II
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1237
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
NOVEMBER 20 (legislative day, NOVEMBER 2), 1993
Received
AN ACT
To establish procedures for national criminal background
checks for child care providers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Child Protec-
tion 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 in-
formation 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 sys-
tem of each State and determine for each State a
timetable by which the State should be able to pro-
vide child abuse crime records on an on-line basis
through the national criminal history background
check system;
(B) in consultation with State officials, estab-
lish guidelines for the reporting or indexing of child
abuse crime information, including guidelines relat-
ing 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 identifi-
able child abuse crime cases in which there has been
an event of activity within the preceding 5 years;
and
(C) take steps to achieve 100 percent disposi-
tion reporting, including data quality audits and
periodic notices to criminal justice agencies identify-
ing records that lack final dispositions and request-
ing 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 Pros-
ecution of Child Abuse for the exchange of technical as-
sistance 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 viola-
tor.
(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Attorney General shall,
subject to the availability of appropriations, publish an an-
nual 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 of-
fenders who have more than 1 conviction for an of-
fense involving child abuse;
(B) the percentage of convicted child abuse of-
fenders who have been convicted of an offense in-
volving 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 con-
victions 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 pur-
suant 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 determin-
ing whether a provider has been convicted of a crime that
bears upon an individual’s fitness to have responsibility
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 history 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 back-
ground check of a provider under subsection (a) un-
less the provider first provides a set of fingerprints
and completes and signs a statement that—
(A) contains the name, address, and date
of birth appearing on a valid identification doc-
ument (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 sub-
section (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 quali-
fied entity may choose to deny the provider un-
supervised access to a child to whom the quali-
fied 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 com-
pleteness 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 ob-
tain complete data;
(4) that the authorized agency shall make a de-
termination whether the provider has been convicted
of, or is under pending indictment for, a crime that
bears upon an individual’s fitness to have respon-
sibility for the safety and well-being of children and
shall convey that determination to the qualified en-
tity; and
(5) that any background check under subsection
(a) and the results thereof shall be handled in ac-
cordance 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, accu-
racy, use, misuse, and dissemination of information, and
audits and recordkeeping.
(2) The Attorney General shall, to the maximum ex-
tent 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 background 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 pursu-
ant 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 col-
lected by authorized State agencies and the Federal Bu-
reau 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 discour-
age 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 Control 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 sharing 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 General
for the purpose of implementing the National Child
Protection Act of 1993.’’.
(b) ADDITIONAL FUNDING GRANTS FOR THE IM-
PROVEMENT OF CHILD ABUSE CRIME INFORMATION.—
(1) The Attorney General shall, subject to appropriations
and with preference to States that, as of the date of enact-
ment 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 computer-
ized 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 his-
tory record in, the national criminal history back-
ground 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 fis-
cal years 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997.
(c) WITHHOLDING STATE FUNDS.—Effective 1 year
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney Gen-
eral 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 divi-
sion or office of a State designated by a State to re-
port, receive, or disseminate 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 injury, sexual abuse or exploi-
tation, 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 per-
son has been arrested or has been convicted, the dis-
position 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, treatment, education, training, instruction,
supervision, or recreation to children by persons hav-
ing unsupervised access to a child;
(6) the term ‘‘national criminal history back-
ground 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 unsuper-
vised access to a child to whom the quali-
fied entity provides child care; and
(B) a person who—
(i) seeks to be employed by or volun-
teer with a qualified entity;
(ii) seeks to own or operate a qualified
entity; or
(iii) seeks to have or may have unsu-
pervised access to a child to whom the
qualified entity provides child care;
(8) the term ‘‘qualified entity’’ means a busi-
ness 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
(9) the term ‘‘State’’ means a State, the Dis-
trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, Guam,
and the Trust Territories of the Pacific.
Passed the House of Representatives November 20,
1993.
Attest:
DONNALD K. ANDERSON,
Clerk.