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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fourth Legislature, First Regular Session
child care; fingerprinting
Purpose
Requires all child care personnel and volunteers to have a valid fingerprint clearance card before beginning employment or volunteer service, rather than within seven working days of employment or volunteer service.
Background
Statute requires personnel in various professions to have an active fingerprint clearance card prior to or as a condition of licensure, certification or employment. The Applicant Clearance Card Team at the Department of Public Safety, receives applications and reviews criminal history records of applicants to determine their suitability to receive fingerprint clearance cards and periodically updates the status of current fingerprint clearance cards.
Currently, all child care personnel, including volunteers, are required to apply for or obtain a valid fingerprint clearance card within seven working days of employment or volunteer work. Child care personnel includes the following: 1) any employee or volunteer working at a childcare facility; 2) any employee of a certified childcare group home; 3) any person who is 18 years of age or older and who works or resides in a certified childcare group home; 4) childcare home providers, in-home providers, noncertified relative providers and designated backup providers; 5) any person who is 18 years of age or older and who works or resides in the home of a childcare home provider; and 6) any registered childcare home provider who receives compensation to care for four or fewer children and who is not certified by the Department of Economic Security (DES) or Department of Health Services (A.R.S. §§ 36-883.02; 36-897.03; 41-1964; and 41-1967.01).
Childcare facilities are prohibited from allowing a person to be employed or volunteer in a facility in any capacity if the person has been denied a fingerprint clearance card or has not received interim approval from the Board of Fingerprinting (A.R.S. § 36-883.02).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires all child care personnel who are employed by, or who volunteer at, childcare group homes to have a valid fingerprint clearance card before beginning employment or volunteer work, rather than within seven days of working employment or volunteering.
2. Requires all child care personnel in daycare homes to have a valid fingerprint clearance card before, rather than within seven days of, any of the following:
a) being certified by DES;
b) working or residing in the home; or
c) being designated as a backup provider.
3. Requires child care personnel in daycare homes to certify whether or not any of the following have occurred prior to being certified by DES, residing or working in the home of a child care provider, or being designated as a backup provider, rather than within seven days of certification:
a) they are awaiting trial on, or have been convicted of or admitted to specified criminal offenses;
b) they are parents or guardians of a child adjudicated as dependent; or
c) they have been denied a license to operate a childcare facility in any state or had such a license revoked.
4. Requires that childcare home providers have a valid fingerprint clearance card before being registered with DES, rather than by the registration date.
5. Makes technical and conforming changes.
6. Becomes effective on general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 4, 2019
CRS/AG/kja