II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 645 

To amend the National Child Protection Act of 1993 to establish a permanent 

background check system. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 17, 2011 

Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. HATCH, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, 

Mr. JOHANNS, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Protection Im5 provements Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

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

9 percent of the population) contributed a total of 


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1 8,100,000,000 hours of volunteer service. Of those 

2 who volunteer, 27 percent dedicate their service to 

3 education or youth programs, or a total of 

4 16,500,000 adults. 

5 (2) Assuming recent incarceration rates remain 

6 unchanged, an estimated 6.6 percent of individuals 

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

8 crime during their lifetime. The Integrated Auto9 mated Fingerprint Identification System of the Fed10 eral Bureau of Investigation maintains fingerprints 

11 and criminal history records on more than 

12 65,000,000 individuals, many of whom have been ar13 rested or convicted multiple times. 

14 (3) A study released in 2002, found that, of in15 dividuals released from prison in 15 States in 1994, 

16 an estimated 67.5 percent were rearrested for a fel17 ony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years. Three18 quarters of those new arrests resulted in convictions 

19 or a new prison sentence. 

20 (4) Given the large number of individuals with 

21 criminal history records and the vulnerability of the 

22 population they work with, human service organiza23 tions that work with children need an effective and 

24 reliable means of obtaining relevant information 


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1 about criminal histories in order to determine the 

2 suitability of a potential volunteer or employee. 

3 (5) The large majority of Americans (88 per4 cent) favor granting youth-serving organizations ac5 cess to conviction records for screening volunteers 

6 and 59 percent favored allowing youth-serving orga7 nizations to consider arrest records when screening 

8 volunteers. This was the only use for which a major9 ity of those surveyed favored granting access to ar10 rest records. 

11 (6) Congress has previously attempted to en12 sure that States make Federal Bureau of Investiga13 tion criminal history background checks available to 

14 organizations seeking to screen employees and volun15 teers who work with children, the elderly, and indi16 viduals with disabilities, through the National Child 

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

18 the Volunteers for Children Act (Public Law 105– 

19 251; 112 Stat. 1885). However, according to a June 

20 2006 report from the Attorney General, these laws 

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

22 availability of NCPA checks.’’ A 2007 survey con23 ducted by MENTOR/National Mentoring Partner24 ship found that only 18 States allowed youth menVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:57 Mar 24, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S645.IS S645

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1 toring organizations to access nationwide Federal 

2 Bureau of Investigation background searches. 

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

4 history background check can be prohibitively expen5 sive, ranging from $5 to $75 for a State fingerprint 

6 check, plus the Federal Bureau of Investigation fee, 

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

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

9 and $99 for each volunteer or employee. 

10 (8) Delays in processing such checks can also 

11 limit their utility. While the Federal Bureau of In12 vestigation processes all civil fingerprint requests in 

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

14 and can take as long as 42 days. 

15 (9) The Child Safety Pilot Program under sec16 tion 108 of the PROTECT Act (42 U.S.C. 5119a 

17 note) revealed the importance of performing finger18 print-based Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal 

19 history background checks. Of 68,000 background 

20 checks performed through the pilot program as of 

21 May 2009, 6 percent of volunteer applicants were 

22 found to have a criminal history of concern, includ23 ing very serious offenses such as sexual abuse of mi24 nors, assault, child cruelty, murder, and serious 

25 drug offenses. 


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1 (10) In an analysis performed on the volunteers 

2 screened by the Child Safety Pilot Program, it was 

3 found that over 41 percent of the individuals with 

4 criminal histories had committed an offense in a 

5 State other than the State in which they were apply6 ing to volunteer, meaning that a State-only search 

7 would not have found relevant criminal results. In 

8 addition, even though volunteers knew a background 

9 check was being performed, over 50 percent of the 

10 individuals found to have a criminal history falsely 

11 indicated on their application form that they did not 

12 have a criminal history. 

