Child Care Protection Improvement Act of 2019
This bill establishes an interagency task force, chaired by the Administration for Children and Families, to support states in conducting required criminal background checks for childcare staff members. Specifically, the task force must consult with relevant state agencies and develop recommendations and best practices. This includes evaluating how agencies are responding to interstate requests for information about staff, or prospective staff, who have lived in another state within the preceding five years. The task force must submit a final report with its recommendations within one year of the first meeting of the task force.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1408 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1408
To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to
improve child care protections provided through interstate background
checks.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 9, 2019
Mr. Burr (for himself and Mr. Van Hollen) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to
improve child care protections provided through interstate background
checks.
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 ``Child Care Protection Improvement
Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. TASK FORCE.
Section 658H of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858f) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (k);
(2) in subsection (d)(2)(A), by striking ``subsection
(j)(1)'' and inserting ``subsection (k)(1)''; and
(3) by inserting after subsection (i) the following:
``(j) Task Force To Assist in Implementing Interstate Criminal
Background Checks for Child Care Staff Members.--
``(1) Establishment.--There is established a task force, to
be known as the Interagency Task Force for Child Safety
(referred to in this section as the `Task Force'), to identify,
evaluate, and recommend best practices and technical assistance
to assist Federal and State agencies in fully implementing the
requirements of subsection (b) for child care staff members.
``(2) Composition.--Not later than 60 days after the date
of enactment of the Child Care Protection Improvement Act of
2019, the President shall appoint the members of the Task
Force, which shall include--
``(A) the Director of the Office of Child Care of
the Department of Health and Human Services, the
Associate Commissioner of the Children's Bureau of the
Department of Health and Human Services, the Director
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or their
designees; and
``(B) such other Federal officials as may be
designated by the President.
``(3) Chairperson.--The chairperson of the Task Force shall
be the Assistant Secretary of the Administration for Children
and Families.
``(4) Consultation.--The Task Force shall consult with
representatives from State child care agencies, State child
protective services, State criminal justice agencies, and other
relevant stakeholders on identifying problems in implementing,
and proposing solutions to implement, the requirements of
subsection (b), as described in that subsection.
``(5) Task force duties.--The Task Force shall--
``(A) develop recommendations for improving
implementation of the requirements of subsection (b),
including recommendations about how the Task Force and
member agencies will collaborate and coordinate efforts
to implement such requirements, as described in
subsection (b); and
``(B) develop recommendations in which the Task
Force identifies best practices and evaluates technical
assistance to assist relevant Federal and State
agencies in implementing subsection (b), which
identification and evaluation shall include--
``(i) an analysis of available research and
information at the Federal and State level
regarding the status of the interstate
requirements of subsection (b) for child care
staff members who have resided in one or more
States during the previous 5 years and who seek
employment in a child care program in a
different State;
``(ii) a list of State agencies that are
not responding to interstate requests covered
by subsection (b) for relevant information on
child care staff members;
``(iii) identification of the challenges
State agencies are experiencing in responding
to such interstate requests;
``(iv) an analysis of the length of time it
takes the State agencies in a State to receive
such results from State agencies in another
State in response to such an interstate request
in accordance with subsection (b);
``(v) an analysis of the average processing
time for the interstate requests, in accordance
with subsection (b);
``(vi) identification of the fees
associated with the interstate requests in each
State to meet requirements in accordance with
subsection (b);
``(vii) a list of States that are
participating in the National Fingerprint File
program, as administered by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, and an analysis of reasons
States have or have not chosen to participate
in the program, including barriers to
participation such as barriers related to State
regulatory requirements and statutes; and
``(viii) a list of States that have closed
record laws or systems that prevent the States
from sharing complete criminal records data or
information with State agencies in another
State.
``(6) Meetings.--Not later than 3 months after the date of
enactment of the Child Care Protection Improvement Act of 2019,
the Task Force shall hold its first meeting.
``(7) Final report.--Not later than 1 year after the first
meeting of the Task Force, the Task Force shall submit to the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the
Committee on Education and Labor of the House of
Representatives a final report containing all of the
recommendations required by subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
paragraph (5).
``(8) Sunset.--The Task Force shall terminate 1 year after
submitting its final report, but not later than the end of
fiscal year 2021.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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