II 

Calendar No. 512 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D 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, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. 

BLUNT, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Mr. 

COONS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 

Reported by Mr. LEAHY, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

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

4 percent of the population) contributed a total of 

5 8,100,000,000 hours of volunteer service. Of those 

6 who volunteer, 27 percent dedicate their service to 

7 education or youth programs, or a total of 

8 16,500,000 adults. 

9 (2) Assuming recent incarceration rates remain 

10 unchanged, an estimated 6.6 percent of individuals 

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

12 crime during their lifetime. The Integrated Auto13 mated Fingerprint Identification System of the Fed14 eral Bureau of Investigation maintains fingerprints 

15 and criminal history records on more than 

16 65,000,000 individuals, many of whom have been ar17 rested or convicted multiple times. 

18 (3) A study released in 2002, found that, of in19 dividuals released from prison in 15 States in 1994, 

20 an estimated 67.5 percent were rearrested for a fel21 ony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years. Three22 quarters of those new arrests resulted in convictions 

23 or a new prison sentence. 

24 (4) Given the large number of individuals with 

25 criminal history records and the vulnerability of the 

26 population they work with, human service organizaVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:06 Sep 20, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S645.RS S645

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1 tions that work with children need an effective and 

2 reliable means of obtaining relevant information 

3 about criminal histories in order to determine the 

4 suitability of a potential volunteer or employee. 

5 (5) The large majority of Americans (88 per6 cent) favor granting youth-serving organizations ac7 cess to conviction records for screening volunteers 

8 and 59 percent favored allowing youth-serving orga9 nizations to consider arrest records when screening 

10 volunteers. This was the only use for which a major11 ity of those surveyed favored granting access to ar12 rest records. 

13 (6) Congress has previously attempted to en14 sure that States make Federal Bureau of Investiga15 tion criminal history background checks available to 

16 organizations seeking to screen employees and volun17 teers who work with children, the elderly, and indi18 viduals with disabilities, through the National Child 

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

20 the Volunteers for Children Act (Public Law 105– 

21 251; 112 Stat. 1885). However, according to a June 

22 2006 report from the Attorney General, these laws 

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

24 availability of NCPA checks.’’ A 2007 survey con25 ducted by MENTOR/National Mentoring PartnerVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:06 Sep 20, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S645.RS S645

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1 ship found that only 18 States allowed youth men2 toring organizations to access nationwide Federal 

3 Bureau of Investigation background searches. 

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

5 history background check can be prohibitively expen6 sive, ranging from $5 to $75 for a State fingerprint 

7 check, plus the Federal Bureau of Investigation fee, 

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

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

10 and $99 for each volunteer or employee. 

11 (8) Delays in processing such checks can also 

12 limit their utility. While the Federal Bureau of In13 vestigation processes all civil fingerprint requests in 

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

15 and can take as long as 42 days. 

16 (9) The Child Safety Pilot Program under sec17 tion 108 of the PROTECT Act (42 U.S.C. 5119a 

18 note) revealed the importance of performing finger19 print-based Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal 

20 history background checks. Of 68,000 background 

21 checks performed through the pilot program as of 

22 May 2009, 6 percent of volunteer applicants were 

23 found to have a criminal history of concern, includ24 ing very serious offenses such as sexual abuse of miVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:06 Sep 20, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S645.RS S645

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1 nors, assault, child cruelty, murder, and serious 

2 drug offenses. 

3 (10) In an analysis performed on the volunteers 

4 screened by the Child Safety Pilot Program, it was 

5 found that over 41 percent of the individuals with 

6 criminal histories had committed an offense in a 

7 State other than the State in which they were apply8 ing to volunteer, meaning that a State-only search 

9 would not have found relevant criminal results. In 

10 addition, even though volunteers knew a background 

11 check was being performed, over 50 percent of the 

12 individuals found to have a criminal history falsely 

13 indicated on their application form that they did not 

14 have a criminal history. 

15 (11) The Child Safety Pilot Program also dem16 onstrates that timely and affordable background 

17 checks are possible, as background checks under 

18 that program are completed within 3 to 5 business 

19 days at a cost of $18. 

20 SEC. 3. BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

21 The National Child Protection Act of 1993 (42 

22 U.S.C. 5119 et seq.) is amended— 

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

24 (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.’’. 

10 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Protection Im12 provements Act of 2012’’. 

13 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

14 Congress finds the following: 

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

16 percent of the population) contributed a total of 

17 8,100,000,000 hours of volunteer service. Of those who 

18 volunteer, 27 percent dedicate their service to edu19 cation or youth programs, or a total of 16,500,000 

20 adults. 

21 (2) Assuming recent incarceration rates remain 

22 unchanged, an estimated 6.6 percent of individuals in 

23 the United States will serve time in prison for a 

24 crime during their lifetime. The Integrated Auto25 mated Fingerprint Identification System of the Fed26 eral Bureau of Investigation maintains fingerprints 


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1 and criminal history records on more than 

2 71,000,000 individuals, many of whom have been ar3 rested or convicted multiple times. 

4 (3) A study released in 2002, found that, of indi5 viduals released from prison in 15 States in 1994, an 

6 estimated 67.5 percent were rearrested for a felony or 

7 serious misdemeanor within 3 years. Three-quarters 

8 of those new arrests resulted in convictions or a new 

9 prison sentence. 

