[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1237 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.1237
                       One Hundred Third Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
  the fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-three


                                 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. The States shall establish fee 
systems that insure that fees to non-profit entities for background 
checks do not discourage 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 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.







                                Speaker of the House of Representatives.







                             Vice President of the United States and    
                                                President of the Senate.