114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1168 
AN ACT 
To amend the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence 
Prevention Act to require background checks before fos-
ter care placements are ordered in tribal court pro-
ceedings, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Native American Chil-
dren’s Safety Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECKS. 
Section 408 of the Indian Child Protection and Fam-
ily Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3207) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) BY TRIBAL SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY
FOR 
FOSTER CARE PLACEMENTS
IN TRIBAL COURT PRO-
CEEDINGS.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) COVERED
INDIVIDUAL.—The term 
‘covered individual’ includes— 
‘‘(i) any individual 18 years of age or 
older; and 
‘‘(ii) any individual who the tribal so-
cial services agency determines is subject 
to a criminal records check under para-
graph (2)(A). 
‘‘(B) FOSTER
CARE
PLACEMENT.—The 
term ‘foster care placement’ means any action 
removing an Indian child from a parent or In-
dian custodian for temporary placement in a 
foster home or institution or the home of a 
guardian or conservator if—
‘‘(i) the parent or Indian custodian 
cannot have the child returned on demand; 
and 
‘‘(ii)(I) parental rights have not been 
terminated; or 
‘‘(II) parental rights have been termi-
nated but the child has not been perma-
nently placed. 
‘‘(C) INDIAN CUSTODIAN.—The term ‘In-
dian custodian’ means any Indian— 
‘‘(i) who has legal custody of an In-
dian child under tribal law or custom or 
under State law; or 
‘‘(ii) to whom temporary physical 
care, custody, and control has been trans-
ferred by the parent of the child. 
‘‘(D) 
PARENT.—The 
term 
‘parent’ 
means— 
‘‘(i) any biological parent of an Indian 
child; or 
‘‘(ii) any Indian who has lawfully 
adopted an Indian child, including adop-
tions under tribal law or custom. 
‘‘(E) TRIBAL
COURT.—The term ‘tribal 
court’ means a court—
‘‘(i) with jurisdiction over foster care 
placements; and 
‘‘(ii) that is— 
‘‘(I) a Court of Indian Offenses; 
‘‘(II) a court established and op-
erated under the code or custom of an 
Indian tribe; or 
‘‘(III) any other administrative 
body of an Indian tribe that is vested 
with authority over foster care place-
ments. 
‘‘(F) TRIBAL SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY.— 
The term ‘tribal social services agency’ means 
the agency of an Indian tribe that has the pri-
mary responsibility for carrying out foster care 
licensing or approval (as of the date on which 
the proceeding described in paragraph (2)(A) 
commences) for the Indian tribe. 
‘‘(2) CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECK BEFORE FOS-
TER CARE PLACEMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
paragraph (3), no foster care placement shall be 
finally approved and no foster care license shall 
be issued until the tribal social services agen-
cy—
‘‘(i) completes a criminal records 
check of each covered individual who re-
sides in the household or is employed at 
the institution in which the foster care 
placement will be made; and 
‘‘(ii) concludes that each covered indi-
vidual described in clause (i) meets such 
standards as the Indian tribe shall estab-
lish in accordance with subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(B) STANDARDS
OF
PLACEMENT.—The 
standards described in subparagraph (A)(ii) 
shall include— 
‘‘(i) requirements that each tribal so-
cial services agency described in subpara-
graph (A)— 
‘‘(I) perform criminal records 
checks, 
including 
fingerprint-based 
checks of national crime information 
databases (as defined in section 
534(f)(3) of title 28, United States 
Code); 
‘‘(II) check any abuse registries 
maintained by the Indian tribe; and 
‘‘(III) check any child abuse and 
neglect registry maintained by the
State in which the covered individual 
resides for information on the covered 
individual, and request any other 
State in which the covered individual 
resided in the preceding 5 years, to 
enable the tribal social services agency 
to check any child abuse and neglect 
registry maintained by that State for 
such information; and 
‘‘(ii) any other additional requirement 
that the Indian tribe determines is nec-
essary and permissible within the existing 
authority of the Indian tribe, such as the 
creation of voluntary agreements with 
State entities in order to facilitate the 
sharing of information related to the per-
formance of criminal records checks. 
‘‘(C) RESULTS.—Except as provided in 
paragraph (3), no foster care placement shall be 
ordered in any proceeding described in subpara-
graph (A) if an investigation described in clause 
(i) of that subparagraph reveals that a covered 
individual described in that clause has been 
found by a Federal, State, or tribal court to 
have committed any crime listed in clause (i) or
(ii) of section 471(a)(20)(A) of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)(A)). 
‘‘(3) EMERGENCY PLACEMENT.—Paragraph (2) 
shall not apply to an emergency foster care place-
ment, as determined by a tribal social services agen-
cy. 
‘‘(4) RECERTIFICATION OF FOSTER HOMES OR 
INSTITUTIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of this subsection, 
each Indian tribe shall establish procedures to 
recertify homes or institutions in which foster 
care placements are made. 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The procedures de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) shall include, at a 
minimum, periodic intervals at which the home 
or institution shall be subject to recertification 
to ensure— 
‘‘(i) the safety of the home or institu-
tion for the Indian child; and 
‘‘(ii) that each covered individual who 
resides in the home or is employed at the 
institution is subject to a criminal records 
check in accordance with this subsection, 
including any covered individual who—
‘‘(I) resides in the home or is em-
ployed at the institution on the date 
on which the procedures established 
under subparagraph (A) commences; 
and 
‘‘(II) did not reside in the home 
or was not employed at the institution 
on the date on which the investigation 
described in paragraph (2)(A)(i) was 
completed. 
‘‘(C) GUIDANCE
ISSUED
BY
THE
SEC-
RETARY.—The procedures established under 
subparagraph (A) shall be subject to any regu-
lation or guidance issued by the Secretary that 
is in accordance with the purpose of this sub-
section. 
‘‘(5) GUIDANCE .—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of enactment of this subsection and after 
consultation with Indian tribes, the Secretary shall 
issue guidance regarding— 
‘‘(A) procedures for a criminal records 
check of any covered individual who— 
‘‘(i) resides in the home or is em-
ployed at the institution in which the fos-
ter care placement is made after the date
on which the investigation described in 
paragraph (2)(A)(i) is completed; and 
‘‘(ii) was not the subject of an inves-
tigation described in paragraph (2)(A)(i) 
before the foster care placement was made; 
‘‘(B) self-reporting requirements for foster 
care homes or institutions in which any covered 
individual described in subparagraph (A) re-
sides if the head of the household or the oper-
ator of the institution has knowledge that the 
covered individual— 
‘‘(i) has been found by a Federal, 
State, or tribal court to have committed 
any crime listed in clause (i) or (ii) of sec-
tion 471(a)(20)(A) of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)(A)); or 
‘‘(ii) is listed on a registry described 
in clause (II) or (III) of paragraph 
(2)(B)(i); 
‘‘(C) promising practices used by Indian 
tribes to address emergency foster care place-
ment procedures under paragraph (3); and