This bill would create new rules for placing unaccompanied migrant children with sponsors. Before a child is released from Health and Human Services (HHS) custody, the proposed sponsor and every person 18 or older in the sponsor's household must complete fingerprint and background checks. Those checks include a public records check, the National Sex Offender Registry (via the public website), an FBI criminal history check using fingerprints, State child abuse and neglect checks, and State criminal and local police checks. HHS must do a home visit before release. After release, HHS must do at least five unannounced in-person home visits during the first year and quarterly in-person visits during the second year. The bill would bar placing a child with someone unlawfully present in the United States unless that person is the child's biological parent, legal guardian, or relative. HHS, working with State child services and in consultation with the Attorney General and Department of Homeland Security, must run the vetting for any sponsor who has cared for a child since January 20, 2021, until that sponsor is vetted under these rules. The bill also requires HHS and Homeland Security to submit monthly reports to Congress with counts of children encountered and released, background checks completed and in progress, home visits completed, children released by sponsor category, custody totals by State and facility, rejection rates for sponsorships, and updates on efforts to locate children who were released and are missing or have no record since release.
No publicly available information on estimated costs or funding in the bill text.
The bill's short title and provisions indicate its purpose: to prevent human trafficking of unaccompanied migrant children by requiring thorough vetting, home visits, retroactive checks, and regular reporting.
No publicly available information on opponents' views in the bill text or provided metadata.