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Child Care Provider Background Checks

See how your state stacks up!

• State Background Check Requirements for Centers
• State Background Check Requirements for Family Child Care Homes Providers
• Comprehensive Background Checks – Brief Background & Recommendations (155 KB)
• Senator Burr’s Child Care Protection Act, requiring comprehensive background checks for child care providers

Chief among safety standards is that children are safe in the care of child care providers. Parents want their children to be safe in child care and NACCRRA's parent poll shows that most parents assume that states have conducted a background check on providers - particularly for providers of licensed and government subsidized care.

However, background check requirements vary greatly by state and the reality is that most states do not conduct a state and federal fingerprint check on child care providers. Parents simply can't know if a provider has a violent criminal history unless a thorough background check is completed.

As of December 2008, all states conducted a background check. However, a simple background check using a name search is not as effective as a background check using a fingerprint match. For child care centers, the reality about background checks is:

• 45 states require a check of the child abuse and neglect registry;
• 30 states conduct a state fingerprint check;
• 25 states conduct a federal and state fingerprint check; and,
• 15 states require a check of the sex offender registry.
• Only 10 states require a check of all of the above.

Whether children receive a subsidy or not, parents need to know that their children are safe in child care - that their child care provider does not have a history of sexual offenses or child abuse or other violent crimes. At a minimum, federal funds should not be used to pay for care provided by a convicted felon.

A recent study of the Federal Child Safety Pilot Program found that fingerprint checks can be completed in less than a week and can be completed at a nominal rate ($18 - $24). The study also found that of the more than 30,000 background checks conducted, about 6.4 percent of volunteers (who sought to work with children) were found to have criminal records. Over 25 percent of the individuals with criminal records had committed an offense in a state other than the state in which they were applying to volunteer. This is why fingerprint checks are needed and both a state and federal fingerprint check should be conducted in the case of those individuals who want to be paid to care for unrelated children on a regular basis.

Policy Recommendations

NACCRRA Recommends that Congress PROTECT CHILDREN by:

• Reauthorizing CCDBG to require states to demonstrate how they require comprehensive background checks of all licensed child care providers;
• Requiring all paid providers (caring for unrelated children on a regular basis) to have background checks, including a federal and state fingerprint check, prior to working with children, as well as background checks for all adults living in the home of a family child care provider.
• Prohibiting the use of CCDBG or TANF funds to pay convicted felons to provide child care.
• Requiring all paid providers (caring for unrelated children on a regular basis) to have a state license or permit.