HR 3100: CHILD Act of 2026

HR 3100 in plain English: This bill expands who can be subject to national criminal history background checks requested by businesses and organizations that provide care services for children, the elderly, or people with disabilities. It restores and clarifies categories that were narrowed in 2018, adding contractors, employees of contracted entities, and individuals seeking licenses or certifications to the list of people who can be screened.

Stated purpose

The bill aims to restore and expand the ability of businesses and organizations that care for children, the elderly, or people with disabilities to run national criminal background checks on contractors, subcontractors' employees or volunteers, and individuals they license or certify.

Key points

• Restores the ability of care-providing organizations to run background checks on contractors who may access vulnerable individuals.
• Adds employees or volunteers of contracted entities as people eligible for national criminal history background checks.
• Includes individuals seeking licenses or certifications from care-providing organizations in the background check system.
• Reverses a 2018 law that removed a broad third category of covered individuals from background check eligibility.

Arguments supporters make

• Contractors and licensed caregivers have the same access to vulnerable people as direct employees, so closing this background check gap helps protect children, the elderly, and people with disabilities from potential harm.
• The bill restores a protection that existed for over two decades before being inadvertently narrowed in 2018, simply fixing an oversight rather than creating new policy.
• Giving organizations the option to run these checks — without mandating them — adds a safety tool while preserving flexibility for businesses.

Arguments opponents make

• Expanding background check requirements could make it harder for small contractors or independent caregivers to find work, adding bureaucratic hurdles that disproportionately burden lower-income workers.
• Background checks can flag old or minor offenses unrelated to current risk, potentially screening out qualified people based on incomplete or misleading criminal history data.
• The bill layers federal authority over what has traditionally been a state-level licensing and certification function, raising concerns about federal overreach into local care industries.

Tradeoffs

Broader background check access may improve safety for vulnerable populations, but could also create barriers to employment for contractors and licensed individuals and add administrative costs for organizations that choose to use them.

Current status in Congress: In committee.

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