S. 1528: CHILD Act of 2025
Sponsor
Richard Durbin
Democrat · IL
Contract workers around kids should face the same checks
Why it matters
Four groups of people who can end up alone with children — contractors, the staff and volunteers of contracted companies, and people seeking a care license or certification — would become eligible for the same federal background check a direct hire can get. S. 1528 already passed the Senate by unanimous consent and now sits with the House.
S. 1528 does one thing. It rewrites a single definition — who counts as a "covered individual" under the National Child Protection Act — so that more of the adults working with children, older adults, and people with disabilities can be screened.
Under current law, an organization that serves these groups can ask for a national criminal history check on people it employs or who volunteer with it. S. 1528 lets that same organization request a check on the people it brings in by contract, and on the employees and volunteers of any company it contracts with.
Think of a youth league that hires an outside company to run its concessions and coaching clinics. Today, the league's own coaches fall inside the screening system. The clinic company's instructors sit one step removed. Under the bill, the league could request checks on them too.
The bill also reaches licensing. If an organization licenses or certifies people to provide care, it could screen both current license holders and applicants before approving them.
What the bill leaves alone matters as much as what it adds. It does not require anyone to run a check, create a new database, add criminal penalties, or appropriate money — it widens who an organization is allowed to screen. The existing process, fees, and privacy protections for these checks stay in place.
Bill Progress
Latest Action · Apr 22, 2026
Passed the Senate, received in House
S. 1528 Bill Summary
What S. 1528 actually does.
Contract workers can be screened like employees
People who contract directly with a child- or elder-serving organization, or are seeking that contract work, become eligible for the same background check as a direct employee or job applicant.
Screening reaches staff of outside companies
Employees and volunteers of any company or nonprofit under contract with a qualified organization — including people applying to work or volunteer there — can also be checked.
Care licenses and certifications can require a clean record
Organizations that license or certify people to provide care can request checks on current license or certificate holders and on applicants seeking approval.
Same system, wider reach
The bill changes only who is eligible for screening under the existing National Child Protection Act process. It creates no new database, agency, mandate, penalty, or spending.
Who benefits from S. 1528?
Children, older adults, and people with disabilities
The law already covers organizations serving all three groups. They gain from fewer unscreened adults when care is delivered through contractors, partner organizations, or licensed providers.
Parents choosing camps, tutors, and after-school programs
The adult teaching your kid may be employed by a vendor, not the program you signed up with. S. 1528 lets the program screen that person too.
Youth leagues, schools, and care providers that outsource
Organizations that rely on staffing agencies, vendors, or partner nonprofits gain clear authority to request federal checks on the people those outside groups send.
Licensing and certification bodies
Groups that approve people to provide care get explicit authority to screen applicants before issuing a license or certificate.
Who is affected by S. 1528?
Independent contractors in care and youth work
If you coach, tutor, drive, or provide therapy by contract rather than as an employee, the organizations you work with could ask you to submit to a fingerprint-based check.
Staff and volunteers at contracted vendors
If your employer is hired by a youth or care organization, that organization — not just your own employer — could request a check on you before you work with the people it serves.
Care license and certification applicants
People seeking a license or certificate to provide care could be screened before approval, and current holders could be checked as well.
Organizations deciding whether to screen
The bill permits checks; it does not require them. Organizations that choose to screen these additional groups take on the added processing and any fees under existing rules.
What Congress Is Saying
S. 1528 has come up 18 times in the Congressional Record so far.
S. 1528 also appeared in 2 more Senate floor references and 5 routine cosponsor filings.
S1528 Legislative Journey
House: Action Taken
Apr 22, 2026
Held at the desk.
Passed
Apr 21, 2026
Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S1854; text: CR S1854)
+1 more action this day
Committee Action
Jul 28, 2025
Committee on the Judiciary. Reported without amendment. Without written report.
Passed Committee
Jul 24, 2025
Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
Committee Action
Apr 30, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text: CR S2716)
About the Sponsor
Richard Durbin
Democrat, IL · 43 years in Congress
Committees: the Judiciary, Appropriations, Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
View full profile →
Cosponsors (3)
This bill has 3 cosponsors: 2 Democrats, 1 Republican, reflecting bipartisan support. Cosponsors represent 3 states: Delaware, Georgia, Iowa.
Committee Sponsors
Judiciary Committee
2 of 21 committee members cosponsored
9 Democrats across this committee haven't cosponsored yet. Mobilize their constituents
S. 1528 Quick Facts
- Committee
- Judiciary
- Chamber
- Senate
- Policy
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Introduced
- Apr 30, 2025
Passed the Senate, received in House
Apr 22, 2026
Official Sources
Official bill page with full text, actions, and cosponsors, including the Senate passage by unanimous consent and the hold at the House desk.
The definitions section S. 1528 amends; subparagraph (9)(B) controls who an organization may screen, and the bill adds contractors, vendor staff, and care license holders to it.
The operative section that lets qualified entities request nationwide fingerprint-based checks on covered individuals — the process the bill extends to more people.
Justice Department reprint of Public Law 103-209 and its amendments, the law S. 1528 amends.
The sponsors' committee explainer on how the 2018 Child Protection Improvements Act dropped contractors from the definition and how S. 1528 restores their eligibility.
S. 1528 Common Questions
What does the CHILD Act do?
S. 1528 lets organizations that serve children, older adults, or people with disabilities request federal background checks on contractors, the employees and volunteers of contracted companies, and people they license or certify to provide care.
Can a youth program background-check a contractor?
Under S. 1528, yes. A contract coach, tutor, or therapist — or someone applying for that contract work — could be screened through the same federal process used for direct employees.
What about staff at a company a camp or school hires?
They're covered too. Employees and volunteers of any outside company under contract with a qualified organization could be checked by that organization before working with the people it serves.
Does S. 1528 apply to care licenses and certifications?
Yes. If an organization licenses or certifies people to provide care, it could request checks on both current license holders and applicants seeking approval.
Does S. 1528 make background checks mandatory?
No. It expands who an organization is allowed to screen. Whether to request a check stays up to the organization, just as it does for employees today.
Does the CHILD Act create a new database or penalties?
No. It works through the existing National Child Protection Act screening process. There is no new database, no new criminal penalty, and no new federal spending.
Who sponsored the CHILD Act?
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced it with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) as the original cosponsor. Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Chris Coons (D-DE) joined later.
Has S. 1528 passed?
It passed the Senate by unanimous consent and is now held at the desk in the House. It becomes law only if the House passes the same text and the President signs it.
Based on S. 1528 bill text
S. 1528 Bill Text
“To amend the National Child Protection Act of 1993 to ensure that businesses and organizations that work with vulnerable populations are able to request background checks for their contractors who work with those populations, as well as for individuals that the businesses or organizations license or certify to provide care for those populations.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
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