10 (4) Given the large number of individuals with 

11 criminal history records and the vulnerability of the 

12 population they work with, human service organiza13 tions that work with children need an effective and 

14 reliable means of obtaining relevant information 

15 about criminal histories in order to determine the 

16 suitability of a potential volunteer or employee. 

17 (5) The large majority of Americans (88 percent) 

18 favor granting youth-serving organizations access to 

19 conviction records for screening volunteers and 59 

20 percent favored allowing youth-serving organizations 

21 to consider arrest records when screening volunteers. 

22 This was the only use for which a majority of those 

23 surveyed favored granting access to arrest records. 

24 (6) Congress has previously attempted to ensure 

25 that States make Federal Bureau of Investigation 


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1 criminal history background checks available to orga2 nizations seeking to screen employees and volunteers 

3 who work with children, the elderly, and individuals 

4 with disabilities, through the National Child Protec5 tion Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 5119 et seq.) and the Vol6 unteers for Children Act (Public Law 105–251; 112 

7 Stat. 1885). However, according to a June 2006 re8 port from the Attorney General, these laws ‘‘did not 

9 have the intended impact of broadening the avail10 ability of NCPA checks.’’ A 2007 survey conducted by 

11 MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership found 

12 that only 18 States allowed youth mentoring organi13 zations to access nationwide Federal Bureau of Inves14 tigation background searches. 

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

16 history background check can be prohibitively expen17 sive, ranging from $5 to $75 for a State fingerprint 

18 check, plus the Federal Bureau of Investigation fee, 

19 which ranges from $15.25 to $30.25, depending on the 

20 method of processing, for a total of between $21 and 

21 $99 for each volunteer or employee. 

22 (8) Delays in processing such checks can also 

23 limit their utility. While the Federal Bureau of Inves24 tigation processes all civil fingerprint requests in less 


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1 than 24 hours, State response times vary widely, and 

2 can take as long as 42 days. 

3 (9) The Child Safety Pilot Program under sec4 tion 108 of the PROTECT Act (42 U.S.C. 5119a 

5 note) revealed the importance of performing finger6 print-based Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal 

7 history background checks. Of 77,000 background 

8 checks performed through the pilot program, 6 percent 

9 of volunteer applicants were found to have a criminal 

10 history of concern, including very serious offenses 

11 such as sexual abuse of minors, assault, child cruelty, 

12 murder, and serious drug offenses. 

13 (10) In an analysis performed on the volunteers 

14 screened by the Child Safety Pilot Program, it was 

15 found that over 40 percent of the individuals with 

16 criminal histories had committed an offense in a 

17 State other than the State in which they were apply18 ing to volunteer, meaning that a State-only search 

19 would not have found relevant criminal results. In 

20 addition, even though volunteers knew a background 

21 check was being performed, over 50 percent of the in22 dividuals found to have a criminal history falsely in23 dicated on their application form that they did not 

24 have a criminal history. 


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1 (11) The Child Safety Pilot Program also dem2 onstrates that timely and affordable background 

3 checks are possible, as background checks under that 

4 program are completed within 3 to 5 business days 

5 at a cost of $18. 

6 SEC. 3. BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

7 The National Child Protection Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 

8 5119 et seq.) is amended— 

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

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

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

12 BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR CHILD-SERVING 

13 ORGANIZATIONS. 

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

15 ‘‘(1) the term ‘background check designee’ means 

16 the entity or organization, if any, designated by or 

17 entering an agreement with the Attorney General 

18 under subsection (b)(3)(A) to carry out or assist in 

19 carrying out the duties described in subsection (c); 

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

21 less than 18 years of age; 

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

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

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1 struction, or recreation to children, including a busi2 ness or organization that licenses, certifies, or coordi3 nates individuals or organizations to provide care, 

4 care placement, supervision, treatment, education, 

5 training, instruction, or recreation to children; 

6 ‘‘(4) the term ‘covered individual’ means an in7 dividual— 

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

9 unsupervised access to a child served by a cov10 ered entity; and 

11 ‘‘(B) who— 

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

13 or seeks to be employed by or volunteer 

14 with, a covered entity; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) owns or operates, or seeks to own 

16 or operate, a covered entity; 

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

18 means 1 or more Federal, State, or local government 

19 agencies, if any, designated by or entering an agree20 ment with the Attorney General under subsection 

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

22 criminal history review program; 

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

24 means the program established under subsection 

25 (b)(1)(B); 


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

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

3 United States Code; 

4 ‘‘(8) the term ‘open arrest’ means an arrest re5 lating to which charges may still be brought, taking 

6 into consideration the applicable statute of limita7 tions; 

8 ‘‘(9) the term ‘pending charge’ means a criminal 

9 charge that has not been resolved through conviction, 

10 acquittal, dismissal, plea bargain, or any other 

11 means; 

12 ‘‘(10) the term ‘serious misdemeanor’ means— 

13 ‘‘(A) an offense described in section 

14 3581(b)(6) of title 18, United States Code; or 

15 ‘‘(B) for a State offense, an offense carrying 

16 a penalty of more than 6 months, but not more 

17 than 1 year; 

18 ‘‘(11) the term ‘State’ means a State of the 

19 United States, the District of Columbia, the Common20 wealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin 

21 Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

22 Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, 

23 the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Repub24 lic of Palau; and 


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

2 a division or office of a State designated by that State 

3 to report, receive, or disseminate criminal history in4 formation. 

