[House Report 115-138]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 115-138
======================================================================
CHILD PROTECTION IMPROVEMENTS ACT OF 2017
_______
May 22, 2017.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Goodlatte, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 695]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 695) 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, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the
bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
The Amendment.................................................... 1
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 3
Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 4
Hearings......................................................... 4
Committee Consideration.......................................... 5
Committee Votes.................................................. 5
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 5
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 5
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 6
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings.............................. 6
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 6
Advisory on Earmarks............................................. 6
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 7
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 8
The Amendment
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
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--
(A) 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 which do not have in effect procedures described in paragraph
(1), or qualified entities located in States which 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.'';
(B) in subsection (b)--
(i) in paragraph (1)(E), by striking
``unsupervised'';
(ii) in paragraph (2)--
(I) by redesignating subparagraph (A)
as clause (i);
(II) in subparagraph (B)--
(aa) by adding ``and'' at the
end; and
(bb) by redesignating such
subparagraph as clause (ii);
(III) by striking ``that each
provider 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
(IV) 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), by inserting after
``authorized agency'' the following: ``or
designated entity, as applicable''; and
(iv) in paragraph (4), by inserting after
``authorized agency'' the following: ``or
designated entity, as applicable,'';
(C) in subsection (d), by inserting after ``officer
or employee thereof,'' the following: ``nor shall any
designated entity nor any officer or employee
thereof,'';
(D) 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.'';
(E) 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
(F) by striking--
(i) ``provider'' each place it appears, and
inserting ``covered individual''; and
(ii) ``provider's'' each place it appears,
and inserting ``covered individual's''; and
(2) in section 5--
(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.
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 695 amends the National Child Protection Act of
1993\1\ 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. It
allows youth-serving organizations to submit fingerprints of
potential staff and volunteers to a designated entity, which,
in turn, submits those fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (``FBI'') to check against the FBI fingerprint
database. The FBI then generates a criminal history report on
the potential staff member or volunteer to the designated
entity. Based on that criminal history report, the designated
entity then makes a fitness determination about the individual,
which it provides to the requesting organization. Individuals
who have a background check run on them pursuant to this Act
may challenge the accuracy or completeness of their records.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Pub L. No. 103-209, 107 Stat. 2490 (1993).
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Background and Need for the Legislation
The PROTECT Act of 2003\2\ created a pilot program whereby
selected youth-serving organizations would have access to
timely, inexpensive FBI background checks on potential
volunteers. This Child Safety Pilot ran from 2003 until 2011.
It provided access to FBI fingerprint background checks for a
variety of child-serving non-profits. The pilot conducted over
105,000 background checks and 6.2% of potential volunteers
(more than 6,500 individuals) were found to have criminal
records of concern. In addition, more than 40% of individuals
with criminal records of concern had crimes in states other
than where they were applying to volunteer, meaning that only a
nationwide check would have flagged these individuals' criminal
records. The criminal offenses committed by some of these
applicants included convictions for criminal sexual conduct
with a child, child endangerment, and manslaughter.
Additionally, 26% of these individuals showed a different name
on their record than the one they used on their job
application.
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\2\Pub. L. No. 108-21, 117 Stat. 650 (2003).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Child Protection Improvements Act (``CPIA),''
introduced as H.R. 695 on January 24, 2017, makes the pilot
program permanent and expands the program to include not only
volunteers, but also staff in youth-serving programs. It closes
a gaping hole in the federal law that prevents camps,
children's groups, mentoring organizations, after-school
programs and other organizations that work with children or
vulnerable adults from gaining access to federal criminal
background checks on employees and volunteers. The bill also
seeks to improve the accessibility of the FBI criminal database
and creates a system through which youth organizations could
run FBI and state checks at the same time. Importantly, the
bill does not mandate that youth-serving organizations use this
process, it merely makes this process more accessible and more
affordable if certain organizations wish to use this method.
The program thus acts as a supplement for organizations that
want to access the FBI database in addition to other public or
private databases while fingerprint-based background checks are
a useful tool when conducting background screening, they may
not always provide a comprehensive history. The bill also
protects privacy rights by ensuring that the specifics of a
criminal record are never disclosed without explicit consent by
the applicant and provides opportunity for individuals to
correct errors in their records directly with the FBI. The bill
does not require any new spending: the program will be
supported by the fees assessed for background checks by the
requesting nonprofit organizations.
Hearings
The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R.
695, but held a hearing on the subject of child exploitation
generally on March 16, 2017.
