Child Care and Child Welfare: Background Checks
Publication Date: June 2004
Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Author(s):
Research Area: Social conditions
Type:
Abstract:
Recent improvements in information sharing technology and a concern over the safety of America's children have increased the amount of criminal background checks performed on potential adoptive parents, foster care families, and other people that are in close contact with children such as child care providers and youth program volunteers. These background checks are not for criminal justice purposes, meaning that the people under review are not being investigated for a particular crime, but are performed with the cooperation of law enforcement agencies. While a previous criminal conviction in someone's past does not always mean that a person is unsuitable to work or live with children, state social service agencies and child care providers use this information as a part of a wider process to help ensure the safety of children served through their organizations.
States have considerable flexibility to implement their own laws and procedures for conducting background checks for child care and child welfare purposes. However, federal laws and grant programs provide some assistance and guidance to the states. For example, the National Child Protection Act of 1993 (NCPA) does not mandate that states enact any legislation requiring background checks, but does provide the legal framework for states to require the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to perform background checks in accordance with any existing state legislation for people that have responsibility for the safety and well-being of children. The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), requires that a criminal records check be conducted before approving a prospective foster or adoptive parent for a child who is eligible to receive federal foster care maintenance or adoption assistance payments (Title IV-E children). Finally, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) has recently been amended to provide that (no later than 2006) states must perform background checks on all adults residing in a prospective adoptive or foster parent household.
States vary greatly in the types of persons required to have a background check and the procedures needed to complete each background review. Some states examine only the criminal history records located in their own law enforcement databases, while other states have the FBI perform a criminal history records check that includes information from other federal and state databases. These checks also vary by situation. For example, states often have different background check requirements for potential child care providers and their families than they have for potential foster care and adoptive parents.
An important decision each state must make in creating its background check process is whether to require applicants to submit fingerprints or to search criminal history records solely on basic identifying information such as a person's name, social security number, and date of birth. Law enforcement experts consider fingerprint submissions to be more comprehensive, though sometimes more costly and burdensome, than basic checks. Some local law enforcement agencies have been able to use some federal grant funding from the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) to help purchase electronic fingerprinting equipment and implement other data improvement projects. This report will not be updated.