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 2012, the Attorney General shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) establish policies and procedures to 

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

11 and 

12 ‘‘(B) establish a criminal history review 

13 program in accordance with subsection (d). 

14 ‘‘(2) DESIGNEES.—The Attorney General may 

15 designate 1 or more Federal Government agencies or 

16 enter into an agreement with any other entity or or17 ganization, or entities or organizations to carry out 

18 or assist in carrying out the duties described in sub19 section (c). 

20 ‘‘(c) ACCESS TO NATIONWIDE BACKGROUND

21 CHECKS.— 

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

23 streamline the process of obtaining nationwide back24 ground checks, provide effective customer service, and 


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1 facilitate widespread access to nationwide background 

2 checks by covered entities. 

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

4 background check designee shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) handle inquiries from covered entities 

6 and inform covered entities about how to request 

7 nationwide background checks; 

8 ‘‘(B) provide covered entities with access to 

9 nationwide background checks on covered indi10 viduals in accordance with this section; 

11 ‘‘(C) receive paper and electronic requests 

12 for nationwide background checks on covered in13 dividuals from covered entities; 

14 ‘‘(D) convert all paper fingerprint cards 

15 into an electronic form and securely transmit all 

16 fingerprints electronically to the national crimi17 nal history background check system; 

18 ‘‘(E) collect a fee to conduct the nationwide 

19 background check, and, if appropriate, a State 

20 criminal background check, and remit fees to the 

21 Attorney General or the criminal history review 

22 designee and the Federal Bureau of Investiga23 tion; and 

24 ‘‘(F) coordinate with the Federal Bureau of 

25 Investigation and the Attorney General or the 


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1 criminal history review designee to ensure that 

2 background check requests are being completed 

3 within the time periods specified in subsection 

4 (e). 

5 ‘‘(3) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—A request for a 

6 nationwide background check by a covered entity shall 

7 include— 

8 ‘‘(A) the fingerprints of the covered indi9 vidual, in paper or electronic form; 

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

11 document; and 

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

13 the covered individual that— 

14 ‘‘(i) sets out the name, address, and 

15 date of birth of the covered individual, as 

16 those items of information appear on a 

17 valid identification document; 

18 ‘‘(ii) notifies the covered individual 

19 that the Attorney General may perform a 

20 criminal history background check and that 

21 the signature of the covered individual on 

22 the statement constitutes an acknowledg23 ment that such a check may be 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 covered entity may be informed if 

4 the criminal history records of the covered 

5 individual reveal a criminal history that 

6 warrants special concern or further inquiry; 

7 ‘‘(iv) notifies the covered individual 

8 that the covered individual shall be pro9 vided with a copy of the criminal history 

10 records of the covered individual and shall 

11 have 10 business days to review the records, 

12 challenge the accuracy or completeness of 

13 any information in the records, or with14 draw consent to participate in the criminal 

15 history review program before any informa16 tion about the criminal history of the cov17 ered individual is provided to the covered 

18 entity; and 

19 ‘‘(v) notifies the covered individual 

20 that prior to and after the completion of the 

21 background check, the covered entity may 

22 choose to deny the covered individual access 

23 to children. 

24 ‘‘(4) FEES.— 


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

2 or the background check designee shall collect a 

3 fee to offset the costs of carrying out the duties 

4 described in this subsection and the duties of the 

5 criminal history review designee under this sec6 tion for a nationwide background check and 

7 criminal history review, in an amount equal to 

8 the sum of— 

9 ‘‘(i) the actual cost to the Attorney 

10 General or the background check designee of 

11 conducting a nationwide background check; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the actual cost to the Attorney 

14 General or the criminal history review des15 ignee of conducting a criminal history re16 view under this section; and 

17 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION ON FEES.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity 

19 may not charge another entity or indi20 vidual a surcharge to access a background 

21 check conducted under this section. 

22 ‘‘(ii) VIOLATION.—The Attorney Gen23 eral shall have the authority to collect res24 titution from any covered entity that the 


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1 Attorney General determines violated clause 

2 (i). 

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

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

5 history review program is to provide covered entities 

6 with reliable and accurate information regarding 

7 whether a covered individual has been convicted of, or 

8 has an open arrest or pending charges for, a crime 

9 that may bear upon the fitness of the covered indi10 vidual to have responsibility for the safety and well11 being of the children in their care. 

12 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Attorney General or 

13 the criminal history review designee shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) establish procedures to securely receive 

15 criminal history records from the Federal Bu16 reau of Investigation, if necessary; 

17 ‘‘(B) after receiving a criminal history 

18 record from the Federal Bureau of Investigation 

19 transmit to the covered individual— 

20 ‘‘(i) the criminal history records; 

21 ‘‘(ii) a detailed notification of the 

22 rights of the covered individual under sub23 section (g); and 

24 ‘‘(iii) information about how to contact 

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1 view designee for the purpose of challenging 

2 the accuracy or completeness of any infor3 mation in the criminal history record or to 

4 withdraw consent to participate in the 

5 criminal history review program; 

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

7 Attorney General or criminal history review des8 ignee that the covered individual intends to chal9 lenge the accuracy or completeness of any infor10 mation in the criminal history record, assist the 

