INFORMATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON UNAUTHORIZED DISCLO13 SURE OR USE OF CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS.— 

14 Except for a covered individual, any entity or indi15 vidual authorized to receive or transmit fingerprints 

16 or criminal history records under this Act— 

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

18 history records, or information in the criminal 

19 history records only for the purposes specifically 

20 set forth in this Act; 

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

22 criminal history records, or information in the 

23 criminal history records only to those employees 

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


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1 necessary to fulfill the purposes set forth in this 

2 Act; 

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

4 criminal history records, or information in the 

5 criminal history records, except as specifically 

6 authorized under this Act; 

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

8 authorized disclosure of the fingerprints, crimi9 nal history records, or the information in the 

10 criminal history records; and 

11 ‘‘(E) shall maintain adequate security 

12 measures to ensure the confidentiality of the 

13 fingerprints, the criminal history records, and 

14 the information in the criminal history records. 

15 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

17 shall promulgate regulations to ensure the en18 forcement of the nondisclosure requirements 

19 under paragraph (1) and to provide for appro20 priate sanctions in the case of violations of the 

21 requirements. 

22 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPATING ENTITIES AND DES23 IGNEES.—The participation in any program 

24 under this section by an entity or organization 

25 that enters into an agreement with the Attorney 


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1 General to carry out the duties described in 

2 subsection (c) or to carry out the criminal his3 tory review program shall be conditioned on the 

4 person— 

5 ‘‘(i) establishing procedures to ensure 

6 compliance with, and respond to any viola7 tions of, paragraph (1); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) maintaining substantial compli9 ance with paragraph (1). 

10 ‘‘(3) DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS.— 

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

12 subparagraph (B), the Attorney General, the 

13 background check designee, and the criminal 

14 history review designee shall destroy any finger15 prints, either in paper or electronic form, or 

16 criminal history record received for the purpose 

17 of carrying out the provisions of this Act after 

18 any transaction based on the fingerprints or 

19 criminal history record is completed, and shall 

20 not maintain the fingerprints, the criminal his21 tory records, or the information in the criminal 

22 history record in any form. This paragraph 

23 shall not apply to the retention of fingerprints 

24 by the FBI, upon consent of the covered indi25 vidual or in accordance with State or Federal 


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1 procedures, for the purpose of providing finger2 print verification or subsequent hit notification 

3 services, or for the retention of criminal history 

4 record information which updates the criminal 

5 history record. 

6 ‘‘(B) REPEAT APPLICANTS.—A covered in7 dividual may sign a release permitting the At8 torney General or background check designee to 

9 retain the fingerprints of the covered individual 

10 for a period not to exceed 5 years, for the sole 

11 purpose of participating in the criminal history 

12 review program on a subsequent occasion.’’. 

13 SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF CHILD SAFETY PILOT. 

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

15 U.S.C. 5119a note) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘92-month’’; and 

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

18 Child Safety Pilot Program under this paragraph 

19 shall terminate on the date that the program for na20 tional criminal history background checks for child21 serving organizations established under the Child 

22 Protection Improvements Act of 2010 is operating 


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1 and able to enroll any organization using the Child 

2 Safety Pilot Program.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 22, 2010. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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