The Comprehensive Health and Integrity in Licensing and Documentation (CHILD) Act is a new bill introduced to the Senate by Senators Dick Durbin (D) and Chuck Grassley (R). Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) has joined with both Democrats and Republicans to pass the bill and send it to the House.
The primary purpose of the CHILD Act is to strengthen background check standards for caregivers, ensuring that employers hire the most qualified candidates.
The bill achieves this by amending the National Child Protection Act of 1993, which ensures that businesses and organizations working with vulnerable populations can request background checks for their contractors who interact with those populations.
They can also request background checks for individuals that the businesses or organizations license or certify to provide care for those populations.
The bill is barely three pages long and consists of amendments to the language used in the National Child Protection Act of 1993. It is short, concise, and effective.
Sen. Ossoff commented on the importance of the bill, stating, “Georgia parents need the tools and a thorough background check to protect their children and the confidence that caregivers have had a thorough background check.”
This is in character for Sen. Ossoff, as he has a long record of working on legislation to protect children from all kinds of threats.
In 2024, he worked with Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R) to pass the REPORT Act, strengthening the Federal protections against the sexual abuse of children. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law in May of that year.
At the time, Sen. Ossoff commented, “My bipartisan law with Senator Blackburn will ensure tech companies are held accountable to report and remove child sex abuse material and to strengthen protection for kids online.”
In 2023, Sen. Ossoff worked with Sen. Grassley to pass a similar bill. The Preventing Child Sex Abuse Act also strengthened Federal guidelines while focusing on internet activity.
Sen. Ossoff also commented on this bill, stating, “Our bipartisan law will help keep kids safer online and crack down on predators and abusers to the fullest extent of the law.”