11 covered individual in contacting the appropriate 

12 persons or offices within the Federal Bureau of 

13 Investigation; 

14 ‘‘(D) make determinations regarding wheth15 er the criminal history records received in re16 sponse to a criminal history background check 

17 conducted under this section indicate that the 

18 covered individual has a criminal history that 

19 may bear on the covered individual’s fitness to 

20 provide care to children, based solely on the cri21 teria described in paragraph (3); 

22 ‘‘(E) unless the covered individual has with23 drawn consent to participate in the criminal 

24 history review program, convey to the covered 


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1 entity that submitted the request for a nation2 wide background check— 

3 ‘‘(i) which of the 3 categorizations de4 scribed in paragraph (3) criminal convic5 tion of special concern identified, further 

6 inquiry recommended, or no criminal 

7 records of special concern identified apply 

8 to the covered individual; 

9 ‘‘(ii) information and guidance relat10 ing to the appropriate use of criminal his11 tory information when making decisions re12 garding hiring employees and using volun13 teers; 

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

15 the criteria set forth in subparagraph (A) or 

16 (B) of paragraph (3) is found, a rec17 ommendation to the participating entity to 

18 consult with the covered individual in order 

19 to obtain more information about the crimi20 nal history of the covered individual, and a 

21 list of factors to consider in assessing the 

22 significance of that criminal history, in23 cluding— 

24 ‘‘(I) the nature, gravity, and cir25 cumstances of the offense, including 


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1 whether the individual was convicted 

2 of the offense; 

3 ‘‘(II) the period of time that has 

4 elapsed since the date of the offense or 

5 end of a period of incarceration or su6 pervised release; 

7 ‘‘(III) the nature of the position 

8 held or sought; and 

9 ‘‘(IV) any evidence of rehabilita10 tion; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) instructions and guidance that, 

12 in evaluating the considerations described 

13 in clause (iii), the participating entity 

14 should consult the Equal Employment Op15 portunity Commission Policy Statement on 

16 the Issue of Conviction Records and the 

17 Equal Employment Opportunity Commis18 sion Policy Guidance on the Consideration 

19 of Arrest Records in Employment Decisions 

20 under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 

21 1964 or any successor thereto issued by the 

22 Equal Employment Opportunity Commis23 sion; 

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

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1 view program, inform the covered entity that 

2 consent has been withdrawn; 

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

4 background check designee and the Federal Bu5 reau of Investigation to develop processes and 

6 procedures to ensure that criminal history back7 ground check requests are completed within the 

8 time periods specified in subsection (e); and 

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

10 provide guidance and assistance to covered enti11 ties on how to interpret criminal history infor12 mation, the possible restrictions that apply when 

13 making hiring decisions based on criminal his14 tories, and other related information. 

15 ‘‘(3) CRIMINAL HISTORY REVIEW CRITERIA.—The 

16 Attorney General or the criminal history review des17 ignee shall, in determining when a criminal history 

18 record indicates that a covered individual has a 

19 criminal history that may bear on the fitness of the 

20 covered individual to provide care to children— 

21 ‘‘(A) assign a categorization of criminal 

22 conviction of special concern identified if a cov23 ered individual is found to have a conviction 

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1 tion 471(a)(20)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)(A)); 

3 ‘‘(B) assign a categorization of further in4 quiry recommended if a covered individual is 

5 found to have— 

6 ‘‘(i) a conviction for a serious mis7 demeanor, committed against a child, in8 volving the same type of conduct prohibited 

9 by a felony described in section 

10 471(a)(20)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)(A)); 

12 ‘‘(ii) a conviction for a serious mis13 demeanor, not committed against a child, 

14 involving the same type of conduct prohib15 ited by a felony described in section 

16 471(a)(20)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)(A)) unless 5 years has 

18 elapsed since the later of the date of convic19 tion and the date of release of the person 

20 from imprisonment for that conviction; 

21 ‘‘(iii) an open arrest or pending charge 

22 for a felony described in, or a serious mis23 demeanor involving the same type of con24 duct prohibited by a felony described in, 


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

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)(A)); and 

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

4 records of special concern identified for a covered 

5 individual that does not meet the criteria de6 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B). 

7 ‘‘(e) TIMING.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Unless exceptional cir9 cumstances apply, criminal background checks shall 

10 be completed according to the time frame under this 

11 subsection. The Attorney General or the background 

12 check designee shall work with the criminal history 

13 review designee and the Federal Bureau of Investiga14 tion to ensure that the time limits under this sub15 section are being achieved. 

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

17 General or the background check designee shall elec18 tronically submit a national background check request 

19 to the Federal Bureau of Investigation not later than 

20 2 business days after the date on which a request for 

21 a national background check is received by the Attor22 ney General or the background check designee. 

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

24 Federal Bureau of Investigation shall provide crimi25 nal history records to the Attorney General or the 


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1 criminal history review designee not later than 2 

2 business days after the date on which the Federal Bu3 reau of Investigation receives a request for a nation4 wide background check from the Attorney General or 

5 the background check designee. 