13 (11) The Child Safety Pilot Program also dem14 onstrates that timely and affordable background 

15 checks are possible, as background checks under 

16 that program are completed within 3 to 5 business 

17 days at a cost of $18. 

18 SEC. 3. BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

19 The National Child Protection Act of 1993 (42 

20 U.S.C. 5119 et seq.) is amended— 

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

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


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

2 BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR CHILD-SERVING 

3 ORGANIZATIONS. 

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

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

6 means the entity or organization, if any, designated 

7 by or entering an agreement with the Attorney Gen8 eral under subsection (b)(3)(A) to carry out or assist 

9 in carrying out the duties described in subsection 

10 (c); 

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

12 is less than 18 years of age; 

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

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

15 nonprofit, or voluntary that provides care, care 

16 placement, supervision, treatment, education, train17 ing, instruction, or recreation to children, including 

18 a business or organization that licenses, certifies, or 

19 coordinates individuals or organizations to provide 

20 care, care placement, supervision, treatment, edu21 cation, training, instruction, or recreation to chil22 dren; 

23 ‘‘(4) the term ‘covered individual’ means an in24 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 1 or more Federal, State, or local government 

12 agencies, if any, designated by or entering an agree13 ment with the Attorney General under subsection 

14 (b)(3)(B) to carry out or assist in carrying out the 

15 criminal history review program; 

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 2011, 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 1 or more Federal Govern4 ment agencies or enter into an agreement with 

5 any other entity or organization, or entities or 

6 organizations to carry out or assist in carrying 

7 out the duties described in subsection (c); and 

8 ‘‘(B) designate a Federal Government 

9 agency or enter into an agreement with 1 or 

10 more Federal, State, or local government agen11 cies to carry out or assist in carrying out the 

12 criminal history review program. 

13 ‘‘(c) ACCESS TO NATIONWIDE BACKGROUND

14 CHECKS.— 

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

16 to streamline the process of obtaining nationwide 

17 background checks, provide effective customer serv18 ice, and facilitate widespread access to nationwide 

19 background checks by participating entities. 

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

21 background check designee shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) handle inquiries from covered entities 

23 and inform covered entities about how to re24 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 name, address, and 

11 date of birth of the covered individual, as 

12 those items of information appear on a 

13 valid identification document, and demo14 graphic characteristics defined at sub15 section (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 and the duties 

5 of the criminal history review designee under 

6 this section— 

7 ‘‘(i) for a nationwide background 

8 check and criminal history review, in an 

9 amount not to exceed the lesser of— 

10 ‘‘(I) the sum of— 

11 ‘‘(aa) the actual cost to the 

12 Attorney General or the back13 ground check designee of con14 ducting a nationwide background 

15 check; and 

16 ‘‘(bb) the actual cost to the 

17 Attorney General or the criminal 

18 history review designee of con19 ducting a criminal history review 

20 under this section; or 

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

22 greater than $25 for a covered indi23 vidual who volunteers with a covered 

24 entity except that where practicable 

25 the fee may be waived by the Attorney 


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1 General upon a showing of substantial 

2 hardship; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) for a State criminal background 

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

5 the amount specified in the agreement with 

6 the applicable State authorized agency, not 

7 to exceed $25. 

8 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION ON FEES.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A participating 

10 entity may not charge another entity or in11 dividual a surcharge to access a back12 ground check conducted under this section. 

13 ‘‘(ii) VIOLATION.—The Attorney Gen14 eral shall bar any participating entity that 

15 the Attorney General determines violated 

16 clause (i) from submitting background 

17 checks under this section. 

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

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

20 history review program is to provide participating 

21 entities with reliable and accurate information re22 garding whether a covered individual has been con23 victed of, or has an open arrest or pending charges 

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


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1 covered individual to have responsibility for the safe2 ty and well-being of the children in their care. 

