Legislation that U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop (R-MI) introduced to ensure that organizations serving the youth and elderly can access FBI background checks on prospective employees and volunteers cleared the House on Monday with bipartisan support.
The Child Protection Improvements Act, H.R. 695, would give organizations that serve children, the elderly and the disabled timely and affordable access to the FBI fingerprint database when vetting potential staff. The House approved the measure on a unanimous voice vote with support from U.S. Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY).
“As a father of three, I know there is nothing more important than our children’s safety,” Bishop said. “When they participate in camps and after-school activities, parents deserve to have full peace of mind that their kids are in good hands. Youth-serving organizations across America agree, and they want to ensure they are hiring the best possible employees and volunteers.”
Goodlatte, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, noted that the measure would protect privacy rights by ensuring that specific details of criminal records aren’t disclosed without applicant permission, and by affording opportunities for individuals to correct errors in FBI records.
“Importantly, the bill does not mandate that youth-serving organizations use this process; it merely makes the process more accessible and more affordable for organizations that wish to use it,” Goodlatte said on the House floor.
The legislation would make permanent the successful Child Safety Pilot Program, which operated from 2003 until 2011. Under that program, more than 105,000 background checks were conducted, and more than 6,500 potential volunteers were found to have criminal records, Goodlatte said.
“The harsh reality is that there are individuals who will put themselves into positions where they are entrusted with children, so they can then betray that trust in the worst way imaginable,” Goodlatte added.
In addition to approving H.R. 695, which Bishop introduced with U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the House approved five additional child safety measures on Tuesday.
“Thousands of children in our nation are victims of human trafficking each year, and with New York City as an artery of this heinous epidemic, we must work together at the federal, state and local levels to combat this crime,” Stefanik said in support the bills.
She said the bills passed by the House would strengthen protections for children while giving law enforcement additional tools to keep communities safe.
The Child Protection Improvements Act, Bishop concluded, would give every youth-serving organization access to the “gold-standard in background checks.”
“The FBI database is the most efficient way for these organizations to crosscheck potential hires across state lines, and improving access to this resource is another common sense way to keep bad actors out,” Bishop said.
The bill is supported by 34 organizations, including the YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the National Fraternal Order of Police.