6 ‘‘(4) PROVISION OF RECORDS TO COVERED INDI7 VIDUALS 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 covered 

15 individual with the criminal history records of 

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

18 subsection (g) not later than 1 business day after 

19 the date on which the Attorney General or crimi20 nal history review designee receives a criminal 

21 history record from the Federal Bureau of Inves22 tigation and, if necessary, resolves any poten23 tially incomplete information in accordance with 

24 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 of 

6 any information in the criminal history record 

7 or to withdraw consent to participate in the 

8 criminal history review program. 

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

10 Federal Bureau of Investigation certifies that further 

11 time is required to resolve a challenge brought by a 

12 covered individual, the Attorney General or the crimi13 nal history review designee shall convey to the covered 

14 entity the information set forth in subparagraph (F) 

15 or (G) of subsection (d)(2), as appropriate, 10 busi16 ness days after providing the covered individuals with 

17 the criminal history records of the covered individual 

18 and a notification of their rights under subsection (g). 

19 ‘‘(f) PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM.— 

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

21 background check designee shall determine whether an 

22 entity is a covered entity based on— 

23 ‘‘(A) whether the entity is located in a State 

24 with a State authorized agency; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the consultation conducted under 

2 paragraph (2). 

3 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In determining whether 

4 an entity is a covered entity for purposes of this sec5 tion, the Attorney General or the background check 

6 designee shall consult quarterly with the Federal Bu7 reau of Investigation and the criminal history review 

8 designee to determine the volume of requests for na9 tional background checks that can be completed, based 

10 on the capacity of the criminal history review pro11 gram and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the 

12 availability of resources, and the demonstrated need 

13 for national background checks in order to protect 

14 children. 

15 ‘‘(g) RIGHT OF COVERED INDIVIDUALS TO CHALLENGE

16 ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF RECORDS.—A covered 

17 individual who is the subject of a nationwide background 

18 check under this section may challenge the accuracy and 

19 completeness of the criminal history records in the criminal 

20 history report as provided in subsection (d)(2)(D), without 

21 submitting a separate set of fingerprints or an additional 

22 fee. 

23 ‘‘(h) DUTIES OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVES24 TIGATION.— 


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

2 BACKGROUND RECORDS.—Upon request by the Attor3 ney General or background check designee, the Federal 

4 Bureau of Investigation shall conduct a nationwide 

5 background check and provide any criminal history 

6 records to the Attorney General or criminal history 

7 review designee. 

8 ‘‘(2) RESOLUTION OF CHALLENGES.—If a cov9 ered individual challenges the accuracy or complete10 ness of any information in the criminal history 

11 record of the covered individual, the Federal Bureau 

12 of Investigation, in consultation with the agency that 

13 contributed to the record, shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) investigate the challenge with relevant 

15 departments and agencies of the Federal Govern16 ment and State and local governments; 

17 ‘‘(B) promptly make a determination re18 garding the accuracy and completeness of the 

19 challenged information; and 

20 ‘‘(C) correct any inaccurate or incomplete 

21 records. 

22 ‘‘(i) FUND.— 

23 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

24 the Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘National 

25 Criminal History Background Check Fund’ (referred 


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1 to in this subsection as the ‘Fund’), to be adminis2 tered by the Attorney General to carry out this sec3 tion. 

4 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS.—Any amounts collected under 

5 subsection (c)(4) shall be deposited into the Fund. 

6 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the Fund shall 

7 be available to the Attorney General for use in accord8 ance with this section without fiscal year limitation 

9 or further appropriation by Congress. 

10 ‘‘(j) COLLECTION OF DATA AND REPORT TO CON11 GRESS.— 

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

13 the establishment of the program created under sub14 section (b), and annually thereafter, the Attorney 

15 General shall prepare and submit to Congress and 

16 make available to the public a report on the programs 

17 and procedures established under this Act. 

18 ‘‘(2) COLLECTION OF DATA.— 

19 ‘‘(A) COMPILING.—Beginning not later than 

20 90 days after the establishment of the program 

21 under subsection (b), the Attorney General shall 

22 compile data regarding— 

23 ‘‘(i) the number and types of covered 

24 entities; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the fees charged to covered entities 

2 under this section; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the time interval between nation4 wide background check submissions and re5 sponses under this section; 

6 ‘‘(iv) the number, type (including the 

7 identity of the offense and whether the of8 fense was committed while the covered indi9 vidual was a juvenile or adult), and fre10 quency of offenses, and length of the period 

11 between the date of the offense and the date 

12 of the nationwide background check for any 

13 covered individuals found to have a crimi14 nal history under this section; 

15 ‘‘(v) the procedures available for cov16 ered individuals to challenge the accuracy 

17 and completeness of criminal history 

18 records under this section; 

19 ‘‘(vi) the number and results of chal20 lenges to the accuracy and completeness of 

21 criminal history records under this section; 

22 ‘‘(vii) the number and types of correc23 tions of erroneous criminal history records 

24 based on a challenge under this section; 


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1 ‘‘(viii) the number and types of inquir2 ies for assistance on interpreting a criminal 

3 history received by the criminal history re4 view program; and 

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

6 number of covered individuals denied em7 ployment based on the criminal history in8 formation provided by the Attorney General 

9 or the criminal history review designee. 

10 ‘‘(B) AGGREGATING DATA.—The Attorney 

11 General shall aggregate the data collected under 

12 this paragraph by State and city. 

