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National Child Protection Act of 1991

Introduced: November 14, 1991 See on congress.gov
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Nov 14, 1991
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
Nov 14, 1991
Introduced in Senate
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

National Child Protection Act of 1991 - Establishes a national criminal background check system to which a designated agency in each State is required to report child abuse crime information, for purposes of background checks of child care providers.

Directs the Attorney General to establish: (1) guidelines for the reporting of such information; and (2) timetables for each State to report such information to such system (with a three-year deadline for all States to be reporting at a specified level of currency).

Requires State agencies to maintain close liason for information exchange and technical assistance in cases of child abuse with the National Centers: (1) on Child Abuse and Neglect; (2) for Missing and Exploited Children; and (3) for the Prosecution of Child Abuse.

Directs the Attorney General to publish annually: (1) a Statistical summary of the child abuse crime information reported under this Act; and (2) a summary of each State's progress in reporting child abuse crime information to the national criminal background check system.

Requires the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to conduct a study to determine various factors relating to potential child abuse crimes and offenders, based on a statistically significant sample of convicted child abuse offenders and other relevant information. Requires a report on such study to be submitted to specified congressional committee officials.

Provides for background check procedures. Allows entities that provide child care or child care placement services (including business or organizations that license or certify others to provide such services) to request State agencies to review State and Federal records through the national system, and other criminal justice recordkeeping systems, to determine if a child care provider is under indictment for, or has been convicted of, a background check crime. (Defines "provider" as one who is now or seeks to be: (1) employed by, or a volunteer with, a qualified entity; (2) an owner or operator of a qualified entity; or (3) having unsupervised access to any child to whom the qualified entity provides child care.) Directs the Attorney General to establish guidelines for such State background check procedures, permitting equivalent procedures under specified conditions. Authorizes the Attorney General to: (1) exchange Federal Bureau of Investigation identification records with authorized agencies for purposes of such background checks; and (2) authorize by regulation further dissemination of such records by authorized agencies for such purposes. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) prescribe by regulation any other measures necessary to carry out this Act; and (2) encourage use of the best technology available in conducting background checks.

Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide for use of certain formula grants to improve State record systems and the sharing of records of child abuse crime information to implement this Act.

Directs the Attorney General to make additional grants to States to improve specified aspects of the child abuse crime information system, subject to appropriations and with preference to States having the lowest percent currency of case dispositions in computerized criminal history files. Authorizes appropriations for such additional grants.

Authorizes the Attorney General, beginning one year after enactment of this Act, to reduce by up to ten percent the allocation to a State for a fiscal year under title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 if the State is not in compliance with the child abuse crime information timetable established for it under this Act.

What's happening now November 14, 1991

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1