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

4 or the criminal history review designee shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) establish procedures to securely re6 ceive criminal history records from the Federal 

7 Bureau of Investigation, if necessary, and from 

8 State authorized agencies, if appropriate; 

9 ‘‘(B) after receiving a criminal history 

10 record from the Federal Bureau of Investiga11 tion transmit to the covered individual— 

12 ‘‘(i) the criminal history records; 

13 ‘‘(ii) a detailed notification of the 

14 rights of the covered individual under sub15 section (g); and 

16 ‘‘(iii) information about how to con17 tact the Attorney General or criminal his18 tory review designee for the purpose of 

19 challenging the accuracy or completeness 

20 of any information in the criminal history 

21 record or to withdraw consent to partici22 pate in the criminal history review pro23 gram; 

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

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1 ignee that the covered individual intends to 

2 challenge the accuracy or completeness of any 

3 information in the criminal history record, as4 sist the covered individual in contacting the ap5 propriate persons or offices within the Federal 

6 Bureau of Investigation or State authorized 

7 agency; 

8 ‘‘(D) make determinations regarding 

9 whether the criminal history records received in 

10 response to a criminal history background check 

11 conducted under this section indicate that the 

12 covered individual has a criminal history that 

13 may bear on the covered individual’s fitness to 

14 provide care to children, based solely on the cri15 teria described in paragraph (3); 

16 ‘‘(E) unless the covered individual has 

17 withdrawn consent to participate in the criminal 

18 history review program, convey to the partici19 pating entity that submitted the request for a 

20 nationwide background check— 

21 ‘‘(i) which of the 3 categorizations de22 scribed in paragraph (3) criminal convic23 tion of special concern identified, further 

24 inquiry recommended, or no criminal 


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1 records of special concern identified apply 

2 to the covered individual; 

3 ‘‘(ii) information and guidance relat4 ing to the appropriate use of criminal his5 tory information when making decisions re6 garding hiring employees and using volun7 teers; 

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

9 the criteria set forth in subparagraph (A) 

10 or (B) of paragraph (3) is found, a rec11 ommendation to the participating entity to 

12 consult with the covered individual in order 

13 to obtain more information about the 

14 criminal history of the covered individual, 

15 and a list of factors to consider in assess16 ing the significance of that criminal his17 tory, including— 

18 ‘‘(I) the nature, gravity, and cir19 cumstances of the offense, including 

20 whether the individual was convicted 

21 of the offense; 

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

23 elapsed since the date of the offense 

24 or end of a period of incarceration or 

25 supervised release; 


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1 ‘‘(III) the nature of the position 

2 held or sought; and 

3 ‘‘(IV) any evidence of rehabilita4 tion; and 

5 ‘‘(iv) instructions and guidance that, 

6 in evaluating the considerations described 

7 in clause (iii), the participating entity 

8 should consult the Equal Employment Op9 portunity Commission Policy Statement on 

10 the Issue of Conviction Records and the 

11 Equal Employment Opportunity Commis12 sion Policy Guidance on the Consideration 

13 of Arrest Records in Employment Deci14 sions under Title VII of the Civil Rights 

15 Act of 1964 or any successor thereto 

16 issued by the Equal Employment Oppor17 tunity Commission; 

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

19 consent to participate in the criminal history re20 view program, inform the participating entity 

21 that consent has been withdrawn; 

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

23 the background check designee and the Federal 

24 Bureau of Investigation to develop processes 

25 and procedures to ensure that criminal history 


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1 background check requests are completed within 

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

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

4 provide guidance and assistance to participating 

5 entities on how to interpret criminal history in6 formation, the possible restrictions that apply 

7 when making hiring decisions based on criminal 

8 histories, and other related information. 

