42 U.S.C. § 13041 : US Code - Section 13041: Requirement for background checks

Search 42 U.S.C. § 13041 : US Code - Section 13041: Requirement for background checks

(a) In general
(1) Each agency of the Federal Government, and every facility
operated by the Federal Government (or operated under contract with
the Federal Government), that hires (or contracts for hire)
individuals involved with the provision to children under the age
of 18 of child care services shall assure that all existing and
newly-hired employees undergo a criminal history background check.
All existing staff shall receive such checks not later than May 29,
1991. Except as provided in subsection (b)(3) of this section, no
additional staff shall be hired without a check having been
completed.
(2) For the purposes of this section, the term "child care
services" means child protective services (including the
investigation of child abuse and neglect reports), social services,
health and mental health care, child (day) care, education (whether
or not directly involved in teaching), foster care, residential
care, recreational or rehabilitative programs, and detention,
correctional, or treatment services.
(b) Criminal history check
(1) A background check required by subsection (a) of this section
shall be -
(A) based on a set of the employee's fingerprints obtained by a
law enforcement officer and on other identifying information;
(B) conducted through the Identification Division of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and through the State criminal
history repositories of all States that an employee or
prospective employee lists as current and former residences in an
employment application; and
(C) initiated through the personnel programs of the applicable
Federal agencies.
(2) The results of the background check shall be communicated to
the employing agency.
(3) An agency or facility described in subsection (a)(1) of this
section may hire a staff person provisionally prior to the
completion of a background check if, at all times prior to receipt
of the background check during which children are in the care of
the person, the person is within the sight and under the
supervision of a staff person with respect to whom a background
check has been completed.
(c) Applicable criminal histories
Any conviction for a sex crime, an offense involving a child
victim, or a drug felony, may be ground for denying employment or
for dismissal of an employee in any of the positions listed in
subsection (a)(2) of this section. In the case of an incident in
which an individual has been charged with one of those offenses,
when the charge has not yet been disposed of, an employer may
suspend an employee from having any contact with children while on
the job until the case is resolved. Conviction of a crime other
than a sex crime may be considered if it bears on an individual's
fitness to have responsibility for the safety and well-being of
children.
(d) Employment applications
(1) Employment applications for individuals who are seeking work
for an agency of the Federal Government, or for a facility or
program operated by (or through contract with) the Federal
Government, in any of the positions listed in subsection (a)(1) of
this section, shall contain a question asking whether the
individual has ever been arrested for or charged with a crime
involving a child, and if so requiring a description of the
disposition of the arrest or charge. An application shall state
that it is being signed under penalty of perjury, with the
applicable Federal punishment for perjury stated on the
application.
(2) A Federal agency seeking a criminal history record check
shall first obtain the signature of the employee or prospective
employee indicating that the employee or prospective employee has
been notified of the employer's obligation to require a record
check as a condition of employment and the employee's right to
obtain a copy of the criminal history report made available to the
employing Federal agency and the right to challenge the accuracy
and completeness of any information contained in the report.
(e) Encouragement of voluntary criminal history checks for others
who may have contact with children
Federal agencies and facilities are encouraged to submit
identifying information for criminal history checks on volunteers
working in any of the positions listed in subsection (a) of this
section and on adult household members in places where child care
or foster care services are being provided in a home.