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regulations, clearly extends the background check requirement to all adults residing in child development homes and expanded homes, regardless of whether they may or may not be present during the hours of operations.

Section 133.4 provides that the State Superintendent shall make a good faith effort to provide notification of the results of the criminal background check within forty-five (45) days. One commenter requested that the State Superintendent shall provide notification within fifteen (15) days, not forty-five (45) days. Another stakeholder commented that a good faith effort is not an acceptable standard because waiting forty-five (45) days after an interview will impact their hiring process. OSSE appreciates these comments and recognized the commenters’ concerns. However, OSSE will retain the proposed language in the final rulemaking. Section 658H(e)(1) of the CCDBG Act requires that once a child care provider submits a background check request, OSSE must carry out the request as quickly as possible, and further that the process must not take more than forty-five (45) days after the request was submitted.

Section 133.7 sets forth the information a staff member shall provide in order to complete a criminal background check. The State Superintendent received comments asking why OSSE needed fingerprints. In addition, one commenter requested OSSE remove the request for a social security number. OSSE did not make any changes to the final rulemaking based on these comments as both are necessary to complete all five federal statutorily mandated components of the required comprehensive background check: “(1) A search of the State criminal and sex offender registry in the State where the staff member resides and each State where the staff member has resided for the past five years; (2) A search of the State child abuse and neglect registry in the State where the staff member resides and each State where the staff member has resided for the past five years; (3) A search of the National Crime Information Center; (4) A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) fingerprint check using the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System; and (5) A search of the National Sex Offender Registry.”

In addition, OSSE amended § 132.3(a), the components of a criminal background check, to maintain consistency with the federal regulations by adding “with the use of fingerprints being required in the State where the staff member resides, and optional in other States.” ACF added this language to the federal regulations in response to comments emphasizing that technology does not exist to allow States to send fingerprints electronically to check other States' repositories.

Traffic Records Check

The State Superintendent also received comments seeking further clarification of the traffic records check process, specifically asking for timing and consequences. OSSE recognizes that there is a need to further address what the traffic record check shall include, how the information will be assessed in determining eligibility, the timing and how results will be provided. OSSE will address this in future rulemaking. Until then, OSSE recommends that stakeholders refer to Caring for our Children for further guidance on this matter, and any other area that may be ambiguous.

Suitability Results And Appeals