U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

State of Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Electronic Fingerprint Criminal Background Check Program

Award Information

Award #
2005-JL-FX-K082
Location
Awardee County
Thurston
Congressional District
Status
Closed
Funding First Awarded
2005
Total funding (to date)
$986,643

Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2005, $986,643)

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) in partnership with the Washington State Patrol (WSP) will implement the OSPI Fingerprint-Based Criminal Background Check System with secure electronic transfer of information.

This project better addresses the National Child Protection Act of 1993 and the Washington State required fingerprint-based background checks for education personnel entrusted with the care, custody and education of over 1.1 million children. This system affects nine educational service districts; 296 school districts; and 2685 public/ private schools who employee teachers, staff and volunteers.

Over 30,000 applications are processed annually with a rejection rate of 6,000+; primarily due to poor quality of prints. By implementing this system, OSPI can achieve high quality fingerprints; reduce errors; offer timely data; and reduce the burden to local law enforcement for the processing of non-criminal fingerprints.

Replacing law enforcements sites with current regional locations, applicants can now complete their application in less hostile environment.

NCA/NCF

Date Created: August 30, 2005