13 ‘‘(C) REPORTS.— 

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

15 year after the date of enactment of the Child 

16 Protection Improvements Act of 2012, and 

17 annually thereafter, the Attorney General 

18 shall prepare and submit to Congress a re19 port concerning the data compiled and ag20 gregated under this paragraph. 

21 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—Each report sub22 mitted under clause (i) shall contain— 

23 ‘‘(I) the data compiled and aggre24 gated under this paragraph, organized 

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1 prehensive analysis of the programs 

2 and procedures established under this 

3 section; and 

4 ‘‘(II) information regarding and 

5 analysis of— 

6 ‘‘(aa) the programs and pro7 cedures established under this sec8 tion; and 

9 ‘‘(bb) the extent such pro10 grams and procedures have helped 

11 screen individuals who may pose 

12 a risk to children. 

13 ‘‘(iii) RECOMMENDATIONS.—A report 

14 submitted under clause (i) may contain rec15 ommendations to Congress on possible legis16 lative improvements to this section. 

17 ‘‘(iv) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.— 

18 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Upon the re19 quest of any member of Congress, the 

20 Attorney General shall make available 

21 any of the data compiled or aggregated 

22 under this paragraph. 

23 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTION.—The Attorney 

24 General shall not make available any 


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1 data that identifies specific individ2 uals. 

3 ‘‘(k) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

5 ‘‘(A) FAILURE TO CONDUCT CRIMINAL

6 BACKGROUND CHECKS.—A covered entity shall 

7 not be held liable in an action for damages solely 

8 for failure to conduct a criminal background 

9 check on a covered individual. 

10 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO TAKE ADVERSE ACTION

11 AGAINST COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—A covered enti12 ty shall not be held liable in an action for dam13 ages solely for a failure to take action adverse to 

14 a covered individual upon receiving any notice 

15 of criminal history from the Attorney General or 

16 the criminal history review designee under sub17 section (d)(2)(F). 

18 ‘‘(2) RELIANCE.—A covered entity that reason19 ably relies on criminal history records received in re20 sponse to a background check under this section shall 

21 not be liable in an action for damages based on the 

22 inaccuracy or incompleteness of that information. 

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

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

25 subparagraphs (B) and (C), the background 


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1 check designee and the criminal history review 

2 designee, including a director, officer, employee, 

3 or agent of the background check designee, or the 

4 criminal history review designee, shall not be 

5 liable in an action for damages relating to the 

6 performance of the responsibilities and functions 

7 of the background check designee and the crimi8 nal history review designee under this section. 

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

10 MISCONDUCT.—Subparagraph (A) shall not 

11 apply in an action if the background check des12 ignee, or the criminal history review designee, or 

13 a director, officer, employee, or agent of the back14 ground check designee, or the criminal history 

15 review designee, engaged in intentional mis16 conduct or acted, or failed to act, with actual 

17 malice, with reckless disregard to a substantial 

18 risk of causing injury without legal justification, 

19 or for a purpose unrelated to the performance of 

20 responsibilities or functions under this section. 

21 ‘‘(C) ORDINARY BUSINESS ACTIVITIES.— 

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

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1 istration or operations, the use of motor vehicles, 

2 or personnel management. 

3 ‘‘(l) PRIVACY OF INFORMATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON UNAUTHORIZED DISCLO5 SURE OR USE OF CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS.—Ex6 cept for a covered individual, any entity or indi7 vidual authorized to receive or transmit fingerprints 

8 or criminal history records under this Act— 

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

10 history records, or information in the criminal 

11 history records only for the purposes specifically 

12 set forth in this Act; 

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

14 criminal history records, or information in the 

15 criminal history records only to those employees 

16 of the entity, and only on such terms, as are nec17 essary to fulfill the purposes set forth in this Act; 

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

19 criminal history records, or information in the 

20 criminal history records, except as specifically 

21 authorized under this Act; 

22 ‘‘(D) shall keep a written record of each au23 thorized disclosure of the fingerprints, criminal 

24 history records, or the information in the crimi25 nal history records; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) shall maintain adequate security 

2 measures to ensure the confidentiality of the fin3 gerprints, the criminal history records, and the 

4 information in the criminal history records. 

5 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE.— 

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

7 shall promulgate regulations to ensure the en8 forcement of the nondisclosure requirements 

9 under paragraph (1) and to provide for appro10 priate sanctions in the case of violations of the 

11 requirements. 

12 ‘‘(B) DESIGNEES.—The participation in 

13 any program under this section by an entity or 

14 organization that enters into an agreement with 

15 the Attorney General to carry out the duties de16 scribed in subsection (c) or to carry out the 

17 criminal history review program shall be condi18 tioned on the person— 

19 ‘‘(i) establishing procedures to ensure 

20 compliance with, and respond to any viola21 tions of, paragraph (1); and 

22 ‘‘(ii) maintaining substantial compli23 ance with paragraph (1). 

24 ‘‘(3) DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS.— 


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

2 subparagraph (B), the Attorney General, the 

3 background check designee, and the criminal his4 tory review designee shall destroy any finger5 prints, either in paper or electronic form, or 

6 criminal history record received for the purpose 

7 of carrying out the provisions of this Act after 

8 any transaction based on the fingerprints or 

9 criminal history record is completed, and shall 

10 not maintain the fingerprints, the criminal his11 tory records, or the information in the criminal 

12 history record in any form. 

