Variations in Scope or Coverage of Statutes in the Five Study States

According to the FBI, 37 of the 50 states have enacted legislation authorizing use of national fingerprint-based checks of criminal history records for purposes of checking applicants for paid or volunteer positions involving interaction with children. Even When National Fingerprint Checks Have Been Authorized, Few Volunteers Have Been Checked

Three of the five states (California, Tennessee, and Texas) have authority to request national checks of volunteers at nonprofit youth-serving organizations, such as the Boy Scouts of America and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America. The officials commented that the fact that state statutes permit rather than require national fingerprint-based checks of volunteers may derive from concerns about the fees for such checks. Fees for Fingerprint Checks Varied, and Some States Have Not Calculated Their Actual Costs

A complete check of criminal history records has both FBI and state agency components. Voluntarism Apparently Not Affected by Background Check Laws and Related Fees, Although Concerns Exist

In the states we studied, because nonprofit youth-serving organizations had requested relatively few national fingerprint-based checks on volunteers, the applicable statutes and related fees do not appear to have negatively affected volunteerism. However, officials at the various nonprofit organizations we contacted were concerned about state and FBI fees. On balance, however, the officials said that the deterrent effect of national background checks was largely positive, that is, unsuitable applicants were being deterred from applying for child care-related positions. At that time, according to the FBI, a “small number” of other federal and state users will be selected to implement IAFIS capabilities on a trial basis, which would provide the FBI an opportunity to test the system in an operational environment before accepting all other users in July 1999. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

By letter dated January 3, 1996, the then-Chairman of the Subcommittee on Youth Violence, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, requested that we review certain implementation issues under the National Child Protection Act of 1993 (NCPA) (P.L. Also, what fees are charged for background checks of volunteers, and how do these fees compare with the actual costs in these states? What effects have these states’ laws and related fees had on volunteerism? Have selected state agencies and other organizations found national checks a useful screening tool? More specifically, for selected job or position categories in selected jurisdictions, how often have fingerprint-based background checks identified individuals with criminal histories? What is the status of the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) being developed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and what are the selected states’ plans for using the system when it becomes available? Department of Health and Human Services: —National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect Department of Justice: —Bureau of Justice Statistics —Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section —FBI, Criminal Justice Information Services Division —Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law (Washington, DC) Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America (Philadelphia, PA) Boy Scouts of America (Irving, TX) National Assembly of National Voluntary Health and Social Welfare Organizations (Washington, DC) National Association of State Directors for Teacher Education and Certification (Seattle, WA) National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (Arlington, VA) National Center for the Prosecution of Child Abuse (Alexandria, VA) National Collaboration for Youth (Washington, DC) National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse (Chicago, IL) National Conference of State Legislatures (Denver, CO) SEARCH Group, Inc. (Sacramento, CA)
California public organizations (Sacramento): California Commission on Teacher Credentialing Department of Justice —Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information Department of Social Services —Adoptions Services Bureau —Community Care Licensing Division, Criminal Records Clearance Bureau Children’s Receiving Home of Sacramento Sacramento Court Appointed Special Advocate Program Sacramento Student Buddy Program Florida public organizations (Tallahassee): Bureau of Teacher Certification Commission on Community Service Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, Division of Children and Family Services —District Two —Florida Abuse Registry Department of Law Enforcement, Division of Criminal Justice Information Systems Leon County School District American Red Cross, Capital Area Chapter (Tallahassee) Boy Scouts of America, South Florida Council (Miami) East Hill Baptist Church (Tallahassee) Florida Recreation and Park Association, Inc. (Tallahassee) Volunteer Center of Tallahassee, Sponsored by the United Way of the Big Bend (Tallahassee) (continued)
Tennessee public organizations (Nashville): Tennessee Bureau of Investigation —Information Systems Division —Records and Identification Unit Department of Human Services Boy Scouts of America, Middle Tennessee Council (Nashville) Buddies of Nashville (an affiliate of Big Brothers/Big Sisters) Volunteer Center of Nashville Texas public organizations (Austin): Department of Protective and Regulatory Services Texas Education Agency Department of Public Safety Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America (Austin) North Texas State Soccer Association (Carrollton) St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church (Plano) Tejas Girl Scout Council, Inc. (Dallas) Volunteer Center of Dallas County (Dallas) YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas (Dallas)
Chesterfield County Public Schools (Chesterfield County) Department of Social Services (Richmond) —Child Abuse and Neglect Information Systems Division —Foster Care and Adoptions —Office of Volunteerism Department of State Police, Criminal Records Division (Richmond) Department of Youth and Family Services, Background Investigations Unit (Richmond) Henrico County Public Schools (Henrico County)

	Scope and Methodology of Our Work Regarding States’ Statutes and Background Check Fees and Costs

To identify applicable legislation, we contacted the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division, which is responsible for approving state statutes that authorize child care-related organizations to request national fingerprint-based background checks. Texas Statutes Authorizing National Fingerprint-Based Background Checks

All the child care-related provisions of Texas law permit rather than require national checks. The background checks are not part of a centralized credentialing process. Of this total, 137 (or 3.6 percent) resulted in identification of applicants with criminal records. Each state can decide the extent to which it wants to be “connected” to and compatible with IAFIS.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed certain implementation issues under the National Child Protection Act of 1993, focusing on: (1) the extent to which selected states have enacted statutes authorizing national background checks of child care providers, the fees charged for background checks of volunteers, and how these fees compare with the actual costs in these states; (2) the effects these states' laws and related fees had on volunteerism; (3) whether selected state agencies and other organizations found national background checks a useful screening tool, and how often fingerprint-based background checks identified individuals with criminal histories; and (4) the status of the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) being developed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the selected states' plans for using the system when it becomes available.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) although there are considerable differences in scope or coverage, each of the five study states has enacted statutes authorizing national fingerprint-based background checks regarding paid and, or volunteer positions at various types of child care-related organizations; (2) three of the five states, California, Tennessee, and Texas, have authority to request national checks of volunteers at nonprofit youth-serving organizations; (3) however, these states do not require that national checks be done, and few checks have been requested; (4) a complete check of criminal history records has both FBI and state agency components; (5) the FBI's fee for national fingerprint-based background checks of volunteer applicants is $18; (6) the FBI projected that its costs for a national check would average $18 in 1996; (7) state laws and related fees did not appear to have negatively affected volunteerism at the various nonprofit youth-serving organizations GAO contacted, since applicable statutes permitted rather than required fingerprint-based background checks, and few had been requested; (8) officials at the various organizations GAO contacted said that national checks are or could be a useful tool that should supplement rather than supplant other important screening practices; (9) these officials told GAO that they believe the prospect of being subjected to a national background check deters an indeterminate but significant number of individuals with unacceptable criminal histories from even applying for certain positions; (10) for selected job positions, organizations, or local jurisdictions in the five study states, GAO found that national checks detected some applicants with criminal histories who may not have been detected by less comprehensive practices, including state background checks; (11) according to the FBI, in October 1998 IAFIS is scheduled to be available to a few selected states, for the purposes of conducting national fingerprint checks of applicants, with all other states that have appropriate technology coming online by July 1999; and (12) once IAFIS is fully implemented, the FBI expects that the processing time for national fingerprint checks will be reduced from 7 weeks (not including mailing time) under current processes to about 24 hours.