January 19, 2005 |
2005-R-0088 | |
DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL RETARDATION EMPLOYEE BACKGROUND CHECKS | ||
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By: Saul Spigel, Chief Analyst | ||
You asked for an update of OLR Report 2003-R-0197, which described the Department of Mental Retardation’s (DMR) procedure for conducting criminal history record checks on its prospective employees and those of private providers with which it contracts. You also wanted to know the status of DMR’s application for a federal grant for background checks.
Department of Mental Retardation policy requires a criminal history review of all prospective employees who will have direct and ongoing contact with clients. The requirement applies to DMR hiring and hiring by all private sector agencies it licenses or with which it contracts. The review must be completed before a final job offer is made.
DMR policy requires the private agencies to keep documentation showing that they reviewed employees’ criminal histories and, if they decided to hire someone with a criminal record, the rationale for the decision and any special supervision requirements or restrictions they imposed. The policy lists factors agencies must consider before they hire someone with one or more convictions. The factors include:
1. the applicant’s age when the offense was committed;
2. mitigating factors at the time;
3. the number of convictions;
4. efforts and success at rehabilitation;
5. the likelihood that the offense will be repeated;
6. the relationship between the offense(s) and the job;
7. the applicant’s employment history and references; and
8. the training, structure, and supervision available on the job.
The policy also lists offenses that must trigger “very special consideration” before an employment decision. These include homicide or manslaughter; arson; burglary, larceny, and robbery; domestic violence and threatening; forgery; kidnapping; unlawful restraint; weapons violations; sexual offenses; child pornography; cruelty to persons; drug offenses; fraud; stalking; and perjury.
DMR and the Department of Public Safety implemented Project SafeHire in July 2002 as a way for agencies to obtain the criminal record history they need to make hiring decisions. Agencies can use this procedure (which is described in OLR Report 2003-R-0197, enclosed) to have prospective employees fingerprinted and obtain their state criminal histories (national criminal records are not checked). Agencies do not have to use SafeHire; they can obtain the information through a private vendor.
Since SafeHire was implemented, it has been used to screen 1,361 prospective employees, both public and private. Of that number, 104 were identified as having convictions and another 17 with pending charges. (An additional 72 people were referred but apparently never completed the process. ) Twenty-one private agencies have used SafeHire. Three — Caring Community, Brian House, and the Meriden/Wallingford Association of Retarded Citizens—have been the major private users.
In October 2004, DMR applied to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for a $ 2. 5 million grant to enhance the SafeHire system by establishing and staffing “Live Scan” electronic fingerprint workstations at three locations. The grant was available under the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act, which provided for background check pilot projects in 10 states. CMS denied DMR’s application in December 2004.
DMR maintained that (1) the Live Scan system would facilitate access to national criminal records and (2) decentralizing the process (currently all fingerprints must be taken at the State Police Bureau of Investigation in Middletown) would encourage more agencies to use SafeHire.
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