Download broadcast quality video HERE.
WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) today introduced the bipartisan Comprehensive Health and Integrity in Licensing and Documentation (CHILD) Act to ensure all individuals with unsupervised access to children – including contractors hired by schools – are authorized to receive a nationwide background check.
Reps. Russell Fry (R-S.C.) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) are leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
“Parents should feel more confident that every individual who works with their children has been properly and thoroughly vetted. My bipartisan legislation with Senator Durbin would amend the Child Protection Improvements Act to help ensure all child care workers, including contractors, undergo nationwide background checks,” Grassley said. “Our legislative fix will help keep kids safe and give parents greater peace of mind.”
“When parents drop their kids off at school, they shouldn’t have to worry if their children are safe in the care of the school’s faculty. While the Child Protection Improvements Act was passed with the intent of keeping children safe, it created an inadvertent complication in securing nationwide background checks for all personnel with unsupervised access to children, namely contractors hired by schools,” Durbin said. “Schools often rely on contractors for a number of services geared toward children, including providing safe transportation. Today, I’m introducing bipartisan legislation with Senator Grassley to correct the current patchwork approach to securing nationwide background checks for those who work with children.”
The CHILD Act is endorsed by Students Against Destructive Decisions, Student Transportation & Education Equity, Roundtable, Parents Helping Parents Inc., National Diversity Coalition, RaisingHOPE Inc., National Center on Adoption & Permanency, Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE) and HopSkipDrive.
“Safety has always been, and will always be, our top priority at HopSkipDrive and background checks are an integral component of our 15-step certification process. We are proud to support the bipartisan CHILD Act to amend the National Child Protection Act and enhance access to safe, reliable student transportation. This crucial amendment will help ensure the highest standards of safety are met nationwide, and we extend our gratitude to the bill sponsors for their leadership on this important issue,” said Joanna McFarland, Co-Founder and CEO of HopSkipDrive.
Download bill text HERE.
Download a broadcast quality video of Grassley discussing the legislation HERE.
Background:
The National Child Protection Act of 1993 authorized nationwide background checks for all child care workers. However, the Child Protection Improvements Act of 2018 amended the National Child Protection Act and inadvertently removed the provision that allowed states to request nationwide background checks on child care contractors.
The CHILD Act would amend the National Child Protection Act of 1993 to ensure child care contractors are authorized to receive the same national background checks as all other child care employees.
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