H. R. 1237
One Hundred Third Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-three
An Act
To establish procedures for national criminal background checks for child care
providers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Child Protection Act
of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. REPORTING CHILD ABUSE CRIME INFORMATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In each State, an authorized criminal justice
agency of the State shall report child abuse crime information
to, or index child abuse crime information in, the national criminal
history background check system.
(b) PROVISION
OF
STATE
CHILD
ABUSE
CRIME
RECORDS
THROUGH THE NATIONAL CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECK
SYSTEM.—(1) Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Attorney General shall, subject to availability of
appropriations—
(A) investigate the criminal history records system of each
State and determine for each State a timetable by which the
State should be able to provide child abuse crime records on
an on-line basis through the national criminal history back-
ground check system;
(B) in consultation with State officials, establish guidelines
for the reporting or indexing of child abuse crime information,
including guidelines relating to the format, content, and
accuracy of criminal history records and other procedures for
carrying out this Act; and
(C) notify each State of the determinations made pursuant
to subparagraphs (A) and (B).
(2) The Attorney General shall require as a part of each State
timetable that the State—
(A) by not later than the date that is 3 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, have in a computerized criminal
history file at least 80 percent of the final dispositions that
have been rendered in all identifiable child abuse crime cases
in which there has been an event of activity within the last
5 years;
(B) continue to maintain a reporting rate of at least 80
percent for final dispositions in all identifiable child abuse
crime cases in which there has been an event of activity within
the preceding 5 years; and
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H. R. 1237—2
(C) take steps to achieve 100 percent disposition reporting,
including data quality audits and periodic notices to criminal
justice agencies identifying records that lack final dispositions
and requesting those dispositions.
(c) LIAISON.—An authorized agency of a State shall maintain
close liaison with the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect,
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the
National Center for the Prosecution of Child Abuse for the exchange
of technical assistance in cases of child abuse.
(d) ANNUAL SUMMARY.—(1) The Attorney General shall publish
an annual statistical summary of child abuse crimes.
(2) The annual statistical summary described in paragraph
(1) shall not contain any information that may reveal the identity
of any particular victim or alleged violator.
(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Attorney General shall, subject to
the availability of appropriations, publish an annual summary of
each State’s progress in reporting child abuse crime information
to the national criminal history background check system.
(f) STUDY OF CHILD ABUSE OFFENDERS.—(1) Not later than
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator
of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention shall
begin a study based on a statistically significant sample of convicted
child abuse offenders and other relevant information to determine—
(A) the percentage of convicted child abuse offenders who
have more than 1 conviction for an offense involving child
abuse;
(B) the percentage of convicted child abuse offenders who
have been convicted of an offense involving child abuse in
more than 1 State; and
(C) the extent to which and the manner in which instances
of child abuse form a basis for convictions for crimes other
than child abuse crimes.
(2) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Administrator shall submit a report to the Chairman
of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Chairman
of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives
containing a description of and a summary of the results of the
study conducted pursuant to paragraph (1).
SEC. 3. BACKGROUND CHECKS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) A State may have in effect procedures
(established by State statute or regulation) that require qualified
entities designated by the State to contact an authorized agency
of the State to request a nationwide background check for the
purpose of determining whether a provider has been convicted
of a crime that bears upon an individual’s fitness to have respon-
sibility for the safety and well-being of children.
(2) The authorized agency shall access and review State and
Federal criminal history records through the national criminal his-
tory background check system and shall make reasonable efforts
to respond to the inquiry within 15 business days.
(b) GUIDELINES.—The procedures established under subsection
(a) shall require—
(1) that no qualified entity may request a background check
of a provider under subsection (a) unless the provider first
provides a set of fingerprints and completes and signs a state-
ment that—
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H. R. 1237—3
(A) contains the name, address, and date of birth
appearing on a valid identification document (as defined
in section 1028 of title 18, United States Code) of the
provider;
(B) the provider has not been convicted of a crime
and, if the provider has been convicted of a crime, contains
a description of the crime and the particulars of the
conviction;
(C) notifies the provider that the entity may request
a background check under subsection (a);
(D) notifies the provider of the provider’s rights under
paragraph (2); and
(E) notifies the provider that prior to the completion
of the background check the qualified entity may choose
to deny the provider unsupervised access to a child to
whom the qualified entity provides child care;
(2) that each provider who is the subject of a background
check is entitled—
(A) to obtain a copy of any background check report;
and
(B) to challenge the accuracy and completeness of any
information contained in any such report and obtain a
prompt determination as to the validity of such challenge
before a final determination is made by the authorized
agency;
(3) that an authorized agency, upon receipt of a background
check report lacking disposition data, shall conduct research
in whatever State and local recordkeeping systems are available
in order to obtain complete data;
(4) that the authorized agency shall make a determination
whether the provider has been convicted of, or is under pending
indictment for, a crime that bears upon an individual’s fitness
to have responsibility for the safety and well-being of children
and shall convey that determination to the qualified entity;
and
(5) that any background check under subsection (a) and
the results thereof shall be handled in accordance with the
requirements of Public Law 92–544.