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

10 The Attorney General or the criminal history review 

11 designee shall, in determining when a criminal his12 tory record indicates that a covered individual has a 

13 criminal history that may bear on the fitness of the 

14 covered individual to provide care to children— 

15 ‘‘(A) assign a categorization of criminal 

16 conviction of special concern identified if a cov17 ered individual is found to have a conviction 

18 that would prevent the individual from being 

19 approved as a foster or adoptive parent under 

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

21 (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)(A)); 

22 ‘‘(B) assign a categorization of further in23 quiry recommended if a covered individual is 

24 found to have— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a conviction for a serious mis2 demeanor, committed against a child, in3 volving the same type of conduct prohib4 ited by a felony described in section 

5 471(a)(20)(A) of the Social Security Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)(A)); 

7 ‘‘(ii) a conviction for a serious mis8 demeanor, not committed against a child, 

9 involving the same type of conduct prohib10 ited by a felony described in section 

11 471(a)(20)(A) of the Social Security Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)(A)) unless 5 years 

13 has elapsed since the later of the date of 

14 conviction and the date of release of the 

15 person from imprisonment for that convic16 tion; 

17 ‘‘(iii) an open arrest or pending 

18 charge for a felony described in, or a seri19 ous misdemeanor involving the same type 

20 of conduct prohibited by a felony described 

21 in, section 471(a)(20)(A) of the Social Se22 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)(A)); and 

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

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1 ered individual that does not meet the criteria 

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

3 ‘‘(e) TIMING.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Unless exceptional cir5 cumstances apply, criminal background checks shall 

6 be completed according to the time frame under this 

7 subsection. The Attorney General or the background 

8 check designee shall work with the criminal history 

9 review designee and the Federal Bureau of Inves10 tigation to ensure that the time limits under this 

11 subsection are being achieved. 

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

13 General or the background check designee shall elec14 tronically submit a national background check re15 quest to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and, if 

16 appropriate, the participating State authorized agen17 cy not later than 2 business days after the date on 

18 which a request for a national background check is 

19 received by the Attorney General or the background 

20 check designee. 

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

22 Federal Bureau of Investigation and, if appropriate, 

23 a State authorized agency shall provide criminal his24 tory records to the Attorney General or the criminal 

25 history review designee not later than 2 business 


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1 days after the date on which the Federal Bureau of 

2 Investigation or State authorized agency, as the case 

3 may be, receives a request for a nationwide back4 ground check from the Attorney General or the 

5 background check designee. 

6 ‘‘(4) PROVISION OF RECORDS TO COVERED IN7 DIVIDUALS AND OPPORTUNITY TO CHALLENGE.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—When the Attorney 

9 General or the criminal history review designee 

10 finds that the criminal history records of a cov11 ered individual fall within the categorizations 

12 described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of sub13 section (d)(3), the Attorney General or criminal 

14 history review designee shall provide the cov15 ered individual with the criminal history records 

16 of the covered individual and a detailed notifica17 tion of the rights of the covered individual 

18 under subsection (g) not later than 1 business 

19 day after the date on which the Attorney Gen20 eral or criminal history review designee receives 

21 a criminal history record from the Federal Bu22 reau of Investigation and, if necessary, resolves 

23 any potentially incomplete information in ac24 cordance with subsection (d)(2)(B). 


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1 ‘‘(B) OPPORTUNITY TO CHALLENGE.—The 

2 covered individual shall have 10 business days 

3 from the date the criminal history records and 

4 notification described in subparagraph (A) are 

5 sent to challenge the accuracy or completeness 

6 of any information in the criminal history 

7 record or to withdraw consent to participate in 

8 the criminal history review program. 

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

10 Federal Bureau of Investigation certifies that fur11 ther time is required to resolve a challenge brought 

12 by a covered individual, the Attorney General or the 

13 criminal history review designee shall convey to the 

14 participating entity the information set forth in sub15 paragraph (F) or (G) of subsection (d)(2), as appro16 priate, 10 business days after providing the covered 

17 individuals with the criminal history records of the 

18 covered individual and a notification of their rights 

19 under subsection (g). 

20 ‘‘(f) PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM.— 

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

22 the background check designee shall determine 

23 whether an entity is a covered entity and whether 

24 that covered entity should be approved as a partici25 pating entity, based on— 


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

2 State that has a qualified State program; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the consultation conducted under 

4 paragraph (2). 

