Title: Child Protection Improvements Act of 2017
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Child Protection Improvements Act of 2017
This bill amends the National Child Protection Act of 1993 to direct the Department of Justice to establish a program to provide national criminal history background checks and criminal history reviews for individuals who apply to work or volunteer at organizations that serve children, elderly adults, or individuals with disabilities.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 705 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 705

   To amend the National Child Protection Act of 1993 to establish a 
national criminal history background check system and criminal history 
     review program for certain individuals who, related to their 
 employment, have access to children, the elderly, or individuals with 
                 disabilities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 23, 2017

  Mr. Hatch (for himself, Mr. Franken, Mr. Blunt, and Ms. Klobuchar) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the National Child Protection Act of 1993 to establish a 
national criminal history background check system and criminal history 
     review program for certain individuals who, related to their 
 employment, have access to children, the elderly, or individuals with 
                 disabilities, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Child Protection Improvements Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECK AND CRIMINAL HISTORY 
              REVIEW PROGRAM.

    The National Child Protection Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 5119 et seq.) 
is amended--
            (1) in section 3 (42 U.S.C. 5119a)--
                    (A) by striking ``provider'' each place it appears 
                and inserting ``covered individual'';
                    (B) by striking ``provider's'' each place it 
                appears and inserting ``covered individual's'';
                    (C) by amending subsection (a)(3) to read as 
                follows:
            ``(3)(A) The Attorney General shall establish a program, in 
        accordance with this section, to provide qualified entities 
        located in States that do not have in effect procedures 
        described in paragraph (1), or qualified entities located in 
        States that do not prohibit the use of the program established 
        under this paragraph, with access to national criminal history 
        background checks on, and criminal history reviews of, covered 
        individuals.
            ``(B) A qualified entity described in subparagraph (A) may 
        submit to the appropriate designated entity a request for a 
        national criminal history background check on, and a criminal 
        history review of, a covered individual. Qualified entities 
        making a request under this paragraph shall comply with the 
        guidelines set forth in subsection (b), and with any additional 
        applicable procedures set forth by the Attorney General or by 
        the State in which the entity is located.'';
                    (D) in subsection (b)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1)(E), by striking 
                        ``unsupervised'';
                            (ii) in paragraph (2)--
                                    (I) by redesignating subparagraphs 
                                (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), 
                                respectively;
                                    (II) in the matter preceding clause 
                                (i), as so redesignated, by striking 
                                ``that each covered individual who is 
                                the subject of a background check'' and 
                                inserting ``(A) that each covered 
                                individual who is the subject of a 
                                background check conducted pursuant to 
                                the procedures established pursuant to 
                                subsection (a)(1)''; and
                                    (III) by adding at the end the 
                                following:
                    ``(B) that each covered individual who is the 
                subject of a national criminal history background check 
                and criminal history review conducted pursuant to the 
                procedures established pursuant to subsection (a)(3) is 
                entitled to challenge the accuracy and completeness of 
                any information in the criminal history record of the 
                individual by contacting the Federal Bureau of 
                Investigation under the procedure set forth in section 
                16.34 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 
                successor thereto.'';
                            (iii) in paragraph (3), insert after 
                        ``authorized agency'' the following: ``or 
                        designated entity, as applicable,''; and
                            (iv) in paragraph (4), insert after 
                        ``authorized agency'' the following: ``or 
                        designated entity, as applicable,'';
                    (E) in subsection (d), insert after ``officer or 
                employee thereof,'' the following: ``, nor shall any 
                designated entity nor any officer or employee 
                thereof,'';
                    (F) by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:
    ``(e) Fees.--
            ``(1) State program.--In the case of a background check 
        conducted pursuant to a State requirement adopted after 
        December 20, 1993, conducted with fingerprints on a covered 
        individual, the fees collected by authorized State agencies and 
        the Federal Bureau of Investigation may not exceed eighteen 
        dollars, respectively, or the actual cost, whichever is less, 
        of the background check conducted with fingerprints.
            ``(2) Federal program.--In the case of a national criminal 
        history background check and criminal history review conducted 
        pursuant to the procedures established pursuant to subsection 
        (a)(3), the fees collected by a designated entity shall be set 
        at a level that will ensure the recovery of the full costs of 
        providing all such services. The designated entity shall remit 
        the appropriate portion of such fee to the Attorney General, 
        which amount is in accordance with the amount published in the 
        Federal Register to be collected for the provision of a 
        criminal history background check by the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation.
            ``(3) Ensuring fees do not discourage volunteers.--A fee 
        system under this subsection shall be established in a manner 
        that ensures that fees to qualified entities for background 
        checks do not discourage volunteers from participating in 
        programs to care for children, the elderly, or individuals with 
        disabilities.''; and
                    (G) by inserting after subsection (e) the 
                following:
    ``(f) National Criminal History Background Check and Criminal 
History Review Program.--
            ``(1) National criminal history background check.--Upon a 
        designated entity receiving notice of a request submitted by a 
        qualified entity pursuant to subsection (a)(3), the designated 
        entity shall forward the request to the Attorney General, who 
        shall, acting through the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation, complete a fingerprint-based check of the 
        national criminal history background check system, and provide 
        the information received in response to such national criminal 
        history background check to the appropriate designated entity. 
        The designated entity may, upon request from a qualified 
        entity, complete a check of a State criminal history database.
            ``(2) Criminal history review.--
                    ``(A) Designated entities.--The Attorney General 
                shall designate, and enter into an agreement with, one 
                or more entities to make determinations described in 
                paragraph (2). The Attorney General may not designate 
                and enter into an agreement with a Federal agency under 
                this subparagraph.
                    ``(B) Determinations.--A designated entity shall, 
                upon the receipt of the information described in 
                paragraph (1), make a determination of fitness 
                described in subsection (b)(4), using the criteria 
                described in subparagraph (C).
                    ``(C) Criminal history review criteria.--The 
                Attorney General shall, by rule, establish the criteria 
                for use by designated entities in making a 
                determination of fitness described in subsection 
                (b)(4). Such criteria shall be based on the criteria 
                established pursuant to section 108(a)(3)(G)(i) of the 
                Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the 
                Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003 (42 U.S.C. 
                5119a note).''; and
            (2) in section 5 (42 U.S.C. 5119c)--
                    (A) by amending paragraph (9) to read as follows:
            ``(9) the term `covered individual' means an individual--
                    ``(A) who has, seeks to have, or may have access to 
                children, the elderly, or individuals with 
                disabilities, served by a qualified entity; and
                    ``(B) who--
                            ``(i) is employed by or volunteers with, or 
                        seeks to be employed by or volunteer with, a 
                        qualified entity; or
                            ``(ii) owns or operates, or seeks to own or 
                        operate, a qualified entity.'';
                    (B) in paragraph (10), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (C) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (D) by inserting after paragraph (11) the 
                following:
            ``(12) the term `designated entity' means an entity 
        designated by the Attorney General under section 3(f)(2)(A).''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall be fully 
implemented by not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act.
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