Title: Child Care Protection Improvement Act of 2019
Policy area: Families

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.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1408 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1408

  To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to 
 improve child care protections provided through interstate background 
                                checks.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 9, 2019

  Mr. Burr (for himself and Mr. Van Hollen) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to 
 improve child care protections provided through interstate background 
                                checks.

    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 Care Protection Improvement 
Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. TASK FORCE.

    Section 658H of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 
1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858f) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (k);
            (2) in subsection (d)(2)(A), by striking ``subsection 
        (j)(1)'' and inserting ``subsection (k)(1)''; and
            (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'), to identify, 
        evaluate, and recommend best practices and technical assistance 
        to assist Federal and State agencies in fully implementing the 
        requirements of subsection (b) for child care staff members.
            ``(2) Composition.--Not later than 60 days after the date 
        of enactment of the Child Care Protection Improvement Act of 
        2019, the President shall appoint the members of the Task 
        Force, which shall include--
                    ``(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, 
        the Task Force shall hold its first meeting.
            ``(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.''.
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