II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 3252

To establish a national center on volunteer and provider screening to reduce

sexual and other abuse of children, the elderly, and individuals with

disabilities.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 27 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Mr. BIDEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To establish a national center on volunteer and provider

screening to reduce sexual and other abuse of children,

the elderly, and individuals with disabilities.

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 Improvement Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL CENTER ON VOL2 UNTEER AND PROVIDER SCREENING.

3 The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act

4 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.) is amended by adding

5 at the end the following:

6 ‘‘TITLE VI—NATIONAL CENTER

7 ON VOLUNTEER AND PRO8 VIDER SCREENING

9 ‘‘SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE.

10 ‘‘This title may be cited as the ‘National Child Pro11 tection Improvement Act’.

12 ‘‘SEC. 602. FINDINGS.

13 ‘‘Congress finds the following:

14 ‘‘(1) More than 87,000,000 children are in15 volved each year in activities provided by child and

16 youth organizations which depend heavily on volun17 teers to deliver their services.

18 ‘‘(2) Millions more adults, both the elderly and

19 individuals with disabilities, are served by public and

20 private voluntary organizations.

21 ‘‘(3) The vast majority of activities provided to

22 children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities

23 by public and private nonprofit agencies and organi24 zations result in the delivery of much needed services

25 in safe environments that could not be provided
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1 without the assistance of virtually millions of volun2 teers, but abuses do occur.

3 ‘‘(4) Estimates of the incidence of child sexual

4 abuse in child care settings, foster care homes, and

5 schools, range from 1 to 7 percent.

6 ‘‘(5) Abuse traumatizes the victims and shakes

7 public trust in care providers and organizations serv8 ing vulnerable populations.

9 ‘‘(6) Congress has acted to address concerns

10 about this type of abuse through the National Child

11 Protection Act of 1993 and the Violent Crime Con12 trol Act of 1994 to set forth a framework for screen13 ing through criminal record checks of care providers,

14 including volunteers who work with children, the el15 derly, and individuals with disabilities. Unfortu16 nately, problems regarding the safety of these vul17 nerable groups still remain.

18 ‘‘(7) While State screening is sometimes ade19 quate to conduct volunteer background checks, more

20 extensive national criminal history checks using fin21 gerprints or other means of positive identification

22 are often advisable, as a prospective volunteer or

23 nonvolunteer provider may have lived in more than

24 one State.
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1 ‘‘(8) The high cost of fingerprint background

2 checks is unaffordable for organizations that use a

3 large number of volunteers and, if passed on to vol4 unteers, often discourages their participation.

5 ‘‘(9) The current system of retrieving national

6 criminal background information on volunteers

7 through an authorized agency of the State is cum8 bersome and often requires months before vital re9 sults are returned.

10 ‘‘(10) In order to protect children, volunteer

11 agencies must currently depend on a convoluted, dis12 connected, and sometimes duplicative series of

13 checks that leave children at risk.

14 ‘‘(11) A national volunteer and provider screen15 ing center is needed to protect vulnerable groups by

16 providing effective, efficient national criminal history

17 background checks of volunteer providers at no-cost,

18 and at minimal-cost for employed care providers.

19 ‘‘SEC. 603. DEFINITIONS.

20 ‘‘In this Act—

21 ‘‘(1) the term ‘qualified entity’ means a busi22 ness or organization, whether public, private, for23 profit, not-for-profit, or voluntary, that provides care

24 or care placement services, including a business or

25 organization that licenses or certifies others to pro-
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1 vide care or care placement services designated by

2 the National Task Force;

3 ‘‘(2) the term ‘volunteer provider’ means a per4 son who volunteers or seeks to volunteer with a

5 qualified entity;

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

7 employed by or volunteers or who seeks to be em8 ployed by or volunteer with a qualified entity, who

9 owns or operates a qualified entity, or who has or

10 may have unsupervised access to a child to whom

11 the qualified entity provides care;

12 ‘‘(4) the term ‘national criminal background

13 check system’ means the criminal history record sys14 tem maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investiga15 tion based on fingerprint identification or any other

16 method of positive identification;

17 ‘‘(5) the term ‘child’ means a person who is

18 under the age of 18;

19 ‘‘(6) the term ‘individuals with disabilities’ has

20 the same meaning as that provided in section 5(7)

21 of the National Child Protection Act of 1993;

22 ‘‘(7) the term ‘State’ has the same meaning as

23 that provided in section 5(11) of the National Child

24 Protection Act of 1993; and
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1 ‘‘(8) the term ‘care’ means the provision of

2 care, treatment, education, training, instruction, su3 pervision, or recreation to children, the elderly, or

4 individuals with disabilities.

