MISSOULA, Mont. -- National child care advocates want your help to change Montana laws and keep kids safe from predators.

Right now, all 50 states require criminal history checks. In Montana, officials only look back 5 years, and the search is limited to Montana. That means of someone sexually assaulted a child in another state 10 years ago, it won't show up.

Now, three bills in the Senate and House aim to change that by requiring comprehensive background checks across the country. The only hitch? Money.

"It costs money to have the background check," Child Care Resources Director Kelly Rosenleaf said. "But that, I believe, is a small price to pay for the safety of our children."

We double-checked the rules for child care centers. We found out only 30 states, including the District of Columbia, mandate centers submit employees' fingerprints to check against the FBI data base.

Only 28 centers use fingerprints to conduct state criminal records checks. Only 10 states require a full background check against state and federal criminal records, as well as child abuse, neglect and sex offender registries.