Hatch/Franken Child Protection Improvements Act Passes in the Senate

Press Release

Today, the bipartisan Child Protection Improvements Act--which was introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Al Franken (D-MN)--passed in the Senate.

This bill amends the National Child Protection Act of 1993 to establish a national criminal history background check system and criminal history review program for organizations that serve children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities.

"I am committed to protecting children, the elderly, and people with disabilities from predators who would do them harm," Senator Hatch said. "Our bill provides organizations with critical access to the nationwide FBI fingerprint background check system, allowing caretakers to more thoroughly vet prospective employees and volunteers. This is an important step in keeping children and the defenseless safe from violent criminals and sexual predators who would otherwise slip through the cracks."

"One of my top priorities is to protect the safety of our children," said Senator Franken, a member of the Senate Education and Judiciary Committees. "And to help do that, we should give youth organizations that look after our kids the tools they need to make sure that their staff and volunteers are trustworthy. Our bipartisan bill would improve child safety and help give parents confidence that their kids are in good hands, and I'm glad we could get it passed in the Senate. I'm going to be pushing to get the measure across the finish line in the House and then signed into law."

Background

This program was originally authorized as a pilot program by the Adam Walsh Act. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children conducted the background checks. During the course of that pilot program, 77,000 youth volunteers were the subject of background checks.

The background checks revealed that 6 percent of those applicant volunteers had a criminal history for violations such as child sexual abuse, child cruelty, murder, and serious drug offenses. This program needs permanency, and the Child Protection Improvements Act will give it permanency.

Specifically, CPIA amends the National Child Protection Act of 1993 to do the following:

Ensure organizations that serve children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities have access to FBI fingerprint background checks.
Helps ensure the cost of background checks are reasonable.
Identifies criteria offenses that will result in a determination that a volunteer may not be suitable to serve a vulnerable population.
Statements of support:

Kevin Washington, President and CEO, YMCA of the USA:

"For the nation's 2,700 YMCAs, the safety and well-being of children in our care, and in the communities we serve, is a top priority. That is why we support the Child Protection Improvements Act. This legislation creates a solution to youth-serving organizations' long-standing challenge of accessing FBI fingerprint-based background checks. These checks are vital to screening staff and volunteers fully, yet far too many organizations lack the access to do so. We thank Senator Hatch and Senator Franken for introducing CPIA and helping Ys fulfill their promise to keep children safe and secure."

David Shapiro, CEO, MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership:

"When it comes to our nation's children, safety must always be a priority. No organization serving vulnerable populations should face barriers to background screening tools for potential staff and volunteers. In mentoring relationships, where adult mentors and the young mentees they support often meet in unsupervised settings, a comprehensive screening that includes a national FBI fingerprint background check is a critical resource in protecting young people. MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership strongly supports the Child Protection Improvements Act because it ensures FBI fingerprint checks are made available to all youth-serving organizations to use as one part of their background screening process. We are grateful for Senator Hatch and Senator Franken's leadership in reintroducing this bill in the Senate and for their commitment to protecting young people."

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