Federal law requires anyone working in a child development facility as an employee or volunteer, anyone who cares for or supervises children in a child development facility, or anyone with unsupervised access to children to undergo a criminal background check and child abuse and neglect registry check.
Child care staff and volunteers at child development facilities in DC should follow the process detailed below to complete required criminal background and child abuse and neglect registry checks. All child care providers (i.e., business owners), employees, prospective employees and volunteers (collectively referred to below as “child care staff”) must complete this process prior to starting employment and every three years thereafter.
For questions related to criminal background checks or child abuse and neglect registry checks, email [email protected].
Criminal Background Check
The criminal background check for child care staff includes a search of the National Crime Information Center's National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR), a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) fingerprint check and checks of state criminal registries and sex offender registries in every state the applicant has lived in over the past five years.
How to complete a criminal background check
Child care staff must complete criminal background checks using the ApplicationStation and Fieldprint systems. Child development facility leaders or their designee, as identified in the Office of the State Superintendent of Education’s (OSSE’s) licensing system, must submit a request for a criminal background check for each child care staff and prospective child care staff using OSSE’s Criminal Background Check Request Form. After their employer submits the form, child care staff will receive an email with instructions for completing their criminal background check using ApplicationStation and Fieldprint. Child care staff should reference this guide for more information on how to use ApplicationStation and Fieldprint.
Results from the criminal background check are sent directly to OSSE.
Child Abuse and Neglect Registry Check
The child abuse and neglect registry check includes a search of state child abuse and neglect registries. Child care staff working in child development facilities that are licensed by OSSE must complete a child abuse and neglect registry check in DC and each state they have resided in within the last five years.
How to complete child abuse and neglect registry checks
Child care staff must complete child abuse and neglect registry checks following the process of the state where they live and any other state in which they have lived within the past five years. Instructions for submitting a child abuse and neglect registry check request in DC, Maryland and Virginia are below. Child care staff who have lived in states other than DC, Maryland or Virginia in the last five years should contact the state agency responsible for the child abuse and neglect registry check in that state(s). All child care staff working in licensed child development facilities in DC must complete a child abuse and neglect registry check in DC, regardless of the state in which they live.
- How to submit a child abuse and neglect registry request in DC: Child care employers assist child care staff to gather documentation and complete the Child and Family Services Agency’s (CFSA’s) DC Child Protection Register Check Form.
- How to submit a child abuse and neglect registry request in Maryland: Child care staff who are Maryland residents or have lived in Maryland in the last five years must complete the Maryland Department of Human Service’s Child Protective Services Background/Adam Walsh Background Clearance Request. For questions, contact [email protected].
- How to submit a child abuse and neglect registry request in Virginia: Child care staff who are Virginia residents or have lived in Virginia in the last five years must complete the Virginia Department of Social Services’ Central Registry Release of Information Form. For questions, contact [email protected].
Results from child abuse and neglect registry checks in DC are sent directly to OSSE. Child care staff who complete child abuse and neglect registry checks in states other than DC are responsible for providing their child abuse and neglect registry results to their employer, who will upload the results in OSSE’s licensing system for review by OSSE.
Suitability Determinations and Appeals
OSSE will provide all employers and child care staff who complete the criminal background check and child abuse and neglect registry check processes a suitability determination based on the results of the checks.
- If the criminal background check and the child abuse and neglect registry show no criminal history: OSSE will notify the applicant and their employer that they have cleared the checks and are suitable to work in a child development facility. The determination is active for three years.
- If the criminal background check shows a criminal history and/or the child abuse and neglect registry check(s) show the staff is listed on the registry: OSSE staff review will review the results and may contact the applicant for additional information to determine whether the applicant may work in a child development facility.
- If OSSE determines that the applicant may work in a child development facility: OSSE will notify the applicant and their employer.
- If OSSE determines that the applicant cannot work in a child development facility: OSSE will send the applicant and the employer a Notice of Ineligibility for Employment that includes information on how to request an appeal.
- To appeal criminal background check results: Child care staff should submit appeal documents to the DC Office of Human Rights, Commission on Human Rights within 30 days after receipt of the Notice of Ineligibility for Employment. OSSE will make final determination within 45 business days and notify the appellant. If an appeal is not submitted, the Notice of Ineligibility for Employment is final.
- To appeal child abuse and neglect registry results: Child care staff must submit the request to the state where the check was conducted.
- To appeal results in DC: Child care staff should contact CFSA at (202) 724-3748, (202) 213-9590 or [email protected].
- To appeal results from states other than DC: Child care staff must follow the appeal process of the jurisdiction from which the result was received (e.g., if an individual is listed on the child abuse and neglect registry in Maryland, they would file an appeal of the result in Maryland).