Organizations that provide childcare would have access to nationwide background screenings under bipartisan legislation that U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced to improve child safety.
The Child Protection Improvement Act (CPIA) would ensure that organizations that provide childcare and serve other vulnerable populations have access to FBI fingerprint databases to background check employees, volunteers and coaches.
“I am committed to protecting children, the elderly, and people with disabilities from predators who would do them harm,” 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.”
Introduced with U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), the CPIA would amend the National Child Protection Act of 1993. U.S. Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) signed on as cosponsors of the bill.
The CPIA would cap the cost of background checks at $18 each, and it would identify five criteria offenses that would result in the determination that a volunteer does not meet the criteria to serve a vulnerable population.
Under a nationwide pilot program, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children conducted background checks on 77,000 youth volunteers and found that 6 percent of them had criminal backgrounds, including for violations such as child sexual abuse, child cruelty, murder and drug offenses.
“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,” Kevin Washington, the president and CEO of YMCA of the USA, said.
“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,” he added.