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National Child Protection Act
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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.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Provided for Scouting Online by Michael F Bowman
mfbowman@CAP.GWU.EDU (mfbowman@CAPACCESS.ORG after 12/13/94)
Cosmetic cleanup by Patrick Skelly, ScoutLdr@AOL.com