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

6 many covered entities to approve as participating en7 tities, the Attorney General or the background check 

8 designee shall consult quarterly with the Federal 

9 Bureau of Investigation and the criminal history re10 view designee to determine the volume of requests 

11 for national background checks that can be com12 pleted, based on the capacity of the criminal history 

13 review program and the Federal Bureau of Inves14 tigation, the availability of resources, and the dem15 onstrated need for national background checks in 

16 order to protect children. 

17 ‘‘(3) PREFERENCE FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZA18 TIONS.—In determining whether a covered entity 

19 should be approved as a participating entity under 

20 paragraph (1), the Attorney General or the back21 ground check designee shall give preference to any 

22 organization participating in the Child Safety Pilot 

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

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1 ment of the Child Protection Improvements Act of 

2 2011 and to any other nonprofit organizations. 

3 ‘‘(g) RIGHT OF COVERED INDIVIDUALS TO CHAL4 LENGE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF RECORDS.—A 

5 covered individual who is the subject of a nationwide back6 ground check under this section may challenge the accu7 racy and completeness of the criminal history records in 

8 the criminal history report as provided in subsection 

9 (d)(2)(D), without submitting a separate set of finger10 prints or an additional fee. 

11 ‘‘(h) DUTIES OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVES12 TIGATION.— 

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

14 BACKGROUND RECORDS.—Upon request by the At15 torney General or background check designee, the 

16 Federal Bureau of Investigation shall conduct a na17 tionwide background check and provide any criminal 

18 history records to the Attorney General or criminal 

19 history review designee. 

20 ‘‘(2) RESOLUTION OF CHALLENGES.—If a cov21 ered individual challenges the accuracy or complete22 ness of any information in the criminal history 

23 record of the covered individual, the Federal Bureau 

24 of Investigation, in consultation with the agency that 

25 contributed to the record, shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) investigate the challenge with relevant 

2 departments and agencies of the Federal Gov3 ernment and State and local governments; 

4 ‘‘(B) promptly make a determination re5 garding the accuracy and completeness of the 

6 challenged information; and 

7 ‘‘(C) correct any inaccurate or incomplete 

8 records. 

9 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

11 appropriated to the Attorney General for each of fis12 cal years 2012 through 2015 such sums as are nec13 essary to carry out the provisions of this Act. 

14 ‘‘(2) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense 

15 of the Congress that in fiscal year 2012, and each 

16 fiscal year thereafter, the fees collected by the Attor17 ney General or the background check designee 

18 should be sufficient to carry out the duties of the 

19 Attorney General or the background check designee 

20 under this section and to help support the criminal 

21 history review program. 

22 ‘‘(j) COLLECTION OF DATA AND REPORT TO CON23 GRESS.— 

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

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1 section (b), and annually thereafter, the Attorney 

2 General shall prepare and submit to Congress and 

3 make available to the public a report on the pro4 grams and procedures established under this Act. 

5 ‘‘(2) COLLECTION OF DATA.— 

6 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF DEMOGRAPHIC CHAR7 ACTERISTICS.—In this paragraph, the term ‘de8 mographic characteristics’ includes information 

9 pertaining to race, color, ancestry, national ori10 gin, age, sex, and marital status. 

11 ‘‘(B) COMPILING.—Beginning not later 

12 than 90 days after the establishment of the pro13 gram under subsection (b), the Attorney Gen14 eral shall compile data regarding— 

15 ‘‘(i) the number and types of partici16 pating entities; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the fees charged to participating 

18 entities under this section; 

19 ‘‘(iii) the time interval between na20 tionwide background check submissions 

21 and responses under this section; 

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

23 on State authorized agencies; 

24 ‘‘(v) the number and demographic 

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1 mitting a statement described in subsection 

2 (c)(3)(A)(iii) as part of a request for a na3 tionwide background check; 

