Child Care Protection Improvement Act of 2019

To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to improve child care protections provided through interstate background checks. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Child Care Protection Improvement Act of 2019 2. Task Force Section 658H of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 ( 42 U.S.C. 9858f (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (k); (2) in subsection (d)(2)(A), by striking subsection (j)(1) subsection (k)(1) (3) by inserting after subsection (i) the following: (j) Task force To assist in implementing interstate criminal background checks for child care staff members (1) Establishment There is established a task force, to be known as the Interagency Task Force for Child Safety (referred to in this section as the Task Force (2) Composition Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of the Child Care Protection Improvement Act of 2019 (A) the Director of the Office of Child Care of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Associate Commissioner of the Children's Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or their designees; and (B) such other Federal officials as may be designated by the President. (3) Chairperson The chairperson of the Task Force shall be the Assistant Secretary of the Administration for Children and Families. (4) Consultation The Task Force shall consult with representatives from State child care agencies, State child protective services, State criminal justice agencies, and other relevant stakeholders on identifying problems in implementing, and proposing solutions to implement, the requirements of subsection (b), as described in that subsection. (5) Task Force duties The Task Force shall— (A) develop recommendations for improving implementation of the requirements of subsection (b), including recommendations about how the Task Force and member agencies will collaborate and coordinate efforts to implement such requirements, as described in subsection (b); and (B) develop recommendations in which the Task Force identifies best practices and evaluates technical assistance to assist relevant Federal and State agencies in implementing subsection (b), which identification and evaluation shall include— (i) an analysis of available research and information at the Federal and State level regarding the status of the interstate requirements of subsection (b) for child care staff members who have resided in one or more States during the previous 5 years and who seek employment in a child care program in a different State; (ii) a list of State agencies that are not responding to interstate requests covered by subsection (b) for relevant information on child care staff members; (iii) identification of the challenges State agencies are experiencing in responding to such interstate requests; (iv) an analysis of the length of time it takes the State agencies in a State to receive such results from State agencies in another State in response to such an interstate request in accordance with subsection (b); (v) an analysis of the average processing time for the interstate requests, in accordance with subsection (b); (vi) identification of the fees associated with the interstate requests in each State to meet requirements in accordance with subsection (b); (vii) a list of States that are participating in the National Fingerprint File program, as administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and an analysis of reasons States have or have not chosen to participate in the program, including barriers to participation such as barriers related to State regulatory requirements and statutes; and (viii) a list of States that have closed record laws or systems that prevent the States from sharing complete criminal records data or information with State agencies in another State. (6) Meetings Not later than 3 months after the date of enactment of the Child Care Protection Improvement Act of 2019 (7) Final report Not later than 1 year after the first meeting of the Task Force, the Task Force shall submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives a final report containing all of the recommendations required by subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (5). (8) Sunset The Task Force shall terminate 1 year after submitting its final report, but not later than the end of fiscal year 2021. .

Summary: Child Care Protection Improvement Act of 2019This bill establishes an interagency task force, chaired by the Administration for Children and Families, to support states in conducting required criminal background checks for childcare staff members. Specifically, the task force must consult with relevant state agencies and develop recommendations and best practices. This includes evaluating how agencies are responding to interstate requests for information about staff, or prospective staff, who have lived in another state within the preceding five years. The task force must submit a final report with its recommendations within one year of the first meeting of the task force.