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

14 not apply to the retention of fingerprints by the 

15 FBI, upon consent of the covered individual or 

16 in accordance with State or Federal procedures, 

17 for the purpose of providing fingerprint 

18 verification or subsequent hit notification serv19 ices, or for the retention of criminal history 

20 record information which updates the criminal 

21 history record. 

22 ‘‘(C) REPEAT APPLICANTS.—A covered indi23 vidual may sign a release permitting the Attor24 ney General or background check designee to re25 tain the fingerprints of the covered individual 


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1 for the sole purpose of participating in the 

2 criminal history review program on a subsequent 

3 occasion.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. ELECTRONIC LIFE SAFETY AND SECURITY SYSTEMS 

5 FEDERAL BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The electronic life safety and security systems 

8 industry performs critical security installation and 

9 protection for much of the infrastructure in the 

10 United States and provides commercial buildings, 

11 public agencies and residences with alarm and secu12 rity systems that are an important part of homeland 

13 security and anti-crime and terrorist prevention. 

14 (2) The electronic life safety and security systems 

15 industry includes central monitoring stations and in16 dividual employer-owned companies and other pri17 vate sector businesses that install alarm and security 

18 systems in infrastructure of the United States. 

19 (3) Some States do not provide for any licensing 

20 or regulation requirement that includes a State or 

21 Federal background check on employers and employ22 ees of the companies involved in the electronic life 

23 safety and security systems industry. 

24 (4) Many employers and employees in the elec25 tronic life safety and security systems industry travel 


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1 across State lines to install systems and may or may 

2 not be required to undergo Federal background checks 

3 as a condition of employment and in some cases there 

4 may be background check requirements at the State 

5 level or duplicated background checks at the county or 

6 city levels. 

7 (5) Many employees in the electronic life safety 

8 and security systems industry have access to public 

9 and private structures and should undergo a Federal 

10 background check in order to protect lives and prop11 erty. 

12 (b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘electronic 

13 life safety and security systems industry’’ means businesses 

14 that provide installation and central monitoring of fire and 

15 burglar alarm systems to public or private entities, includ16 ing fire alarms, burglar alarms, closed-circuit TV, biomet17 ric systems, access control systems, personal emergency re18 sponse systems, and other crime prevention systems. 

19 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF BACKGROUND CHECK.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney Gen22 eral shall establish a method to permit employers in 

23 the electronic life safety and security systems installa24 tion and monitoring industry to request a fitness de25 termination by a governmental entity based on State 


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1 and Federal fingerprint-based background checks, in 

2 accordance with the information contained in appro3 priate records acquired under section 534 of title 28, 

4 United States Code. 

5 (2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 (A) METHOD.—The method for background 

7 checks established under paragraph (1)— 

8 (i) shall allow employers to obtain a 

9 fitness determination from a governmental 

10 entity based upon a background check of a 

11 State and Federal criminal history record 

12 information by submitting fingerprints— 

13 (I) to the Attorney General 

14 through the State criminal history 

15 record repository of the State in which 

16 the employer is located; or 

17 (II) if a State declines to allow 

18 access to the criminal history record 

19 repository of the State, in the manner 

20 determined by the Attorney General; 

21 and 

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1 censing and regulation of that employee al2 ready requires a Federal background check. 

3 (B) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINATION.—The 

4 fitness determination under subparagraph (A)(i) 

5 shall be based on whether the employee or pro6 spective employee has been convicted of or im7 prisoned for a felony during the 10-year period 

8 before the background check is conducted. 

9 (C) REQUIRED ATTORNEY GENERAL AC10 TION.—Unless an employee or prospective em11 ployee has withdrawn consent to participate in 

12 the fitness determination under paragraph 

13 (3)(B), if the criminal history of the employee or 

14 prospective employee includes a conviction or 

15 imprisonment for a felony during the 10-year 

16 period before the background check was con17 ducted, the Attorney General shall provide to the 

18 employer— 

19 (i)(I) a recommendation to consult 

20 with the employee or prospective employee 

21 in order to obtain more information about 

22 the criminal history of the employee or pro23 spective employee; and 


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1 (II) a list of factors to consider in as2 sessing the significance of the criminal his3 tory, including— 

4 (aa) the nature, gravity, and cir5 cumstances of the offense, including 

6 whether the employee or prospective 

7 employee was convicted of the offense; 

8 (bb) the period of time that has 

9 elapsed since the date of the offense or 

10 end of a period of incarceration or su11 pervised release; 

12 (cc) the nature of the position held 

13 or sought; and 

14 (dd) any evidence of rehabilita15 tion; and 

16 (ii) instructions and guidance that, in 

17 evaluating the considerations described in 

18 clause (i)(II), the participating entity 

19 should consult the Equal Employment Op20 portunity Commission Policy Statement on 

21 the Issue of Conviction Records and the 

22 Equal Employment Opportunity Commis23 sion Policy Guidance on the Consideration 

24 of Arrest Records in Employment Decisions 

25 under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 


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1 1964 or any successor thereto issued by the 

2 Equal Employment Opportunity Commis3 sion. 

4 (3) PROVISION OF RECORDS TO EMPLOYEES AND

5 PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYEES AND OPPORTUNITY TO

6 CHALLENGE OR WITHDRAW CONSENT.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—When the Attorney Gen8 eral finds that the criminal history records of an 