5 ‘‘SEC. 604. ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL CENTER FOR

6 VOLUNTEER AND PROVIDER SCREENING.

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, by agree8 ment with a national nonprofit organization or by desig9 nating an agency within the Department of Justice,

10 shall—

11 ‘‘(1) establish a national center for volunteer

12 and provider screening designed—

13 ‘‘(A) to serve as a point of contact for

14 qualified entities to request a nationwide back15 ground check for the purpose of determining

16 whether a volunteer provider or provider has

17 been arrested for or convicted of a crime that

18 renders the provider unfit to have responsibil19 ities for the safety and well-being of children,

20 the elderly, or individuals with disabilities;

21 ‘‘(B) to promptly access and review Fed22 eral and State criminal history records and reg23 istries through the national criminal history

24 background check system—
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1 ‘‘(i) at no cost to a qualified entity for

2 checks on volunteer providers; and

3 ‘‘(ii) at minimal cost to qualified enti4 ties for checks on non-volunteer providers;

5 with cost for screening non-volunteer providers

6 will be determined by the National Task Force;

7 ‘‘(C) to provide the determination of the

8 criminal background check to the qualified enti9 ty requesting a nationwide background check

10 after not more than 15 business days after the

11 request;

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

13 and clearinghouse to provide State and local

14 governments, public and private nonprofit agen15 cies and individuals with information regarding

16 volunteer screening; and

17 ‘‘(2) establish a National Volunteer Screening

18 Task Force (referred to in this title as the ‘Task

19 Force’) to be chaired by the Attorney General which

20 shall—

21 ‘‘(A) include—

22 ‘‘(i) 2 members each of—

23 ‘‘(I) the Federal Bureau of Inves24 tigation;

25 ‘‘(II) the Department of Justice;
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1 ‘‘(III) the Department of Health

2 and Human Services;

3 ‘‘(IV) representatives of State

4 Law Enforcement organizations;

5 ‘‘(V) national organizations rep6 resenting private nonprofit qualified

7 entities using volunteers to serve the

8 elderly; and

9 ‘‘(VI) national organizations rep10 resenting private nonprofit qualified

11 entities using volunteers to serve indi12 viduals with disabilities; and

13 ‘‘(ii) 4 members of national organiza14 tions representing private nonprofit quali15 fied entities using volunteers to serve chil16 dren;

17 to be appointed by the Attorney General; and

18 ‘‘(B) oversee the work of the Center and

19 report at least annually to the President and

20 Congress with regard to the work of the Center

21 and the progress of the States in complying

22 with the provisions of the National Child Pro23 tection Act of 1993.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 605. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the provisions of

3 this title, there are authorized to be appropriated

4 $80,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and $25,000,000 for

5 each of the fiscal years 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005, suffi6 cient to provide no-cost background checks of volunteers

7 working with children, the elderly, and individuals with

8 disabilities.

9 ‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY.—Sums appropriated under this

10 section shall remain available until expended.’’.

11 SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING AND ENFORCING THE NATIONAL

12 CHILD PROTECTION ACT OF 1993.

13 Section 3 of the National Child Protection Act of

14 1993 (42 U.S.C. 5119 et seq.) is amended to read as fol15 lows:

16 ‘‘SEC. 3. NATIONAL BACKGROUND CHECKS.

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Requests for national back18 ground checks under this section shall be submitted to the

19 National Center for Volunteer Screening which shall con20 duct a search using the Integrated Automated Fingerprint

21 Identification System, or other criminal record checks

22 using reliable means of positive identification subject to

23 the following conditions:

24 ‘‘(1) A qualified entity requesting a national

25 criminal history background check under this section

26 shall forward to the National Center the provider’s
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1 fingerprints or other identifying information, and

2 shall obtain a statement completed and signed by

3 the provider that—

4 ‘‘(A) sets out the provider or volunteer’s

5 name, address, date of birth appearing on a

6 valid identification document as defined in sec7 tion 1028 of title 18, United States Code, and

8 a photocopy of the valid identifying document;

9 ‘‘(B) states whether the provider or volun10 teer has a criminal record, and, if so, sets out

11 the particulars of such record;

12 ‘‘(C) notifies the provider or volunteer that

13 the National Center for Volunteer Screening

14 may perform a criminal history background

15 check and that the provider’s signature to the

16 statement constitutes an acknowledgement that

17 such a check may be conducted;

18 ‘‘(D) notifies the provider or volunteer that

19 prior to and after the completion of the back20 ground check, the qualified entity may choose

21 to deny the provider access to children or elder22 ly or persons with disabilities; and

23 ‘‘(E) notifies the provider or volunteer of

24 his right to correct an erroneous record held by

25 the FBI or the National Center.
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1 ‘‘(2) Statements obtained pursuant to para2 graph (1) and forwarded to the National Center

3 shall be retained by the qualified entity or the Na4 tional Center for at least 2 years.

