Permits mentoring programs to conduct background clearances of prospective employees and volunteers to determine whether any such person has been reported for child abuse or maltreatment or is on the sex offender registry.
Summary
A03195 amends the Social Services Law to expand and clarify screening procedures for mentoring programs that work with children. The bill defines “background clearance” as a search of the New York State sex offender registry and a check of the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment. It authorizes mentoring programs to request criminal history record checks and/or these background clearances for prospective employees and prospective volunteers (mentors), especially where they may have unsupervised contact with youth.
The bill also sets out how those checks must be handled. Mentoring programs that choose to screen applicants must adopt a uniform policy for employees and a uniform policy for volunteers, obtain fingerprints when using the Division of Criminal Justice Services process, transmit the materials and fees through the Office of Children and Family Services, and make hiring/volunteer decisions under the standards of the Correction Law. It requires confidentiality for the results and obligates programs to inform parents or guardians about what screening is done, what sources are used, and what kinds of convictions or findings may lead to denial. It also preserves a limited waiver process allowing a custodial parent or guardian to authorize a mentor to work with a child despite certain criminal history, except for sex offenses or crimes against children.
Impact
If enacted, the bill would amend section 390-e of the Social Services Law to expressly allow mentoring programs to use both criminal history record checks and child-protection-related background clearances for prospective staff and volunteers. It would affect mentoring organizations, the Office of Children and Family Services, and the Division of Criminal Justice Services by formalizing the process for fingerprint-based checks, registry searches, fee handling, confidentiality, and notice to parents or guardians. The bill would also reinforce the use of Correction Law standards for evaluating applicants with criminal records.
Sentiment
The bill appears generally protective and child-safety oriented, with its stated purpose focused on preventing individuals with relevant abuse or sex-offense histories from serving in mentoring roles. The available record does not include committee debate or votes, so there is no documented opposition or support from the legislative process in the materials provided. Based on the text alone, the measure is framed as a screening and transparency bill rather than a controversial policy change.
Contention
The main potential points of contention are the scope of screening and the balance between child safety and access to volunteer opportunities. Supporters are likely to favor broader background clearances for mentors and employees who may work unsupervised with children, while critics could object to the administrative burden, fingerprinting requirements, confidentiality issues, or the possibility that criminal history screening may exclude otherwise qualified volunteers. The waiver provision may also raise questions because it allows parental consent to override some disqualifying history, but not sex offenses or crimes against children.
Same As
Permits mentoring programs to conduct background clearances of prospective employees and volunteers to determine whether any such person has been reported for child abuse or maltreatment or is on the sex offender registry.
Permits mentoring programs to conduct background clearances of prospective employees and volunteers to determine whether any such person has been reported for child abuse or maltreatment or is on the sex offender registry.
Permits mentoring programs to conduct background clearances of prospective employees and volunteers to determine whether any such person has been reported for child abuse or maltreatment or is on the sex offender registry.
Permits mentoring programs to conduct background clearances of prospective employees and volunteers to determine whether any such person has been reported for child abuse or maltreatment or is on the sex offender registry.
Directs the commissioner of the office of children and family services to develop a portable clearance passport program to provide a uniform process for conducting background checks for employment at certain participating agencies.
Decreases the amount of time from eight years to four years for the office of children and family services to inform the provider or licensing agency, or child care resource and referral programs whether or not the person is the subject of an indicated child abuse and maltreatment report.
Directs the commissioner of the office of children and family services to develop a portable clearance passport program to provide a uniform process for conducting background checks for employment at certain participating agencies.