9 employee or prospective employee demonstrate 

10 that the employee or prospective employee has 

11 been convicted of or imprisoned for a felony dur12 ing the 10-year period before the background 

13 check is conducted, the Attorney General shall 

14 provide the employee or prospective employee 

15 with the criminal history records of the employee 

16 or prospective employee and a detailed notifica17 tion of the rights of the employee or prospective 

18 employee under subparagraph (C) not later than 

19 1 business day after the date on which the Attor20 ney General receives a criminal history record 

21 from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

22 (B) OPPORTUNITY TO CHALLENGE OR WITH23 DRAW CONSENT.—An employee or prospective 

24 employee described in subparagraph (A) shall 

25 have 10 business days from the date the criminal 


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1 history records and notification described in sub2 paragraph (A) are sent to challenge the accuracy 

3 or completeness of any information in the crimi4 nal history record or to withdraw consent to par5 ticipate in the fitness determination. 

6 (C) RIGHT OF EMPLOYEES AND PROSPEC7 TIVE EMPLOYEES TO CHALLENGE ACCURACY OR

8 COMPLETENESS OF RECORDS.—An employee or 

9 prospective employee who is the subject of back10 ground check under this section may challenge 

11 the accuracy and completeness of the criminal 

12 history records in the criminal history report as 

13 provided in paragraph (4), without submitting a 

14 separate set of fingerprints or an additional fee. 

15 (D) RESOLUTION OF CHALLENGES.—If an 

16 employee or prospective employee challenges the 

17 accuracy or completeness of any information in 

18 the criminal history record of the employee or 

19 prospective employee under this paragraph, the 

20 Federal Bureau of Investigation, in consultation 

21 with the agency that contributed to the record, 

22 shall— 

23 (i) investigate the challenge with rel24 evant departments and agencies of the FedVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:06 Sep 20, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S645.RS S645

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1 eral Government and State and local gov2 ernments; 

3 (ii) promptly make a determination 

4 regarding the accuracy and completeness of 

5 the challenged information; and 

6 (iii) correct any inaccurate or incom7 plete records. 

8 (4) CRIMINAL HISTORY REVIEWS.—Unless the 

9 Federal Bureau of Investigation certifies that further 

10 time is required to resolve a challenge brought by an 

11 employee or prospective employee under paragraph 

12 (3)(B), the Attorney General shall convey to the em13 ployer the criminal history records of the employee or 

14 prospective employee 10 business days after providing 

15 the employee or prospective employee with the crimi16 nal history records of the employee or prospective em17 ployee and a notification of their rights under para18 graph (3)(C). 

19 (5) FEES.—The Attorney General shall collect 

20 from an employer requesting a fitness determination 

21 under this section a fee to offset the costs of carrying 

22 out the duties described in this section, including this 

23 subsection, in an amount equal to the sum of the ac24 tual cost to the Attorney General of conducting the 

25 fitness determination and other criteria. 


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1 (d) PRIVACY OF INFORMATION.— 

2 (1) PROHIBITION ON UNAUTHORIZED DISCLO3 SURE OR USE OF CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS.—Ex4 cept for an employee or prospective employee de5 scribed in subsection (c), any entity or individual au6 thorized to receive or transmit fingerprints or crimi7 nal history records under this section— 

8 (A) shall use the fingerprints, criminal his9 tory records, or information in the criminal his10 tory records only for the purposes specifically set 

11 forth in this section; 

12 (B) shall allow access to the fingerprints, 

13 criminal history records, or information in the 

14 criminal history records only to those employees 

15 of the entity, and only on such terms, as are nec16 essary to fulfill the purposes set forth in this sec17 tion; 

18 (C) shall not disclose the fingerprints, 

19 criminal history records, or information in the 

20 criminal history records, except as specifically 

21 authorized under this section; 

22 (D) shall keep a written record of each au23 thorized disclosure of the fingerprints, criminal 

24 history records, or the information in the crimi25 nal history records; and 


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1 (E) shall maintain adequate security meas2 ures to ensure the confidentiality of the finger3 prints, the criminal history records, and the in4 formation in the criminal history records. 

5 (2) COMPLIANCE.—The Attorney General shall 

6 promulgate regulations to ensure the enforcement of 

7 the nondisclosure requirements under paragraph (1) 

8 and to provide for appropriate sanctions in the case 

9 of violations of the requirements. 

10 (3) DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS.— 

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

12 subparagraph (B), the Attorney General shall de13 stroy any fingerprints, either in paper or elec14 tronic form, or criminal history record received 

15 for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of 

16 this section after any transaction based on the 

17 fingerprints or criminal history record is com18 pleted, and shall not maintain the fingerprints, 

19 the criminal history records, or the information 

20 in the criminal history record in any form. 

21 (B) EXCEPTION.—This paragraph shall not 

22 apply to the retention of fingerprints by the FBI, 

23 upon consent of the employee or prospective em24 ployee or in accordance with State or Federal 

25 procedures, for the purpose of providing fingerVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:06 Sep 20, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00081 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S645.RS S645

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1 print verification or subsequent hit notification 

2 services, or for the retention of criminal history 

3 record information which updates the criminal 

4 history record. 


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Calendar No. 512 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 645 

A BILL 

To amend the National Child Protection Act of 

system. 1993 to establish a permanent background check 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 

Reported with an amendment 


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