<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"A 76-page bill filled with new rules designed to ensure people who have been arrested on suspicion of violent crimes are given background checks before they start work in state-licensed facilities is on it's way to the governor's desk.A KCRA 3 investigation earlier this year revealed more than 1,100 people with arrests on suspicion of violent crimes were granted automatic clearances by the Department of Social Services while investigations into their backgrounds were still pending.Watch report:\u00A0Bill passes requiring background checks for day care workers\"I have no regrets and I would do it all over again,\" said Ruby Cornejo, one of two DSS workers who revealed the clearance policy. \"They shouldn't have even been there in the first place, not one day.\"The department changed it's policy and stopped issuing automatic clearances after KCRA 3's initial report.\"First and foremost, individuals are not cleared up front, and they do not have access to the children and the vulnerable clients,\" Cornejo said.\u00A0The investigation also caught the attention of state lawmakers.\"I really do want to give you guys credit for bringing this to the forefront.\u00A0 So thank you for doing this,\" said Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, R-San Diego.Both the Senate and Assembly didn't think a simple policy change was enough, and members voted to put it put into law.\"It seems to me the least of the requirements that we can have is that somebody pass a background check that's caring for foster children or children with developmental disabilities or caring for the elderly. That just seems like a basic requirement, and now we are going to make sure it's the law and that it actually happens,\" Maienschein said.The ACLU continues to oppose the legislation.\u00A0 In one letter to lawmakers, an ACLU staff member wrote the law would have the effect of \"denying community care employment to people solely on the basis of prior arrests that did not lead to conviction.\"\u00A0Ed Howard, of the Children's Advocacy Institute of the University of San Diego Law School, says the safety of the children and elderly clients should take priority.\"You ought to look into their backgrounds. That's from the planet obvious,\" Howard said. \"It's really the least we can expect from our government.\u00A0 And happily in this instance, it looks as though the law is going to be corrected to require that.\"The governor's office has not indicated if or when Brown will sign the bill into law."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.kcra.com/article/bill-will-require-background-checks-for-day-care-workers/6416238>