Amendment #1046 to H3600
DYS Administration - Background Checks
Representatives Khan of Newton, Provost of Somerville, Linsky of Natick, Ultrino of Malden, Keefe of Worcester, Schmid of Westport, Cantwell of Marshfield, O'Connell of Taunton, Lewis of Framingham, Tosado of Springfield and Williams of Springfield move to amend the bill in section 2, in item 4200-0010, in the last line, by inserting after the word "initiative" the following:-
“provided further, that Chapter 18A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after section 8 the following:- Section 8A. (a) Each current or prospective department employee, intern or volunteer, or subcontractor providing residential or support services, with the potential for unsupervised contact with youth committed to the care or custody of the department, shall be subject to background check which shall include the following: (i) a finger print-based check of the state and national criminal history databases pursuant to Public Law 92-544; (ii) a criminal offender record information check pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6, s. 172; (iii) a check for supported findings of abuse or neglect pursuant to G.L. c. 119, §51B; (iv) a sex offender registry information check; and where relevant to the employee’s duties, (v) a registry of motor vehicles information check.
(b) Fingerprints shall be submitted to the identification section of the department of state police for a state criminal history check and forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history check, according to the policies and procedures established by the state identification section and by the department of criminal justice information services. Fingerprint submissions may be retained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the state identification section and the department of criminal justice information services to assist the department in its review of suitability for initial or continued employment, licensure, certification or approval. The department of criminal justice information services may disseminate the results of a state and national criminal history check to authorized staff of the department to determine the suitability of: (i) all current and prospective employees, who have the potential for unsupervised contact with youth committed to the care or custody of the department and (ii) all sub-contractors, interns, volunteers or any other individual employed or retained by the department who has the potential for unsupervised contact with youth committed to the care or custody of the department. If the department receives information from a fingerprint-based check that does not include any final disposition or is otherwise incomplete, the department may request that an applicant, either new or renewing, provide additional information to assist the department in determining the suitability of the individual for licensure, certification, approval, funding or employment.
(c) The department of criminal justice information services shall disseminate the results of the criminal background check to authorized staff of the department. The department of criminal justice information services shall only disseminate information under this section that would otherwise be available to requesting entities under sections 167 to 178, inclusive, of chapter 6 and the regulations thereunder regarding criminal offender record information.
(d) All persons required to submit fingerprints under this section, including but not limited to all current and prospective employees, interns, sub-contractors and volunteers in any department program who have the potential for unsupervised contact with youth committed to the care or custody of the department, may be charged a fee to be established by the secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the secretary of public safety and the commissioner of youth services, to offset the costs of operating and administering a fingerprint-based criminal background check system. The fee shall not exceed $45 per person. The secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the secretary of public safety and the commissioner of youth services, may increase the fee accordingly if the Federal Bureau of Investigation increases its fingerprint background check service fee. The department may reimburse employees and applicants for employment, internship or volunteer positions, for all or part of the fee. Any fees collected from fingerprinting activity under this chapter shall be deposited into the Fingerprint-Based Background Check Trust Fund, established in section 2HHHH of chapter 29.
(e) When the department receives the results of the national criminal background checks, it shall treat the information according to the department’s background check procedures regarding criminal offender record information. Notwithstanding subsections 9 and 9½ of section 4 of chapter 151B, the department of criminal justice information services shall only disseminate information under this section that would otherwise be available to requesting entities under that department’s regulations related to criminal offender record information.
(f) The department shall promulgate regulations necessary to carry out this section.