NATIONAL CHILD PROTECTION ACT 0F 1993
          PL 103-209, December 20, 1993, 107 Stat 2490
 AN ACT TO ESTABLISH PROCEDURES FOR NATIONAL CRIMINAL BACKGROUND
                CHECKS FOR CHILD CARE PROVIDERS.
 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.  This Act may be cited as the "National Child
Protection Act of 1993". 

SECTION 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 idexing 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
    nonprofit 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. ... 
     
(b) ADDITIONAL FUNDING GRANTS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF CHILD ABUSE
    CRIME INFORMATION. ... 

            (sections deal with details of funding)
     
(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 Atorney 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. 

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