(a) The contractor must complete a fingerprint-based
criminal background check on every new hire, volunteer, or other person
who will be working under the auspices of the contractor before the
person has direct contact with children or families, including employees
who have had a fingerprint-based check as a requirement of their professional
licensure.
(b) The contractor must complete a fingerprint-based
criminal background check renewal on any employee, or any other person
who will be working under the auspices of the contractor who has direct
contact with children or families, at least every 24 months, unless
the contractor uses Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Rap Back
and gets alerts of any new arrests and convictions. Employees who
are covered by the FBI Rap Back service must complete fingerprint-based
criminal background checks at least every five years. Employees deemed
"unfingerprintable" by the Texas Department of Public Safety or other
fingerprinting entity must have a name-based background check completed
every 24 months. If at any time a contractor has reason to suspect
an employee has been convicted of a crime specified in §745.661
of this title (relating to What types of criminal convictions may
affect a subject's ability to be present at an operation?), the contractor
must complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check renewal
on the employee in question.
(c) The contractor must ensure that all therapists
providing Medicaid services for Early Childhood Intervention children
are correctly enrolled with the Texas Medicaid Program. This requirement
includes disclosing all criminal convictions and arrests as required
by 1 TAC §371.1005 (relating to Disclosure Requirements). The
Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) Office of Inspector
General may recommend denial of an enrollment or re-enrollment based
on criminal history, in accordance with 1 TAC §371.1011 (relating
to Recommendation Criteria).
(d) HHSC Child Care Licensing maintains three charts
of criminal history requirements for people who regularly enter licensed
child care facilities.
(1) The three charts are published on the HHSC website:
(A) Licensed or Certified Child Care Operations: Criminal
History Requirements;
(B) Foster or Adoptive Placements: Criminal History
Requirements; and
(C) Registered Child Care Homes and Listed Family Homes:
Criminal History Requirements.
(2) The contractor must review each employee's criminal
background check to ensure that staff members who regularly enter
regulated child care facilities or foster homes to provide early childhood
intervention services do not have criminal convictions that would
result in an absolute bar to entering them in compliance with §745.661
of this title.
(e) If a criminal background check reveals criminal
convictions that are not on the HHSC Child Care Licensing charts of
criminal history requirements or would result in the individual being
eligible for a HHSC Child Care Licensing risk assessment, the program
director may conduct a risk assessment. The risk assessment process
must include, at a minimum, consideration of:
(1) the number of convictions;
(2) the nature and seriousness of the crime;
(3) the age of the individual at the time the crime
was committed;
(4) the relationship of the crime to the individual's
fitness or capacity to serve in the role of an early childhood intervention
professional;
(5) the amount of time that has elapsed since the person's
last conviction; and
(6) any relevant information the individual provides
or otherwise demonstrates.
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Source Note: The provisions of this §350.310 adopted to be effective September 1, 2013, 38 TexReg 5524; amended to be effective June 30, 2019, 44 TexReg 3280; transferred effective March 1, 2021, as published in the Texas Register February 5, 2021, 46 TexReg 941; amended to be effective March 17, 2022, 47 TexReg 1277 |