Sponsors (5)
The bill expands mandatory background checks to improve safety and public confidence in programs serving minors, at the cost of greater privacy risks, compliance expenses for smaller organizations, and potential delays or barriers for prospective workers and volunteers.
Children and youth are better protected because more adults working with them (contractor employees, volunteers, licensees) will be subject to background checks.
Schools, nonprofits, and other qualified entities gain a broader screening pool and tools to reduce the risk of harm to minors.
Parents and families may have greater confidence in the safety of child-serving programs because additional categories of adults will be subject to mandatory checks.
Expanded background checks increase privacy and data‑sharing risks because more personal records will be collected and accessed.
People seeking contractor jobs, volunteer roles, or licenses may face additional screening delays or barriers to employment or volunteering.
Smaller organizations and contractors may incur administrative costs to comply with expanded background check requirements.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced April 30, 2025 by Russell Fry · Last progress April 30, 2025
Expands who must be covered by child-protection background checks by adding people employed by or volunteering with contractors that work for qualified child-serving entities, and by adding people who are licensed or certified by (or seeking licensure/certification from) those entities. The change broadens the definition of “covered persons” so more contractors, applicants, licensees, and certificants become subject to the existing background-check rules. The amendment mainly changes the statutory definition used to determine who must undergo background checks; it does not itself create new programs or appropriate funds, but it may increase the number of checks required and the compliance steps for entities that oversee or contract with child-serving organizations.