§9858f Criminal background checks

Summary

States that get money for child care must have rules to run criminal background checks on all child care staff and job applicants. The checks must look at the person’s current State criminal and sex-offender records and those in any State where they lived in the last 5 years, State child-abuse registries for those States, the National Crime Information Center, an FBI fingerprint check through IAFIS, and the National Sex Offender Registry under the Adam Walsh Act. A person cannot work if they refuse the check, lie, are on a sex-offender registry, have certain felony convictions (for example murder, child abuse or neglect, crimes against children including child pornography, spousal abuse, rape or sexual assault, kidnapping, arson, assault or battery, or a drug offense in the last 5 years), or have a violent misdemeanor against a child (for example child abuse, child endangerment, sexual assault, or a misdemeanor involving child pornography). A provider that employs anyone who is disqualified also loses eligibility for the federal help. Providers must ask the State agency for a check for each staff member. For people who were already working before November 19, 2014, the provider had to request a check by the last day of the second full fiscal year after that date and at least every 5 years after. For new hires on or after November 19, 2014, the check must be requested before they start and at least every 5 years. A new request is not required if the person had a qualifying check within 5 years while working in the same State, the State gave the first provider the result, and the person still works in the State or has been away less than 180 days. States must finish checks quickly, but within 45 days, send results to the provider and the staff member, give a simple eligible/ineligible notice to the provider, give disqualifying details to the staff member if ineligible, offer an appeal process, limit fees to actual costs, publish their rules, and may disqualify for other crimes not listed. States had to meet these rules by the deadline tied to November 19, 2014 (with up to a 1-fiscal-year extension), or face a 5 percent funding cut the next year. Definitions: "child care provider" means licensed or registered paid child care (not a relative); "child care staff member" means paid staff or anyone with unsupervised access to the children.