4 ‘‘(vi) the number and demographic 

5 characteristics of covered individuals deter6 mined to have a criminal history; 

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

8 identity of the offense and whether the of9 fense was committed while the covered in10 dividual was a juvenile or adult), and fre11 quency of offenses, and length of the pe12 riod between the date of the offense and 

13 the date of the nationwide background 

14 check for any covered individuals found to 

15 have a criminal history under this section; 

16 ‘‘(viii) the procedures available for 

17 covered individuals to challenge the accu18 racy and completeness of criminal history 

19 records under this section; 

20 ‘‘(ix) the number and results of chal21 lenges to the accuracy and completeness of 

22 criminal history records under this section; 

23 ‘‘(x) the number and types of correc24 tions of erroneous criminal history records 

25 based on a challenge under this section; 


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1 ‘‘(xi) the number and types of inquir2 ies for assistance on interpreting a crimi3 nal history received by the criminal history 

4 review program; and 

5 ‘‘(xii) to the extent practicable, the 

6 number of covered individuals denied em7 ployment based on the criminal history in8 formation provided by the Attorney Gen9 eral or the criminal history review des10 ignee. 

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

12 General shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) aggregate the data collected 

14 under this paragraph by State and city; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) aggregate the data collected 

17 under clauses (v), (vi), and (vii) of sub18 paragraph (B) by race, color, ancestry, na19 tional origin, age, sex, and marital status. 

20 ‘‘(D) REPORTS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

22 year after the date of enactment of the 

23 Child Protection Improvements Act of 

24 2011, and annually thereafter, the Attor25 ney General shall prepare and submit to 


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1 Congress a report concerning the data 

2 compiled and aggregated under this para3 graph. 

4 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—Each report sub5 mitted under clause (i) shall contain— 

6 ‘‘(I) the data compiled and ag7 gregated under this paragraph, orga8 nized in such a way as to provide a 

9 comprehensive analysis of the pro10 grams and procedures established 

11 under this section; 

12 ‘‘(II) information regarding and 

13 analysis of— 

14 ‘‘(aa) the programs and pro15 cedures established under this 

16 section; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) the extent such pro18 grams and procedures have 

19 helped screen individuals who 

20 may pose a risk to children; and 

21 ‘‘(III) information regarding and 

22 analysis of whether and to what ex23 tent the programs and procedures es24 tablished under this section are hav25 ing a disparate impact on individuals 


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1 based on race, color, ancestry, na2 tional origin, age, sex, or marital sta3 tus. 

4 ‘‘(iii) RECOMMENDATIONS.—A report 

5 submitted under clause (i) may contain 

6 recommendations to Congress on possible 

7 legislative improvements to this section. 

8 ‘‘(iv) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.— 

9 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Upon the re10 quest of any member of Congress, the 

11 Attorney General shall make available 

12 any of the data compiled or aggre13 gated under this paragraph. 

14 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTION.—The Attorney 

15 General shall not make available any 

16 data that identifies specific individ17 uals. 

18 ‘‘(k) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

20 ‘‘(A) FAILURE TO CONDUCT CRIMINAL

21 BACKGROUND CHECKS.—No participating entity 

22 shall be liable in an action for damages solely 

23 for failure to conduct a criminal background 

24 check on a covered individual. 


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1 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO TAKE ADVERSE ACTION

2 AGAINST COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—No partici3 pating entity shall be liable in an action for 

4 damages solely for a failure to take action ad5 verse to a covered individual upon receiving any 

6 notice of criminal history from the Attorney 

7 General or the criminal history review designee 

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

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

10 reasonably relies on criminal history records received 

11 in response to a background check under this section 

12 shall not be liable in an action for damages based 

13 on the inaccuracy or incompleteness of that informa14 tion. 

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

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

17 subparagraphs (B) and (C) the background 

18 check designee and the criminal history review 

19 designee, including a director, officer, employee, 

20 or agent of the background check designee, or 

21 the criminal history review designee, shall not 

22 be liable in an action for damages relating to 

23 the performance of the responsibilities and 

24 functions of the background check designee and 


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1 the criminal history review designee under this 

2 section. 

