NCJ Number
152876
Date Published
1994
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This memorandum answers some basic questions about the National Child Protection Act (NCPA) of 1993 and summarizes its provisions, based on inquiries received by the American Bar Association's Center on Children and the Law.
Abstract
In particular, individuals have asked whether the NCPA requires child care and youth service organizations to conduct national criminal record checks on their workers. The memorandum indicates that the NCPA does not mandate criminal checks on youth service organization workers. Instead, the NCPA enhances the existing national background check system from which child care placement and child care organizations may be required to obtain information on workers and volunteers. The NCPA builds on the criminal record system of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and encourages States to authorize the use of criminal record checks on persons who work with children. It requires State criminal justice agencies to report or index child abuse crime information in the FBI's criminal record system, defines child abuse, requires the Attorney General to oversee child abuse reporting and indexing, mandates child abuse reporting timetables, and directs the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to study convicted child abuse offenders. Provisions of the NCPA that deal with State action on FBI checks and funding are described. The text of the National Child Protection Act is included. 7 footnotes