BACKGROUND SCREENING PROCEDURE FOR FAMILY HOME CHILD CARE PROVIDERS (FOL, OPU AND OPL PROVIDERS) FINGERPRINTING REQUIREMENT

FAMILY SUPPORT AND OFFICE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD

SECTION 1215.25.20

Fingerprinting is required per Senate Bill 762 (2004) and House Bill 1453. Both bills specify that only the applicant for state or federal funds is mandated to comply with the fingerprinting requirements. Household members will continue to be screened using the current procedures.

RSMO 210.025 is revised to reflect this change. No other aspect of provider registration is changed.

Note: Fingerprinting applies to initial applications for registration only. Registration renewals will follow the FCSR policies outlined in OEC Memorandum #7 dated August 26, 2004.

BACKGROUND:

Approximately 27% of the 1300 individuals screened per month are new applicants for registration. Therefore, if a county office submits an average of 100 background screenings per month, approximately 27 of those will be required to submit fingerprints. If an office submits 10 screenings per month, staff may expect 2 to 3 of those screenings to need fingerprinting.

For additional information on the background screening process for existing providers and household members over age seventeen, refer to OEC Memorandum # 7 dated August 26, 2004. Changes introduced in that memo are not affected by the fingerprinting policy.

Provider eligibility determination is not considered complete until the results of the background screenings (FCSR and fingerprint) are received.

PROCESS OVERVIEW:

The fingerprinting process will be initiated at the local FSD/CD level. However, the potential provider will be personally responsible for seeking and obtaining their fingerprints from an outside fingerprinting entity. Resources to assist potential providers in completing the fingerprinting process include local law enforcement agencies, local sheriff’s departments, and Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop Headquarters.

The Highway Patrol has supplied the warehouse with pre-printed “Fingerprint Applicant” cards (form FD-258 E CHILD). An initial supply of the cards will be distributed to all county offices within the next week.

The fingerprint card has the number M0920400Z printed in the ORI field. This is the Originating Agency Identifier number that has been assigned to the Office of Early Childhood. The number tells the Highway Patrol and the FBI to route the results of the screenings to OEC.

Misdirected results may result in significant delays. The Children’s Division also fingerprints certain kinds of care providers, and they use the same form. The only difference is that their form has a different ORI number, M0920360Z, and is addressed to BSIU instead of OEC. The Children’s Division form number will be FD-258 BSIU. When ordering fingerprint cards, it is very important to include “E CHILD” (for Office of Early Childhood) in the form number in order to avoid the wrong form being sent to child care providers.

FSD STAFF RESPONSIBILITY:

Effective August 30, 2004, include two fingerprint cards and an instruction notice in all provider packets that county offices distribute to individuals requesting initial application for child care registration. The card must contain the following information:

• In the “Employer and Address field, indicate the name and address of the county office requesting the screening;
• In the “Reason Fingerprinted” field, enter “RSMO 210.025” to indicate the statutory authority for requesting the finger prints.

PROVIDER RESPONSIBILITY:

When a potential provider receives their fingerprinting cards, they must:

• Complete all personal information and sign each fingerprint card;
• Go to a local law enforcement agency or other entity that will do fingerprints. The provider is responsible for any fees that may be incurred for fingerprinting. DSS will not assist with this expense.
• Mail the completed and signed fingerprint cards to the MSHP at:

  Missouri State Highway Patrol
  Criminal Records and Identification Division
  1510 East Elm Street
  Jefferson City, MO 65101

• The provider must attach a check or money order made payable to the Criminal Record History Fund. The cost is $14.00 for the MSHP and $24.00 for the FBI ($38.00 total) and will be at the expense of the provider.

Note: If a provider inadvertently submits fingerprint cards and payment to the local office, forward the cards and payment to the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) at the address above. The information must be logged indicating the date the information is received, the name of the county office staff who receives the information, the date the information is forwarded to the MSHP and the name of the county office staff forwarding the information to MSHP.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) completes a state criminal record check and then electronically sends the fingerprint images to the FBI for a national search of criminal records. The FBI results are sent back to MSHP. Currently, the processing timeframe is 2 to 3 months.

MSHP sends the results to OEC. OEC staff evaluates and forwards the screening decisions to the local FSD/CD county offices. The information is transmitted to the county office in the same manner as the current process:

• OEC sends cleared screenings to the local office via interagency mail with the same cover letter that is currently used.
• Disqualifying screenings are faxed by OEC to the local FSD office immediately. The fax coversheet that is used for disqualifications remains unchanged.
• Criminal records continue to be sent with the same clarifying cover letter that is currently used. Fingerprint cards do not provide a space for self-declaration; therefore, self declared offenses will no longer be available.

CHANGES TO CHILD ABUSE/NEGLECT SCREENING CRITERIA:

House Bill 1453 contains a significant change in the level of disqualifying evidence for CA/N screenings. CA/N incidents with “probable cause” or “substantiated” findings prior to August 28, 2004 will continue to be the standard by which a provider is disqualified if the provider or household member is named as perpetrator. However, effective August 28, 2004, any incident of CA/N naming a provider or household member over age seventeen as perpetrator, must have a determination based on “preponderance of the evidence” in order for the finding to disqualify the provider from child care registration. RSMO 210.025 is changed to reflect this requirement. Notification to the county office from the Office of Early Childhood will reflect the appropriate determination based on the effective date of the CA/N findings.

• Include two fingerprint cards and an instruction sheet in each provider packet distributed from the local FSD/CD office;

• When distributing fingerprint cards, write the county office name, address and reason fingerprinted on the card before giving it to potential providers;

• Instruct potential providers on the process to complete and submit fingerprints utilizing local resources.