Committee Consideration
On March 22, 2017, the Committee met in open session and
ordered the bill H.R. 695 favorably reported, with an
amendment, by voice vote, a quorum being present.
Committee Votes
In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there
were no recorded votes during the Committee's consideration of
H.R. 695.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax
expenditures.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with
respect to the bill, H.R. 695, the following estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, April 6, 2017.
Hon. Bob Goodlatte, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 695, the Child
Protection Improvements Act of 2017.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall.
Enclosure
cc: Honorable John Conyers Jr.,
Ranking Member
H.R. 695--Child Protection Improvements Act of 2017
As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on March
22, 2017
Under current law, organizations in certain states that
provide services to youth, the elderly, and the disabled have
limited access to information from national criminal background
checks. (Those organizations typically review the backgrounds
of prospective coaches, employees, and volunteers.) H.R. 695
would require the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish a
program to allow such organizations to obtain information from
criminal background checks in the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) fingerprint database.
Based on an analysis of information from DOJ, CBO estimates
that implementing the new program would cost less than $500,000
annually; any such spending would be subject to the
availability of appropriated funds. In addition, the bill would
result in more background checks carried out by the FBI. The
FBI collects fees to cover its costs for those checks; the fees
are classified as offsetting collections and are credited to
the agency's salaries and expenses appropriation. CBO estimates
that the collection and spending of additional fees under H.R.
695 would have no significant net effect on discretionary
spending in any year.
Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO
estimates that enacting H.R. 695 would not increase net direct
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 695 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Duplication of Federal Programs
No provision of H.R. 695 establishes or reauthorizes a
program of the Federal government known to be duplicative of
another Federal program, a program that was included in any
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings
The Committee states that H.R. 695 specifically directs the
Attorney General to conduct one rule making within the meaning
of 5 U.S.C. Sec. 551. The rulemaking directs the Attorney
General to by rule establish criteria for making a
determination of an individual's fitness to have responsibility
for the safety and well-being of children.
Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R.
695, allows organizations serving vulnerable populations to
conduct background checks on volunteers and employees through
the FBI fingerprint database.
Advisory on Earmarks
In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, H.R. 695 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1--Short Title
This section gives the short title of H.R. 695 as the
``Child Protection Improvements Act of 2017.''
Section 2--Amending Section 3 of the National Child Protection Act of
1993
This section takes the following steps:
(A) Provides uniformity to terms used in this Act.
Key Terms--
Qualified Entity--As defined in 42 U.S.C. Sec. 5119c, this
is a business or organization that provides care or care
placement services for children, elderly, or individuals with
disabilities.
Designated Entity--The organization that the Attorney
General will be tasked with identifying under this Act. The
designated entity will be responsible for serving as an
intermediary between the FBI and qualified entities in states
which currently do not have a process by which to access
National Criminal History Background checks.
Covered Individual--An individual who is submitting their
fingerprint information for a background check and is seeking
to work with members of a vulnerable population.
(B) Directs the Attorney General to find a designated
entity to act as an intermediary between the FBI and qualified
entities. This designated entity will be available for
organizations in any state in which state law does not direct
qualified entities to deal directly with a state agency. The
designated entity will collect the fingerprint information of
the covered individual from the inquiring qualified entity and
pass on the appropriate information to the FBI. The designated
entity will then receive and process the background check from
the FBI and remit a fitness determination to the inquiring
qualified entity.
(C) Adds a provision allowing individuals who have a
background check run on them pursuant to this Act to challenge
the accuracy or completeness of their record. This section also
makes technical and conforming changes.
(D) Grants the same immunity from damages to employees and
agents of the Attorney General's designated entity as is
currently provided to state agencies or providers of the same
service.
(E) Fees:
Subsection 1 retains the eighteen-dollar limit on the
fee that may be collected by the FBI (same as current
law) from authorized state agencies, or from entities
providing the same service which the Attorney General's
designated entity will perform, in states which have
already provided for such a process.
Subsection 2 provides that the Attorney General's
designated entity will collect a fee from the qualified
entity and remit to the FBI an amount sufficient to
cover the FBI's costs.
Subsection 3 ensures that the overall cost charged
(the FBI's portion plus the designated entity's
portion) does not discourage or prevent qualified
entities from utilizing the service.
(F) This section provides the guidelines for making
``fitness determinations'' which will be the information that
is relayed from the Attorney General's designated entity back
to the qualified entity. The fitness determination will be made
by the designated entity by checking the criminal history
report against criterion offenses, to be set by the Attorney
General, and will be nonbinding on the qualified entity.
