space Endnotes

  1. For purposes of this project, we have used the definition of individuals with disabilities set forth in section 320928 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994: "[T]he term 'individuals with disabilities' means persons with a mental or physical impairment who require assistance to perform one or more daily living tasks."

  2. Summaries of National Elder Abuse Data: An Exploratory Study of State Statistics, Washington, DC: National Aging Resource Center on Elder Abuse, 1990.

  3. American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Public Policy Institute, Fact Sheet: Elder Abuse and Neglect, April 1993.

  4. See American Bar Association (ABA) Center on Children and the Law, Effective Screening of Child Care and Youth Service Workers, 1995 (citing D. Finkelhor and L.M. Williams, Nursery Crimes: Sexual Abuse in Day Care, Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1988); L. Baas, Background Checks on School Personnel, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, ED 324767, 1990; D. Daro and K. McCurdy, Current Trends in Child Abuse Reporting and Fatalities: The Results of the 1991 Annual 50 State Survey, Chicago, IL: National Center on Child Abuse Prevention Research, National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse, 1992; L. Margolin, "Child sexual abuse by nonrelated caregivers," Child Abuse and Neglect 15:213, 1991.

  5. Whenever possible, words needing no special definition have been employed in these guidelines. For clarity, the term "workers" refers to persons serving children, the elderly, or individuals with disabilities, including employees and volunteers.

  6. Although a detailed description of these continuing activities is outside the scope of this document, some activities are noted in appendix E, Posthiring Practices.

  7. ABA Center on Children and the Law, Washington, DC, 1995 (study funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice, 92-MC-CX-0013).

  8. Most of the research outlined in this section was concluded in 1995.

  9. See the discussion of each type of registry discussed herein. See generally SEARCH Group, Criminal Justice Information Policy: Original Records of Entry, NCJ-125626, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, November 1990 (criminal records); SEARCH Group, Criminal Justice Information Policy: Privacy and the Private Employer, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1981 (criminal records); and National Center for State Courts, Central Registries for Child Abuse and Neglect: National Review of Records Management, Due Process Safeguards and Data Utilization, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, 1988 (central child abuse registries).

  10. See Pub. L. No. 98-473, tit. IV, � 401(c)(2)(A), 1984 U.S.C.C.A.N. (to get title XX funds, States must have background check procedures for childcare facility employees) and the Crime Control Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-647 (criminal checks required of employees at federally operated and contracted childcare facilities).

  11. National Child Protection Act of 1993, 42 U.S.C. � 5119a, Pub. L. No. 103-209, 107 Stat. 2490 (1993) (also known as the "Oprah Bill").

  12. For the text of the National Child Protection Act, as amended by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, see appendix A.

  13. See National Child Protection Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-209, 107 Stat. 2490, � 3(b)(5) and Pub. L. No. 92-544, 86 Stat. 1109 (authorized national checks for noncriminal justice purposes if pursuant to State statute and through a State agency).

  14. Subpart (d) also permits disclosure to law enforcement for law enforcement purposes, and the designated State law enforcement agency and any local law enforcement agency authorized by the State agency may release relevant information (other than the victim's identity) that is necessary to protect the public concerning a specific person required to register.

  15. See Proposed Rule, 62 Fed. Reg. 11004-05, 62 Fed. Reg. 11035 (Mar. 10, 1997).

  16. See, e.g., Alaska Stat. � 12.62.035 (Michie 1990) (authorizing "an interested person" to request a criminal record check -- for felonies, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and sex crimes -- on a "person who holds or applies for a position of employment in which the person has or would have supervisory or disciplinary power over a minor or dependent adult").

  17. All States have statutes providing for the investigation of elderly or dependent adult abuse, and an estimated 42 have some form of mandatory reporting. See L. Stiegel, "Appendix C: Chart compilations on Adult Protective Services and related statutes," in Recommended Guidelines for State Courts Handling Cases Involving Elder Abuse, Washington, DC: American Bar Association (written under a grant from the State Justice Institute), 1995.

  18. Information obtained from the National Coalition for Nursing Home Reform and Long-Term Ombudsmen programs revealed that the following States had enacted background checks for nurse's aides (some cover other caregivers as well): California, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

  19. Although this decisionmaking model was drafted for States, organizations, and others, some language may pertain to organizations only.

  20. To reduce the utilization of unscreened individuals in emergency situations, childcare centers and others that frequently have unexpected personnel departures may form relationships with umbrella organizations or private groups to maintain a roster of screened individuals who can provide personnel support. A screened staff person may also be designated as a "floater" to fill in as needed.

  21. Some local chapters of Big Brothers Big Sisters have developed extensive screening procedures. For example, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Lowell, Massachusetts, has developed a comprehensive interview screening tool (see appendix D). Further, where authorized by law to do so, Big Brothers Big Sisters generally obtains criminal record checks on their volunteers and staff.

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OJJDP Summary: Guidelines for the Screening of Persons Working with Children, the Elderly, and Individuals with Disabilities in Need of Support, April 1998