US: Background check requirements for working in child care facilities

Fingerprint background checks for day care workers in Georgia (Biometric Update)

Georgia’s governor, Nathan Deal has just signed a bill into law that will see national fingerprint and criminal record searches performed for day care workers.

Georgia is joining the 32 states* requiring a check of the FBI fingerprint database and 30 states that require a sate-level fingerprint check for employment as a child care provider.

A table of state-by-state Child Care Center Regulations [pdf] compiled by Child Care Aware® of America shows which states require fingerprint searches of state and federal databases.

Here’s a summary:

The linked pdf contains information on what type of background check (Federal fingerprints, state fingerprints, criminal record check, child abuse registries, sex offender registries) is conducted in each jurisdiction.

The document is current as of April 17, 2013 and the aforementioned table has notes changes in the law that aren’t yet in force.

Observations:
A few states require a search against one of the fingerprint databases but not the other.
Many states require a search against both fingerprint databases but not the state’s sex offender registry.

*plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Department of Defense. The study accounts for 52 political entities referred to as “states” throughout this post.

Fingerprint ID system taken offline, jail releases wrong man

This is why Intake-and-Release biometrics are gaining popularity in jail management circles…

Escaped Inmate Captured As Investigation Continues At The Chatham County Jail  (Old link dead)
The Georgia jail that released the wrong prisoner ordinarily uses fingerprint biometrics to ensure that the correct person is being set free. The system, however, was not in use at the time.

UPDATE: There is still video available of the story.