5 ‘‘(3) Each provider or volunteer who is the sub6 ject of a criminal history background check under

7 this section is entitled to contact the National Cen8 ter to initiate procedures to—

9 ‘‘(A) obtain a copy of their criminal history

10 record report; and

11 ‘‘(B) challenge the accuracy and complete12 ness of the criminal history record information

13 in the report.

14 ‘‘(4) The National Center receiving a criminal

15 history record information that lacks disposition in16 formation shall, to the extent possible, contact State

17 and local recordkeeping systems to obtain complete

18 information.

19 ‘‘(5) The National Center shall make a deter20 mination whether the criminal history record infor21 mation received in response to the national back22 ground check indicates that the provider has a

23 criminal history record that renders the provider

24 unfit to provide care to children, the elderly, or indi25 viduals with disabilities based upon criteria estab-
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1 lished by the National Task Force on Volunteer

2 Screening, and will convey that determination to the

3 qualified entity.

4 ‘‘(b) GUIDANCE BY THE NATIONAL TASK FORCE.—

5 The National Task Force, chaired by the Attorney General

6 shall—

7 ‘‘(1) encourage the use, to the maximum extent

8 possible, of the best technology available in con9 ducting criminal background checks; and

10 ‘‘(2) provide guidelines concerning standards to

11 guide the National Center in making fitness deter12 minations concerning care providers based upon

13 criminal history record information.

14 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A qualified entity shall not

16 be liable in an action for damages solely for failure

17 to request a criminal history background check on a

18 provider, nor shall a State or political subdivision

19 thereof nor any agency, officer or employee thereof,

20 be liable in an action for damages for the failure of

21 a qualified entity (other than itself) to take action

22 adverse to a provider who was the subject of a crimi23 nal background check.

24 ‘‘(2) RELIANCE.—The National Center or a

25 qualified entity that reasonably relies on criminal
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1 history record information received in response to a

2 background check pursuant to this section shall not

3 be liable in an action for damages based upon the

4 inaccuracy or incompleteness of the information.

5 ‘‘(d) FEES.—In the case of a background check pur6 suant to a State requirement adopted after December 20,

7 1993, conducted through the National Center using the

8 fingerprints or other identifying information of a person

9 who volunteers with a qualified entity shall be free of

10 charge. This subsection shall not affect the authority of

11 the FBI, the National Center, or the States to collect rea12 sonable fees for conducting criminal history background

13 checks of providers who are employed as or apply for posi14 tions as paid employees.’’.

15 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF A MODEL PROGRAM IN EACH

16 STATE TO STRENGTHEN CRIMINAL DATA RE17 POSITORIES AND FINGERPRINT TECH18 NOLOGY.

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—A model program shall be es20 tablished in each State and the District of Columbia for

21 the purpose of improving fingerprinting technology which

22 shall grant to each State $50,000 to either—

23 (1) purchase Live-Scan fingerprint technology

24 and a State-vehicle to make such technology mobile

25 and these mobile units shall be used to travel within
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1 the State to assist in the processing of fingerprint

2 background checks; or

3 (2) purchase electric fingerprint imaging ma4 chines for use throughout the State to send finger5 print images to the National Center to conduct

6 background checks.

7 (b) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—In addition to funds pro8 vided in subsection (a), $50,000 shall be provided to each

9 State and the District of Columbia to hire personnel to—

10 (1) provide information and training to each

11 county law enforcement agency within the State re12 garding all National Child Protection Act require13 ments for input of criminal and disposition data into

14 the national criminal history background check sys15 tem; and

16 (2) provide an annual summary to the National

17 Task Force of the State’s progress in complying

18 with the criminal data entry provisions of the Na19 tional Child Protection Act of 1993 which shall in20 clude information about the input of criminal data,

21 child abuse crime information, domestic violence ar22 rests and stay-away orders of protection.

23 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the provisions

25 of this section, there are authorized to be appro-
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1 priated a total of $5,100,000 for fiscal year 2001

2 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the

3 fiscal years 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005, sufficient

4 to improve fingerprint technology units and hire

5 data entry improvement personnel in each of the 50

6 States and the District of Columbia.

7 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Sums appropriated under

8 this section shall remain available until expended.

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