[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1237 Engrossed in House (EH)]

103d CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 1237

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

  To establish procedures for national criminal background checks for 
                         child care providers.
103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1237

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 background 
        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
            (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 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 background check 
        of a provider under subsection (a) unless 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 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 
information, 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 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 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 and the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation may not exceed the actual cost of the 
background check conducted with fingerprints.

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 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 
        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 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, 
        treatment, 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
            (9) the term ``State'' means a State, the District 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:






                                                                 Clerk.