This section also amends Section 5 of the Act to define a
``covered individual'' as someone who works with, volunteers
with, or is applying to work or volunteer with an organization
that provides services for children, elderly, or individuals
with disabilities. This section also makes technical revisions
to provide clarity in the Code due to the changes in this Act.
Section 3. Effective Date. This section requires that the
amendments made by H.R. 695 be fully implemented by not later
than 1 year after the date of enactment.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
NATIONAL CHILD PROTECTION ACT OF 1993
* * * * * * *
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] covered individual has been convicted of a crime
that bears upon the [provider's] covered individual's fitness
to have responsibility for the safety and well-being of
children, the elderly, or individuals with disabilities.
(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.
[(3) In the absence of State procedures referred to in
paragraph (1), a qualified entity designated under paragraph
(1) may contact an authorized agency of the State to request
national criminal fingerprint background checks. Qualified
entities requesting background checks under this paragraph
shall comply with the guidelines set forth in subsection (b)
and with procedures for requesting national criminal
fingerprint background checks, if any, established by the
State.]
(3)(A) The Attorney General shall establish a program, in
accordance with this section, to provide qualified entities
located in States which do not have in effect procedures
described in paragraph (1), or qualified entities located in
States which 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.
(b) Guidelines.--The procedures established under subsection
(a) shall require--
(1) that no qualified entity may request a background
check of a [provider] covered individual under
subsection (a) unless the [provider] covered individual
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]
covered individual;
(B) the [provider] covered individual has not
been convicted of a crime and, if the
[provider] covered individual has been
convicted of a crime, contains a description of
the crime and the particulars of the
conviction;
(C) notifies the [provider] covered
individual that the entity may request a
background check under subsection (a);
(D) notifies the [provider] covered
individual of the [provider's] covered
individual's rights under paragraph (2); and
(E) notifies the [provider] covered
individual that prior to the completion of the
background check the qualified entity may
choose to deny the [provider] covered
individual [unsupervised] access to a person to
whom the qualified entity provides care;
(2) [that each provider who is the subject of a
background check] (A) that each covered individual who
is the subject of a background check conducted pursuant
to the procedures established pursuant to subsection
(a)(1) is entitled--
[(A)] (i) to obtain a copy of any
background check report; and
[(B)] (ii) 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; and
(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.
(3) that an authorized agency or designated entity,
as applicable, 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 or designated entity,
as applicable, shall make a determination whether the
[provider] covered individual has been convicted of, or
is under pending indictment for, a crime that bears
upon the [provider's] covered individual's fitness to
have responsibility for the safety and well-being of
children, the elderly, or individuals with disabilities
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, except that
this paragraph does not apply to any request by a
qualified entity for a national criminal fingerprint
background check pursuant to subsection (a)(3).
(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] covered individual, nor shall
a State or political subdivision thereof nor any agency,
officer or employee thereof, nor shall any designated entity
nor any officer or employee thereof, be liable in an action for
damages for the failure of a qualified entity (other than
itself) to take action adverse to a [provider] covered
individual 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
eighteen dollars, respectively, or the actual cost, whichever
is less, 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.]
(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.
(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).
* * * * * * *
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 ``care'' means the provision of care,
treatment, education, training, instruction,
supervision, or recreation to children, the elderly, or
individuals with disabilities;
(6) the term ``identifiable child abuse crime case''
means a case that can be identified by the authorized
criminal justice agency of the State as involving a
child abuse crime by reference to the statutory
citation or descriptive label of the crime as it
appears in the criminal history record;
(7) the term ``individuals with disabilities'' means
persons with a mental or physical impairment who
require assistance to perform one or more daily living
tasks;
(8) 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;
[(9) the term ``provider'' means--
[(A) a person who--
[(i) is employed by or volunteers
with a qualified entity (including an
individualwho is employed by a school
in any capacity, includingas a child
care provider, a teacher, or another
member ofschool personnel);
[(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
(including an individualwho seeks to be
employed by a school in any
capacity,including as a child care
provider, a teacher, or another
memberof school personnel);
[(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;]
(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.
(10) the term ``qualified entity'' means a business
or organization, whether public, private, for-profit,
not-for-profit, or voluntary, that provides care or
care placement services, including a business or
organization that licenses or certifies others to
provide care or care placement services; [and]
(11) 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[.]; and
(12) the term ``designated entity'' means an entity
designated by the Attorney General under section
3(f)(2)(A).
[all]