
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC13041]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                   CHAPTER 132--VICTIMS OF CHILD ABUSE
 
       SUBCHAPTER V--CHILD CARE WORKER EMPLOYEE BACKGROUND CHECKS
 
Sec. 13041. Requirement for background checks


(a) In general

    (1) Each agency of the Federal Government, and every facility 
operated by the Federal Government (or operated under contract with the 
Federal Government), that hires (or contracts for hire) individuals 
involved with the provision to children under the age of 18 of child 
care services shall assure that all existing and newly-hired employees 
undergo a criminal history background check. All existing staff shall 
receive such checks not later than May 29, 1991. Except as provided in 
subsection (b)(3) of this section, no additional staff shall be hired 
without a check having been completed.
    (2) For the purposes of this section, the term ``child care 
services'' means child protective services (including the investigation 
of child abuse and neglect reports), social services, health and mental 
health care, child (day) care, education (whether or not directly 
involved in teaching), foster care, residential care, recreational or 
rehabilitative programs, and detention, correctional, or treatment 
services.

(b) Criminal history check

    (1) A background check required by subsection (a) of this section 
shall be--
        (A) based on a set of the employee's fingerprints obtained by a 
    law enforcement officer and on other identifying information;
        (B) conducted through the Identification Division of the Federal 
    Bureau of Investigation and through the State criminal history 
    repositories of all States that an employee or prospective employee 
    lists as current and former residences in an employment application; 
    and
        (C) initiated through the personnel programs of the applicable 
    Federal agencies.

    (2) The results of the background check shall be communicated to the 
employing agency.
    (3) An agency or facility described in subsection (a)(1) of this 
section may hire a staff person provisionally prior to the completion of 
a background check if, at all times prior to receipt of the background 
check during which children are in the care of the person, the person is 
within the sight and under the supervision of a staff person with 
respect to whom a background check has been completed.

(c) Applicable criminal histories

    Any conviction for a sex crime, an offense involving a child victim, 
or a drug felony, may be ground for denying employment or for dismissal 
of an employee in any of the positions listed in subsection (a)(2) of 
this section. In the case of an incident in which an individual has been 
charged with one of those offenses, when the charge has not yet been 
disposed of, an employer may suspend an employee from having any contact 
with children while on the job until the case is resolved. Conviction of 
a crime other than a sex crime may be considered if it bears on an 
individual's fitness to have responsibility for the safety and well-
being of children.

(d) Employment applications

    (1) Employment applications for individuals who are seeking work for 
an agency of the Federal Government, or for a facility or program 
operated by (or through contract with) the Federal Government, in any of 
the positions listed in subsection (a)(1) of this section, shall contain 
a question asking whether the individual has ever been arrested for or 
charged with a crime involving a child, and if so requiring a 
description of the disposition of the arrest or charge. An application 
shall state that it is being signed under penalty of perjury, with the 
applicable Federal punishment for perjury stated on the application.
    (2) A Federal agency seeking a criminal history record check shall 
first obtain the signature of the employee or prospective employee 
indicating that the employee or prospective employee has been notified 
of the employer's obligation to require a record check as a condition of 
employment and the employee's right to obtain a copy of the criminal 
history report made available to the employing Federal agency and the 
right to challenge the accuracy and completeness of any information 
contained in the report.

(e) Encouragement of voluntary criminal history checks for others who 
        may have contact with children

    Federal agencies and facilities are encouraged to submit identifying 
information for criminal history checks on volunteers working in any of 
the positions listed in subsection (a) of this section and on adult 
household members in places where child care or foster care services are 
being provided in a home.

(Pub. L. 101-647, title II, Sec. 231, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4808; 
Pub. L. 102-190, div. A, title X, Sec. 1094(a), Dec. 5, 1991, 105 Stat. 
1488.)


                               Amendments

    1991--Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 102-190, Sec. 1094(a)(1), substituted 
``May 29, 1991. Except as provided in subsection (b)(3) of this section, 
no additional staff'' for ``6 months after November 29, 1990, and no 
additional staff''.
    Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 102-190, Sec. 1094(a)(2), added par. (3).