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

4 MISCONDUCT.—Subparagraph (A) shall not 

5 apply in an action if the background check des6 ignee, or the criminal history review designee, 

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

8 background check designee, or the criminal his9 tory review designee, engaged in intentional 

10 misconduct or acted, or failed to act, with ac11 tual malice, with reckless disregard to a sub12 stantial risk of causing injury without legal jus13 tification, or for a purpose unrelated to the per14 formance of responsibilities or functions under 

15 this section. 

16 ‘‘(C) ORDINARY BUSINESS ACTIVITIES.— 

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

18 omission relating to an ordinary business activ19 ity, such as an activity involving general admin20 istration or operations, the use of motor vehi21 cles, or personnel management. 

22 ‘‘(l) PRIVACY OF INFORMATION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON UNAUTHORIZED DISCLO24 SURE OR USE OF CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS.— 

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1 vidual authorized to receive or transmit fingerprints 

2 or criminal history records under this Act— 

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

4 history records, or information in the criminal 

5 history records only for the purposes specifically 

6 set forth in this Act; 

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

8 criminal history records, or information in the 

9 criminal history records only to those employees 

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

11 necessary to fulfill the purposes set forth in this 

12 Act; 

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

14 criminal history records, or information in the 

15 criminal history records, except as specifically 

16 authorized under this Act; 

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

18 authorized disclosure of the fingerprints, crimi19 nal history records, or the information in the 

20 criminal history records; and 

21 ‘‘(E) shall maintain adequate security 

22 measures to ensure the confidentiality of the 

23 fingerprints, the criminal history records, and 

24 the information in the criminal history records. 

25 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE.— 


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

2 shall promulgate regulations to ensure the en3 forcement of the nondisclosure requirements 

4 under paragraph (1) and to provide for appro5 priate sanctions in the case of violations of the 

6 requirements. 

7 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPATING ENTITIES AND DES8 IGNEES.—The participation in any program 

9 under this section by an entity or organization 

10 that enters into an agreement with the Attorney 

11 General to carry out the duties described in 

12 subsection (c) or to carry out the criminal his13 tory review program shall be conditioned on the 

14 person— 

15 ‘‘(i) establishing procedures to ensure 

16 compliance with, and respond to any viola17 tions of, paragraph (1); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) maintaining substantial compli19 ance with paragraph (1). 

20 ‘‘(3) DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS.— 

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

22 subparagraph (B), the Attorney General, the 

23 background check designee, and the criminal 

24 history review designee shall destroy any finger25 prints, either in paper or electronic form, or 


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1 criminal history record received for the purpose 

2 of carrying out the provisions of this Act after 

3 any transaction based on the fingerprints or 

4 criminal history record is completed, and shall 

5 not maintain the fingerprints, the criminal his6 tory records, or the information in the criminal 

7 history record in any form. 

8 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—This paragraph shall 

9 not apply to the retention of fingerprints by the 

10 FBI, upon consent of the covered individual or 

11 in accordance with State or Federal procedures, 

12 for the purpose of providing fingerprint 

13 verification or subsequent hit notification serv14 ices, or for the retention of criminal history 

15 record information which updates the criminal 

16 history record. 

17 ‘‘(C) REPEAT APPLICANTS.—A covered in18 dividual may sign a release permitting the At19 torney General or background check designee to 

20 retain the fingerprints of the covered individual 

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

22 purpose of participating in the criminal history 

23 review program on a subsequent occasion.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF CHILD SAFETY PILOT. 

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

3 U.S.C. 5119a note) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘104-month’’; and 

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

6 Child Safety Pilot Program under this paragraph 

7 shall terminate on the date that is 1 year after the 

8 date of enactment of the Child Protection Improve9 ments Act of 2011.’’. 

Æ 


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