(c) REGULATIONS.—(1) The Attorney General may by regulation
prescribe such other measures as may be required to carry out
the purposes of this Act, including measures relating to the security,
confidentiality, accuracy, use, misuse, and dissemination of informa-
tion, and audits and recordkeeping.
(2) The Attorney General shall, to the maximum extent possible,
encourage the use of the best technology available in conducting
background checks.
(d) LIABILITY.—A qualified entity shall not be liable in an
action for damages solely for failure to conduct a criminal back-
ground check on a provider, nor shall a State or political subdivision
thereof nor any agency, officer or employee thereof, be liable in
an action for damages for the failure of a qualified entity to take
action adverse to a provider who was the subject of a background
check.
(e) FEES.—In the case of a background check pursuant to a
State requirement adopted after the date of the enactment of this
Act conducted with fingerprints on a person who volunteers with
a qualified entity, the fees collected by authorized State agencies
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H. R. 1237—4
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation may not exceed the actual
cost of the background check conducted with fingerprints. The
States shall establish fee systems that insure that fees to non-
profit entities for background checks do not discourage volunteers
from participating in child care programs.
SEC. 4. FUNDING FOR IMPROVEMENT OF CHILD ABUSE CRIME
INFORMATION.
(a) USE OF FORMULA GRANTS FOR IMPROVEMENTS IN STATE
RECORDS AND SYSTEMS.—Section 509(b) of the Omnibus Crime Con-
trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3759(b)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (3) by striking the period and inserting
‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(4) the improvement of State record systems and the shar-
ing of all of the records described in paragraphs (1), (2), and
(3) and the child abuse crime records required under the
National Child Protection Act of 1993 with the Attorney Gen-
eral for the purpose of implementing the National Child Protec-
tion Act of 1993.’’.
(b) ADDITIONAL FUNDING GRANTS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF
CHILD ABUSE CRIME INFORMATION.—(1) The Attorney General shall,
subject to appropriations and with preference to States that, as
of the date of enactment of this Act, have in computerized criminal
history files the lowest percentages of charges and dispositions
of identifiable child abuse cases, make a grant to each State to
be used—
(A) for the computerization of criminal history files for
the purposes of this Act;
(B) for the improvement of existing computerized criminal
history files for the purposes of this Act;
(C) to improve accessibility to the national criminal history
background check system for the purposes of this Act; and
(D) to assist the State in the transmittal of criminal records
to, or the indexing of criminal history record in, the national
criminal history background check system for the purposes
of this Act.
(2) There are authorized to be appropriated for grants under
paragraph (1) a total of $20,000,000 for fiscal years 1994, 1995,
1996, and 1997.
(c) WITHHOLDING STATE FUNDS.—Effective 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General may reduce,
by up to 10 percent, the allocation to a State for a fiscal year
under title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act
of 1968 that is not in compliance with the requirements of this
Act.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘authorized agency’’ means a division or office
of a State designated by a State to report, receive, or dissemi-
nate information under this Act;
(2) the term ‘‘child’’ means a person who is a child for
purposes of the criminal child abuse law of a State;
(3) the term ‘‘child abuse crime’’ means a crime committed
under any law of a State that involves the physical or mental
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H. R. 1237—5
injury, sexual abuse or exploitation, negligent treatment, or
maltreatment of a child by any person;
(4) the term ‘‘child abuse crime information’’ means the
following facts concerning a person who has been arrested
for, or has been convicted of, a child abuse crime: full name,
race, sex, date of birth, height, weight, fingerprints, a brief
description of the child abuse crime or offenses for which the
person has been arrested or has been convicted, the disposition
of the charge, and any other information that the Attorney
General determines may be useful in identifying persons
arrested for, or convicted of, a child abuse crime;
(5) the term ‘‘child care’’ means the provision of care, treat-
ment, education, training, instruction, supervision, or recreation
to children by persons having unsupervised access to a child;
(6) the term ‘‘national criminal history background check
system’’ means the criminal history record system maintained
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation based on fingerprint
identification or any other method of positive identification;
(7) the term ‘‘provider’’ means—
(A) a person who—
(i) is employed by or volunteers with a qualified
entity;
(ii) who owns or operates a qualified entity; or
(iii) who has or may have unsupervised access
to a child to whom the qualified entity provides child
care; and
(B) a person who—
(i) seeks to be employed by or volunteer with a
qualified entity;
(ii) seeks to own or operate a qualified entity;
or
(iii) seeks to have or may have unsupervised access
to a child to whom the qualified entity provides child
care;
(8) the term ‘‘qualified entity’’ means a business or
organization, whether public, private, for-profit, not-for-profit,
or voluntary, that provides child care or child care placement
services, including a business or organization that licenses or
certifies others to provide child care or child care placement
services; and
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H. R. 1237—6
(9) the term ‘‘State’’ means a State, the District of Colum-
bia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the
Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Trust Territories of the Pacific.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.
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