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D.C. Municipal Regulations (Last Updated: September 13, 2017) |
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Title 29. PUBLIC WELFARE |
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Chapter 29-3. CHILD DEVELOPMENT FACILITIES |
Section 29-328. CRIMINAL AND BACKGROUND HISTORY CHECKS
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328.1The Child Development Facility shall inform every applicant for employment of the following requirements:
(a)The applicant must satisfactorily complete a criminal background check, as required by the Child and Youth, Safety and Health Omnibus Amendment Act of 2004, effective April 13, 2005 (D.C. Law 15-353, D.C. Official Code §§ 4-1501.01 et seq.), and subsequent amendments thereto, and according to the rules promulgated pursuant to that law, or as required by any superseding District of Columbia or federal law, and must also satisfactorily complete a child protection register check, before he or she can be unconditionally employed;
(b)Unless otherwise provided in rules promulgated pursuant to the Child and Youth, Safety and Health Omnibus Amendment Act or superseding law, the criminal background and child protection register checks must both be completed within the three (3) months preceding application;
(c)Unless otherwise provided in rules promulgated pursuant to the Child and Youth, Safety and Health Omnibus Amendment Act or superseding law, the applicant must provide the Facility with the certified results of the criminal background and child protection register checks, or, at the Facility's discretion, with all information that will enable the Facility to promptly obtain the results of the criminal background and child protection register checks of the applicant, including each state in which the applicant has resided or worked, the applicant's social security number, and all names the applicant has used;
(d)The applicant has the right to obtain copies of the criminal background and child protection register check reports and to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the reports;
(e)The Facility shall deny employment to any person who has been convicted of an offense, in the District of Columbia or in any other jurisdiction, which constitutes a bar to employment in an agency or entity that provides direct services to children and youth, or as a result of which a duly authorized District of Columbia Government official has determined that the person poses a danger to children or youth, as provided in the Child and Youth, Safety and Health Omnibus Amendment Act, or in subsequent amendments thereto, or in rules promulgated pursuant to that law, or as provided in any superseding District of Columbia or federal law, as more fully described in subsection 313.1(e) of this Chapter, and shall deny employment to any person who has been adjudicated as a child abuser or neglecter, or who has been determined, following a proceeding in which due process rights were afforded, by the applicable child protection agency or authority to have been a child abuser or neglecter, in the District of Columbia or in any other jurisdiction; and
(f)The Facility may deny employment to the applicant until the results of the criminal background and child protection register checks are final.
328.2All records of criminal background checks and child protection register checks of applicants and employees shall be confidential.
328.3The Facility shall require the applicant to provide the names of and contact information for at least three (3) references, who shall be unrelated to the applicant. The Facility shall check at least three (3) references for each applicant, and shall ascertain that the applicant is suitable for employment in a position of close interaction with children, prior to employment of the applicant.
328.4The Facility shall maintain a record of the reference checks performed for each applicant. The record shall include either: a signed and dated letter of reference received by the Facility; or documentation of a reference check conducted by telephone, including the name of the Facility licensee, Caregiver, Center Director, or designee conducting the check, the name and telephone number of the reference, the date of the check, and written comments regarding the check.
328.5The Facility may enter into a conditional employment agreement with an applicant pending the outcome of the criminal background and child protection register checks, provided that the applicant submits to the Facility a signed notarized statement affirming that he or she has not been convicted of any offense listed in section 313 of this Chapter nor has been placed on a child protection register, and that the reference checks indicate that the applicant is suitable for employment in a position of close interaction with children.
328.6No Facility shall be subject to civil liability that, in good faith, relies on a criminal background check, a child protection register check, or a reference check to terminate, or to refuse to offer employment to, any individual.
328.7Updated criminal background and child protection register checks shall be conducted as required by the Child and Youth, Safety and Health Omnibus Amendment Act or by superseding District of Columbia or federal law.